Camp and character | Our Kids Member Report

Glen Herbert
Editor/Writer, Our Kids Media
November, 2020

It’s easy for families to think of camp as a place to have fun, which of course it is, though too often they don’t see beyond that. This is particularly true of parents/families who are new to the camp concept or haven’t experienced it first hand. Which is why we’ve developed a range of ways of promoting that messaging. “The value(s) of camp” will be the cover story in the upcoming annual guide; there we’ll profile the work of our members, drawing on those who agreed to interviews earlier in the year, and those who filled out the character section of the control panel.

We’ve also recently launched the Character Development hub, a section of the website that highlights how camps develop specific, advantageous character traits: courage, creativity, curiosity, generosity, independence, interpersonal skills, physical literacy, religious faith, resilience, responsibility, self-regulation, and tolerance. On launch last month we promoted the hub in a bulk message to our national mailing list.

These and other projects intend to encourage a shift in how parents approach camps from our platform beyond only browsing camps by type, age range, location, and activities. As such, it will give your programming broader exposure, and it will increase families’ engagement with content on our platform.

For more, including in-depth descriptions of our new products and initiatives such as the booking calendar tool, see our annual member report.

In other news

Please log in and include specific character traits to existing and new programs. While optional, these traits will further enhance your programs’ searchability. This will also be the theme of our upcoming magazine, and we’ll be including content from camps both online and in print. All content entered by the end of November will be considered for inclusion—either quoted directly, or mentioned—in the annual guide.
Over 30 new specialties and activities—music production, virtual reality, drone technology, health sciences, disc golf, and many more additions have been made to the control panel. These will build out the list of traditional activities while allowing camps to appear on more refined searches, including those specific to COVID-era programming. We’ve also revised the structure and grouping of the activity lists to enhance clarity. Please log in to update your “Specialty” and “Activity” information to make sure your camp doesn't miss out on promotion across our website.