Summer is here! Camp leaders, your staff have arrived, or are arriving soon. This episode is designed specifically for them. We're speaking right to those emerging adult summer staff about to make ministry happen at camp this summer.

On this episode, we'll take a minute to share some of what we know about summer camp staff, and contextualize it for this summer's staff teams. They'll hear some words of encouragement, motivation, connection, and, some critical information about the fundamental things that make camp thrive paired with some practical ways for summer staff to embed these fundamentals into life at camp this summer.

Leadership staff, here are few ideas for how to use this episode as a training and equipping asset for your summer staff:

1. Listen to or watch the episode as a full team in staff training, and discuss in small groups or a whole large group
2. Distribute to staff members and have them listen, jot notes, and discuss learnings and applications over a meal or in a training session.
3. If your staff haven't arrived yet, send to them as a pre-training listen, and create time to discuss during training after they arrive.
4. Whatever the format, context matters, so encourage them to write down the practical action steps given with context to your particular camp's setting and experience and to share those ideas with the staff team.

Mostly, summer staff members, on behalf of all the campers and families you are about to serve, we hope and pray that you hear confident encouragement and deep gratitude for what you've said yes to. Thank you.

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It's the season 5 finale! Summer is almost here, and for some, it feel like it's time to PANIC!

We get it, you get it, your fellow leaders get it. The sprint up to staff arrival and camper arrival can get overwhelming. On this episode, we'll talk through seven things you, your staff, or your colleagues may be starting to feel panic about, and how to find some focus amidst the "too much."

In our #QuickQampQuestion, we'll also share the single most-impactful thing executive/director-level leaders can do right now for your camp.

Thanks for an incredible season, friends. What an honor to walk with you through this season of ministry!

Quick Links: Camp Enrollment Cliff Episode, Summer Fundraising Tips, Summer Staff Support Systems, #StatOfTheWeek

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Character.

This word is, as our guests on this episode will say, a "big tent" concept. As the American Camp Association has been exploring, building, and developing the Character at Camp Initiative and the Character at Camp Grant Program, the word character has had a galvanizing, unifying effect. We can be aligned in seeking to create experiences that develop something deeper beyond the outdoor-driven fun, even as we differ in method, model, and even mission.

On this episode, we're joined by two members of the team at ACA that strategizes and implements Character at Camp. Brian Massey serves as Director of Innovation for ACA, and Dave Bollen serves as a Character at Camp Grant Success Manager.

These dynamic leaders will share where the initiative is now, where it's going, and they'll peel back the curtain a bit on what it takes to successfully be a part of this mission as Character at Camp moves forward, including some keys to submitting a compelling grant application.

Quick Links: Character at Camp Initiative, Character at Camp Grant Program, Wave 2 Application Information, Upcoming Webinars, Contact the Team, ACA Now Newsletter

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Connect with our team. Support the podcast. Ask about advertising opportunities. Find us on Facebook & Instagram.