First Week, Mid-Week Update
We had some AMAZING living unit overnights this week! We had good hikes, great weather, beautiful night skies and time around the campfire making s’mores with new and old friends. Big Spring campers are on All Days today and High Trails campers will be heading out on All Days tomorrow.
If you haven’t already seen them already, our photographers posted the living unit photos in the Campanion app and on Camp InTouch yesterday. For the rest of the session we will post photos every Sunday evening so we can try and capture and collect as many experiences as we can both on and off of the property during our very busy weeks. These photos can be accessed and downloaded for free via the Campanion app (download via the app store or Google Play) or on your computer via your Camp InTouch account. When you upload a recent image of your camper(s), the Campanion app does a better-than-average job of finding photos that include your camper and the app will push those images directly to your phone for viewing, downloading and sharing.
We will also mail a copy of the living unit photo to you in the letter your camper’s counselors will write to you this weekend. We mail those letters via USPS, but we also wanted you to hear from your camper, so there is a camper letter (as well as a calendar of their trips for the session) in the “Forms and Documents’’ environment in your Camp InTouch account. Please click the “Print” icon on the right side of the link to open. If you click on the link itself, it will open a blank form and not the letter or the calendar. You will need to have a PDF reader installed or choose a PDF reader app in order to open the documents.
This is the week when many of you may begin to receive letters that were mailed on Opening Day or shortly thereafter, and some of those letters could express nervousness about camp or even be a bit sad. One of the ways campers deepen their self-efficacy and confidence is by working through the sad moments…and journaling or letter writing is a great way to help them process and “ride the wave” of their emotions. So, if you have received–or receive–a “sad” letter, know that your camper is writing to release those emotions and it will give them the opportunity to grow in new ways. This blog post may help a bit, too!
This is also when parents, grandparents and friends start thinking about sending a “care package” to campers and we want to remind families to not send food as food attracts wildlife, both large and small, to the tents and cabins. If your camper receives food in a care package, we will dispose of it upon receipt. Here are some ideas for non-food items for care packages:
- Hammock and hammock straps
- Books and magazines
- Journal, cool coloring books and pens and markers
- Card games, travel games or even a portable yard game (Spikeball continues to be popular!)
- Silly hats, socks or costume accessories
- Onesie pajamas
- Lip balm, extra sunscreen, new hat, sunglasses
- Crocs and gibits
- Meaningful t-shirt from home (perhaps a new USA Women’s Soccer jersey?)
- A box of letters, cards, photos from family members (including pets)
- Battery powered LED light string for decorating bed or bunk area
- New headlamp
- Sketchbook and pastel crayons
- A set of matching items for a unit or cabinside (10-12 items)
- Frisbee or hackysack
- Packable camping pillow
- Stickers to put on a waterbottle
- Pre-addressed (to you) and stamped postcards
- Mad libs and joke books
- Anything else you can think of…except food!
Additionally, we have had a number of questions this last week about funding camper store accounts. We are attaching the flyer we sent out regarding all camper expenses, including camp store, rental items and camping gear purchases. Because our billing process has changed, all camper purchases, rental items and expenses accrued during the camp session will be invoiced at the end of the camp session and we do NOT require any pre-paid funds for camper accounts.
We have also had a number of questions regarding purchasing CampStamps or heard some of you had trouble buying CampStamps. Campminder, our database company, recommends utilizing your desktop browser and logging into your Camp InTouch account via computer. Once you are in your Camp InTouch account, the last tab under “Online Community” says “Photos and CampStamp Payment”. In order to purchase CampStamps, you need to add your form of payment in this location, not just in the Financial Management system. If you are still having trouble, please call Campminder support directly at 303-444-2267.
We are looking forward to hearing about the trips today and tomorrow and to a fun weekend!
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