How JCamp180 is supporting Jewish Camps Across North America - CampHacker #172

A vision for the future of summer camp support.

What would it look like if organizations outside your camp understood the community-building power of summer camp?

We know that camp builds connections that last forever, but telling that story to people outside of the camp world can be tricky - and it’s even more tricky to find outside financial resources to support the community mission.

The work of JCamp180 is an incredible model for how advocacy and support can work on an industry level. Consulting, advocacy, grant-writing, and funding access - all things that JCamp180 has done to support Jewish Camping across North America.

The rest of this industry LISTEN UP.

The industry as a whole, does such a good job of sharing resources and collaboration, but especially when it comes to fundraising, we have this tendency to move into a scarcity mindset and try to do it all on our own.

This model is a vision for us to zoom out and look at how the industry, as a whole, can thrive under a network of financial support and advocacy.

Find out more about JCamp180 at https://jcamp180.org/

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Tool of the Week – Make Yourself a Better Camp Director

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Scheduling is the backbone of every camper’s experience, but when there’s a staffing change, it’s almost impossible to fill that role with someone who knows all of the nuisance a schedule takes. Come check Camptivities out; specifically designed for camps by camp people. Find out more at camptivities.com

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Get Ready for Next Summer Now (and don't do it alone!) - CampHacker #171

It’s time to start thinking forward - and make sure you’re not thinking alone!

Shake off that rust.

Last summer is over. It’s behind us.

Yes, there are lingering emotions, program things to wrap up and reports to write, but it’s time to move on.

With some relative certainty about what the summer of 2023 is going to look like after the shutdown phase of the pandemic, camps need to get back to the forward-thinking mindset that has helped us make it this far.

As we do this, something else we need to move on from is the mentality that we have to think forward alone.

The job of a camp director (even if they are part of a big year-round team) can be incredibly isolating and as we recover from the pandemic, it’s the perfect opportunity to think about how we can take the work that we do and spread it out a bit.

It’s a good long-term solution for your mental health and the organizational health of your camp.

Tune in to hear about how Gabz and Joe are moving forward and bringing others along for the ride.

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Tool of the Week – Make Yourself a Better Camp Director

Your Hosts:

Thanks to our sponsors!

Camptivities

Scheduling is the backbone of every camper’s experience, but when there’s a staffing change, it’s almost impossible to fill that role with someone who knows all of the nuisance a schedule takes. Come check Camptivities out; specifically designed for camps by camp people. Find out more at camptivities.com

UltraCamp

Wouldn’t it be refreshing if your registration software gave you MORE time? With UltraCamp, you can track attendance, manage staff applications, streamline registration, and much more. Get back the time you need to focus on what is really important: CAMP! Find out more at summercampsoftware.com/camphacker

My Mightiest Mess-Ups - CampHacker #170

None of us are perfect. Come celebrate, and learn from our mistakes!

We’ve all been there - so why not be there, together?

The positive way to frame mistakes is of course, “these were just learning experiences”, but it sure doesn’t feel like that in the moment.

We all process mistakes that we make differently. Some people hold onto it. Some immediately move to problem-solving but the true camp pros out there know how to own the suck, not repeat it and set others up for success.

We’re grateful for the vulnerability that Gabz, Travis, Chris and Joe show in this episode by sharing about the small…and not so small screw-ups in their camping careers.

Come commiserate with us in this episode!

-

Tool of the Week – Make Yourself a Better Camp Director

Your Hosts:

Thanks to our sponsors!

Camptivities

Scheduling is the backbone of every camper’s experience, but when there’s a staffing change, it’s almost impossible to fill that role with someone who knows all of the nuisance a schedule takes. Come check Camptivities out; specifically designed for camps by camp people. Find out more at camptivities.com

UltraCamp

Wouldn’t it be refreshing if your registration software gave you MORE time? With UltraCamp, you can track attendance, manage staff applications, streamline registration, and much more. Get back the time you need to focus on what is really important: CAMP! Find out more at summercampsoftware.com/camphacker

Debriefing 2022 and Seeking Patterns - CampHacker #169

Our summers may have been different, but the common thread is that our industry will never be the same again.

If we ever needed something to teach us the lesson that “camp, like it was in 2019 isn’t coming back” the summer of 2022 was it.

Holy moly folks.

We hope that you’re doing okay.

We know that not everyone is in the same boat, and who knows, maybe 2022 was your best summer yet (if it was…will you come on the Podcast and tell us about it?). But we all have to collectively shake our damn heads and realize that things have changed.

PEOPLE, WE’RE THE PEOPLE THAT GAG WHEN SOMEONE SAYS “THIS IS THE WAY WE’VE ALWAYS DONE IT”.

Too dramatic? Maybe. Or maybe not.

This summer 2022 debrief episode with Travis, Chris, Gabz and Joe gets a little bit spicy - but it’s for good reason. We need to keep asking questions, pushing each other and digging in on what our campers, families and staff need as we keep this industry alive.

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Tool of the Week – Make Yourself a Better Camp Director

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Your Hosts:

Thanks to our sponsors!

Camptivities

Scheduling is the backbone of every camper’s experience, but when there’s a staffing change, it’s almost impossible to fill that role with someone who knows all of the nuisance a schedule takes. Come check Camptivities out; specifically designed for camps by camp people. Find out more at camptivities.com

UltraCamp

Wouldn’t it be refreshing if your registration software gave you MORE time? With UltraCamp, you can track attendance, manage staff applications, streamline registration, and much more. Get back the time you need to focus on what is really important: CAMP! Find out more at summercampsoftware.com/camphacker