Professional Development for CampPros - CampHacker #75

Finding the right tools to continually improve your skills

                      Podcast: Subscribe in iTunes | Stitcher App

                      Podcast: Subscribe in iTunes | Stitcher App

I believe that we all know that our own professional development is crucial to our camps' success.  It is, in a very demanding world, sometimes hard to prioritize.

Our discussion for this show centres around how we find NEW sources of professional education.  Where do we look, outside the summer camp world to grow our biggest skills?

It was so nice to have Ange Atkinson from Camp Lantern Creek back on with us.  You can listen to Ange's first episode Planning Great Programs, too!

Tool of the Week – Make Yourself a Better Camp Director

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(Thank you!)

Thanks for the evening, friends.

Helping All Camps Get Better - CampHacker #74

Helping the Industry Succeed - How can we use our resources and our knowledge to help all camps get better?

                         Podcast: Subscribe in iTunes | Stitcher App

                         Podcast: Subscribe in iTunes | Stitcher App

Summer camps need to be collaborative. Now, it's not that they aren't already - look no farther than the incredible Camp Pros Group on Facebook, and you'll see a ton of fantastic people sharing their best practices with each other.

It goes a bit farther though. We need to look into how we are serving our nearby neighbours in the summer camp world before they even need it. Some camps do it via staff exchanges, mini-conferences, "mastermind groups" or even by joining policy committees to support the industry in their area. This kind of face-to-face support not only helps each other out, but it builds relationships and extends our personal support networks. 

Even more, we have to look at our no-so-best practices, and be willing to share the times when we've fell on our faces, and thereby learned the most. It takes guts to trust those people with our vulnerable stories and it takes integrity for us to receive those stories empathically, take the learning, and maintain confidentiality. 

We hope you enjoy this podcast and that it inspires you to look at how well you are sharing with your summer camp neighbours. 

Have a thought? Let us know in the comments below!

Tool of the Week – Make Yourself a Better Camp Director

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(Thank you!)

Thanks for the evening, friends.

Starting From Scratch - CampHacker #73

Radical thinking about the Future of Summer Camp

 

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Now THAT's what I'm talking about!

This show. 

THIS is the moment that CampHacker was created for. We had the best discussion today. Joe had the awesome idea to talk about what it would be like to start a camp from scratch.  If you weren't burdened by tradition (and a property) what would you do differently?

THAT lead us in to how would you radically change summer camp.  If our mission is to provide a transformative experience for children and teens (and staff) are we reaching as many people as possible with our programs being so remote? 

Outward Bound Canada has done something HUGE.  They sold off their remote sites so that they could build in downtown Toronto - now they serve tons more people. They still do remote trips but they are much more accessible for day programs.

Dan was kind enough to share the nine points that Frost Valley uses when they consider a new program:

  1. Demographics
  2. Audience
  3. Mission
  4. Goals
  5. Staff
  6. Traditions
  7. Sustainability
  8. Site
  9. Quality

(He explains them in the show!).

What would you do to start summer camp from scratch?  Leave us a comment below!

Tool of the Week – Make Yourself a Better Camp Director

Sources of Legal Music to Use in Camp Videos

Royalty Free Music sites (pay for it once and use it as needed)

  • http://www.shutterstock.com/music/
  • http://www.smartassmusic.com/royalty-free-music/free-downloads
  • http://www.pond5.com/music/1/*.html
  • https://vimeo.com/musicstore
  • https://www.youtube.com/audiolibrary/music
  • http://www.reelmarketinginsider.com/free-royalty-free-music/
  • Audio Bumpers/Stings/Logos
    • search for "music genre" + sting or bumper or logo
    • http://www.beatsuite.com/music/category/audio-idents/576
    • http://incompetech.com/music/royalty-free/
    • http://www.musicradiocreative.com/podcasters/

Your Hosts:

Rate and Review the CampHacker Show in iTunes 

(Thank you!)

Thanks for the evening, friends.

Quick Tips to Effectively Market Your Camp This Fall - CampHacker #72

Our Best Summer Camp Marketing Tips

Podcast: Subscribe in iTunes | Stitcher App

            Podcast: Subscribe in iTunes | Stitcher App

            Podcast: Subscribe in iTunes | Stitcher App

Want to get your fall rolling with fast, effective marketing tips?  This is the show for you!

Gab and I had a chance to do one of our favourite kind of shows - rapid-fire, back-and-forth answers to questions directly from you, the audience.

Since it's the first show of the fall season people are telling us that they are super-focussed on setting their camp up for a good season of marketing.  They're also saying that marketing camp has become very overwhelming.   

In this show Gab and I answer your questions.

WAIT!  What happened to #71?   It's coming! It was a bit non-traditional so our process is goofed. Listen for it soon.

Tool of the Week – Make Yourself a Better Camp Director

Travis - NeuYear calendars
Gab - Long days at camp? Keep your iPhone charged Boostcase

Your Hosts:

Rate and Review the CampHacker Show in iTunes 

(Thank you!)

Thanks for the evening, friends.