Writing this not long after returning from Tri-State. Great sessions, even better conversations, and, as always, a ton of energy in the rooms.

One big takeaway from conference season in general, and just walking through regular life: people are craving personal connection. It’s easier and easier to feel sort of online-connected and also very alone. And camp’s superpower is making people feel seen and heard.

The digital world keeps accelerating. AI is everywhere. We’re on our phones constantly. The news feels chaotic and economic uncertainty adds to it.

When things move this fast, trust erodes. Connection becomes the most valued thing we can offer. A simple “thank you for taking the time” matters more than it used to.

The Parent Reality

Parents don’t come together as a community the way they used to. Their social lives run through their kids. The team. The activity. The school friend group. When the kids’ things end, the parent friendships disappear.

This one hit close to home for me. My daughter told me she wanted to stop playing softball. She clearly wasn’t enjoying it. My first instinct was literally to bribe her to keep playing. Not for her sake, though I think it would have been good for her. But because I loved the other parents on that team.

When she stopped, those friendships faded. The other parents texted me bummed. But without the shared thing, the weekends, the trips, it just ended.

This was being over-leveraged on my kid’s relationships for my own friendships. I very much doubt I’m alone in that.

What’s Actually Working & Camp’s Superpower

When I ask camps what’s driving enrollment right now, I keep hearing the same things: phone calls, in-person events, word of mouth. All personal connection. None of it digital.

People are starving for real interaction. Camps that lean into this are the ones filling spots.

Camp creates connection naturally. For kids, it’s being seen and heard. Belonging to a community that doesn’t run through a screen.

For parents, it’s one of the few remaining spaces where adult friendships form on their own. You meet other families through camp. You share something real. The relationships stick.

This is what camps do that almost nothing else does anymore. I think we need to say it out loud. To families. To ourselves.

Parents don't feel like they can just stop by, hang out, and make friends. Everything runs through structured activities or kids’ relationships. Camp is one of the last places where connection happens naturally.

That’s not a side benefit. That’s the whole thing.

This is how we work with camps. Articulating this superpower in your marketing. Building enrollment strategies around personal connection. And helping camps let parents know, this is how to combat loneliness.

Sincerely,
Dan Weir

Senior Consultant at Immersive1st

dan@immersive1st.com