Being a Camp Advocate All Year-Round

Hello to all of my fellow camp counselors!

Since its currently the summer camp off season, I thought it would be timely to discuss being a camp advocate. The first time I heard the phrase "camp advocate", I was 17 and a counselor in training. We talked about the American Camp Association, and its goal to increase camp attendance. I really latched on to this idea of being a sort of spokesperson for camp as a whole, and always working towards getting more children to camp.

So how can we do this?

Well my first strategy has always been fairly simple. Just talk about camp! If you have a passion, it will show through. I love telling people about how much I love camp. I talk to my friends, random people I meet, I even talked about it when I was going through sorority recruitment two years ago. When you share your passion, you inspire others. Maybe a parent was having doubts about sending their child to camp, and you helped settle their nerves. Maybe you convinced someone to be a counselor for a summer. Or maybe your words will just sit in the back of their mind until one day its time for them to send a child to camp.

Next, always be aware. Once you become a camp counselor, that's what many people will know you as. Be aware of what you do and what you say. Are you on your night off, and wearing a staff shirt? Don't walk through the grocery store spewing curse words. Change before you head out to the bar. Your camp shouldn't be associated with some of your "adult behaviors". If you need to let off some steam, that's great, but don't advertise you're a counselor simultaneously. Another avenue that I see a lot of people crossing this line is social media. If it says anywhere on your page that you worked at a camp, if you have pictures of yourself at camp, if you are friends with campers, the following applies to you.

• Don't complain about your camp
• Don't post statuses/tweets/etc. that are not "camp appropriate"
• Be aware of what pictures you have up
• Use common sense!

I'm going to do a whole post on social media use, but these are some basic guidelines. Remember, you always want to represent camp in a positive light, so take a moment to think before you act!

My final advise on advocating for camp is to get involved! Volunteer, join a club, do something to get out there and keep making the world a better place. Show your community that camp counselors are role models beyond summer!

Keep on advocating!

You are amazing!

Samantha