SCOUTER Feature:
Camp Staff Associations
A Resource to Develop Summer Camps of Excellence
A growing number of Boy
Scout Councils are turning to another untapped resource in developing Summer Camps of
excellence. By gathering the resources of current and former staff members for year round
events & newsletters, they are finding a new source of manpower and resources to aid
in the camp's development. Many of these alumni associations have actively built a network
of people who fondly recall their years of staff experience and are concerned for the
continued well being of the camp. Camps are finding that many of these former staff
members have been very successful and are now in a position to once again contribute to
Scouting.
Staff associations are
also a way to keep the current staff in touch with each other for the typical nine months
of the year when the staff is separated. A close knit group can lead to better staff
retention as well as older, more seasoned staff members that end up returning each year.
With unemployment at an all time low in many places, key staffers can aid the
administration in representing the camp's job opportunities at job fairs, and can promote
the camp & staff booths at council events like Scout Show & University of
Scouting.
These alumni
association web pages below also show us a number of possible activities and events that
are being carried out at some of America's most storied and famous summer camps. Among the
activities we have seen are:
- Winter Ski Trip as a way to bring the staff together and begin planning for the next
summer
- Staff Alumni Work Weekends where current and former staff can get together and improve
the camp
- Developing a Campership fund for the camp by offering Art Prints.
- Sending out Newsletters and developing e-mail lists to keep members in touch.
- Offering discounts and special activities at the camp when in session
- Organizing Explorer Post / Venture Crews that operate year around made up of staff
members.
Other camps without this resource might consider the benefits of
developing such a group by checking out the examples on this page. Does your camp have an
Alumni Group with a web page not listed here? Just click on the submission form at the
bottom of the page and your camp can be added too.
