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Listen in on Episode 2 of our Summer Camp and COVID-19 Series as Drew and David sit down with Ryan Graden, Camp Director in Iowa to discuss the changes that had to be made from traditional summer to COVID summer and offers hope amid this tough season.

PODCAST NOTES:

What does a normal year look like at your camp?

A normal summer is 6 weeks of camp, Sunday-Friday, hosting 500-700 campers per week. We hire 170 high school and college aged counselors. We’ve created an incredible and unique culture guided by God. We now have 4th generation campers. In a normal year we see about 2500-3000 kids.

You do much more than just summer camp. Can you tell us about your Retreats program?

After our 6 weeks of summer camp we then open up to churches to use our site for their own summer camps for another 6 weeks. In a usual year we see another 300-600 children each of these weeks and usually one or two big churches. Once the summer is over we shift to fall retreats, mainly on the weekends with 400-500 individuals from different churches. Annually we have about 25,000 guests in a typical year.

How did this year look? Did you have summer camp?

We did have summer camp but it was no small feat. In March it was a big question mark because in Iowa and across the country we did not have all the answers. Our staff were fearful of opening and there were questions that couldn’t be answered. As a Director it was one of the hardest seasons ever, it tested my leadership skills. Each day was different and evolving based on new information from the State and CDC. Even about 2 weeks before the summer we were still unsure if we’d be able to open. All of these challenges ended up tying us together as a staff. It grew us and kept the momentum moving forward.

How did you manage your way through all of that?

I am thankful for our Executive Director and his attitude. We kept coming back to “what’s our purpose” and “why are we here”? It’s not for our enjoyment, it’s for everyone who comes here to experience The Creator. We rallied around the idea that this is bigger than all of us. We had to remind ourselves daily of this purpose and we celebrated our everyday victories to build momentum. It felt fantastic to have children here. We were experiencing loneliness early on, so when children arrived it felt great.

How did you make summer camp happen, logistically?

We looked to state guidelines and CDC recommendations to adjust our routines. These especially came into play when social distancing, such as during chapel and meals. When social distancing wasn’t possible we wore masks and neck gators provided by the camp. Our staff did a great job with these and we reminded others that they were required for us to operate this year. It became second nature and wasn’t too hard to implement after a little bit, staff and campers embraced it with fun. Handwashing and sanitation was also important. We even had less flu and colds this year. Our cleaning crew was helpful as well, they cleaned touch points throughout the day.

How did you celebrate all these small victories?

The staff made it really fun. Each week before new campers arrived we required them to have a 7 day quarantine and temperature check. If campers didn’t turn in verification they were turned away, and that was very difficult. Luckily our community got behind us and they supported these efforts so we could have summer camp. Our check-in process also changed and it was a huge victory. Parents loved this new process and we’re going to keep doing it.

How did this new check-in process work?

We used 4 different stations with iPads. Families needed to be paid in full beforehand. Once they drove up we told them where to go and we directed them right to their cabin. Most parents were only on camp for 10 minutes and the kids jumped out of the car and joined the cabin right away where a counselor was waiting. The key to success was having the right software and iPads in place.

Another success was our health procedures. We had a very attentive nursing staff who didn’t jump to conclusions. We temperature checked at breakfast every morning and had procedures in place to manage situations that arose.

What other innovative community programming did you offer this year?

We generate most of our own income and many of our groups cancelled this spring, so we needed to think quickly on solutions. The food at camp is amazing and my wife suggested we make meals for the community that they could purchase from us frozen then take home and bake them. We were able to see members of our community at pick-up and it was largely successful for us. We made about $6,000 the first weekend. They loved our food. They also wanted to support camp and we offered them a way to do so. It was a great way to pivot creatively for us.

We also needed to adjust our programming to more day events than overnight because our clients wanted it. We don’t know how long this pandemic will last so we continue to plan and think creatively for the future, such as taking day camp programming to churches throughout the Midwest next summer.

What’s 1 or 2 things you learned that you’d like others to know?

I didn’t always have the answers this summer, more than ever before I needed to rely on God for support. I looked for spiritual peace when making decisions this year. The other thing that I learned was the power of unity in the staff. We needed to understand everyone’s unique situation and keep encouraging them to keep moving forward together. Once the momentum started it built on itself and we gained confidence in our decisions. We had great leadership from our Executive Director.

What would you tell someone who is looking for some hope right now in regards to the future of camping?

Trust that God is bigger than anything. There are a lot of question marks right now but God is bigger than it all. People need camp and retreats. You’re still needed. Do what you can to keep the doors open and people will continue to use it.