Subscribe to the Immersive1st newsletter for new openings and smart job search tips. Hiring? The next issue will show how your organization can reach the right candidates.
The reason camps keep getting better
|
I was walking around Meadowbrook Day Camp and Willow Lake Day Camp a couple of weeks ago with a few hundred other camp professionals thinking, “It really shouldn't work this way.” These were two camps opening their doors to, in many cases, their direct competitors. Showing what was working, what wasn't, and giving everyone a very honest and open look at their current operation. These camps are selected because they run a high-quality operation, one others can, for sure, learn from. There aren't many other industries where this would happen. I doubt Coca-Cola is opening their doors to Pepsi execs and saying something like, "Hey squad, come on in, look around at the operation, steal some of our secrets if you need to, we're all in this together!!!" But camp isn't in the cola wars. And camps might be the greatest group of people around at helping each other out. At the heart of it, this is a group of people who want to get more kids to camp. Sure, they would choose their own camp first for those kids. But when you believe in your industry as a whole, believe in your peers (or competitors), then the mission isn't to close things off, hide what's working, keep all the "secrets" for yourself. Very much the opposite. Meadowbrook and Willow Lake hosted the ACA NY-NJ day camp conference this year, and both camps opened the whole operation up for the tours. Facilities. Operations. The staff setup. Each tour led by the director who actually runs that part of the camp. And this isn’t some PR version either. It’s just the person who lives that work day in and day out, walking everyone through what was working this summer and what they wanted to improve for next. That is a different kind of vulnerability than you see in most industries. And it is why camp keeps getting better. The whole time, I hung in the back of the group, talking with people and hearing about their summers. What they were worried about, excited about, frustrated with, proud of, and so much more. If you're reading this newsletter, you likely care deeply about what you do. Take this as a reminder that you are part of an industry built on this. The best camps got better because other camps opened their doors first. The next time you have a chance to show up to one of these events, go. Be reminded why we do this, and look around at another group of people who want the exact same things as you. Run a better camp, so more kids go to camp. Sincerely, Senior Consultant at Immersive1st Learn more about Immersive1st's Approach |
Immersive1st
Subscribe to the Immersive1st newsletter for new openings and smart job search tips. Hiring? The next issue will show how your organization can reach the right candidates.
40% of camps haven’t opened registration for next summer. Let me repeat that number a little louder for those in the back. 40% of camps haven’t opened registration for next summer. That’s what’s coming out of a Day Camp Community survey we’re running right now. With the fall leaves changing colors, two out of five camps haven’t opened literal or figurative or online doors yet. I was shocked at this number, considering trick-or-treaters are about to knock on doors and winter holiday gear is...
Camp people are artists. I can say that confidently because I know artists. Heck, one of them is working out in my garage right now. My wife, Alison, is a potter. She runs her studio out of our garage. For a year and a half I tried to convince her to work with Sophia's team on social media marketing for the business. During that year and a half, which felt long, every time Sophia came up Alison had a version of the same thing to say. It was something like, "My pottery should speak for itself....
Every summer at camp is an event. It's this all-encompassing thing. And then Fall hits, the leaves turn orange, and it's post-event time for everyone in the industry. What happens in post-event time? We all get ideas. That part is a good thing. Camps should explore the ideas that come up and see what you uncover. Camp directors are entrepreneurs, and entrepreneurs get excited and creative. You're a group that is starting, for the first time in months, to think in an expansive mindset. So,...