Summer Day Camp Themes

[Twocubdad 665]

And the money we could save on paper cups! Watched a kid at a pack campout this spring stand in front of the water jug and drink four cups of water -- each with a new paper cup. All four wound up wadded up on the ground in front of the trash can (but not for long.)

 

At day camp it seems like most of the boys this year carried canteens or plastic bottles, even though we have water at every activity station. I know it has to be a hassle having that hanging around your neck all day. And we always end up with a huge pile of them in the lost and found.

 

I usually carry a stainless camp cup clipped to my belt. It's similar to the stainless BSA cup with the wire handle, but mine is about a full cup in size. Fits nicely on a small camp stove, too. They only about $4 at WalMart in the camping section. I've thought about asking the manager here if he can get me a deal on 500 of them.

[Tr39NC 10]

For identification, we use bright blue AT&T-donated lanyards for boys & adults. One of our camp inspectors was a bit disgruntled when he arrived late and tried to catch his group without checking in at the trading post. One of my staff members stopped him & wouldn't let him pass as he didn't have a blue lanyard on. :-)

 

We found t-shirts too expensive due to the various unknown sizes. They're an optional purchase for the Boy Scouts at camp and quite popular. The last thing our Cubs want to buy is clothing when he could buy a knife or light saber.

 

Hats are tremendously unsuccessful for all age groups out here. I'm not sure why. Last summer at the Boy Scout camps, I sold black & red knit "beanies" like the skateboarders wear and they were HUGELY successful despite the 80-degree weather. Ironically, they didn't sell too well a week ago when several of the week-long Scout camps received between 4-8" of snow. Go figure!

 

Most of the money we make at the camps ends up directly in the council budget rather than back in the camp. I'm a bit of a maverick and set a goal that pleases the council & then spend any funds raised over that amount back into the camp.

 

Has anyone ever tried marketing a camp by slides at the local movie theaters prior to shows? We've considered it and I will definitely due it next year. Pepsi-Cola has offered some sort of sponsorship with tag-on advertisements at the end of their commercials several weeks prior to camp.

 

I've heard direct mail to parents, roundtable fliers, and such. Has anyone ever mailed camp themed postcards directly to the boys &, if so, how did you fund it?

[Twocubdad 665]

From a marketing standpoint, that probably too broad an approach for camp, but it's a heck of a good idea for round up!

 

It would be nice if national could put together a roundup trailer for distribution to the councils. Politics being what they are, I bet national going to the movie distributors would be a hard sell, but local Scouters working with local theater managers may be more effective.