Category: Uncategorized

Making new connections – marketing Camp Runoia

Posted on by Alex

There was an ‘open house’ at both of my kids’ schools this week. Well not so much ‘open’ more staring at the screen for online zoom introductions to teachers and curriculum. It was hard to stay focused and be able to put names to faces. I certainly didn’t connect with any parents as I may have done if we had been in person, nor did I get to feel much of the culture of the place.

I have never set foot in my son’s new high school. We did a virtual tour in the spring and as the building was closed all of last year there were no in person opportunities to visit or meet the faculty. Fortunately I have friends whose older kids go there so I could trust their opinion and description and figure out that it was a great match for my child. My research worked and  it has indeed been a super fit.  The transition has been smooth and as he is older I am not so concerned about him getting lost or not finding the bathroom! I do feel disconnected from the people that he interacts with everyday. The names are faceless and it’s hard to personally connect in a zoom room, through email or by phone. My new school experience has made me realize more than ever just how difficult it has become for parents to choose a camp.

A lot of our Camp Runoia marketing has previously been done in person, either on camp tours during the season or visiting people’s homes during the winter to connect and chat. Covid certainly changed all of that with zoom calls and virtual tours. 2021 and 2022 was a new era for us with parents dropping off their campers at the gate and never actually getting to see our beautiful campus, meet the counselors and staff or see the view from the  beach. What a leap of faith it is to send our children off into an unknown place on the premise that we trust it will live up to it’s marketing!

 

There were a few horror stories that hit the media about camps this past summer. Facilities with not enough staff, huge covid outbreaks or food supply shortages. None of our Runoia families freaked out! They trusted that we had things under control and that their child was being well cared for and that if there was a legitimate problem we would be in contact with them in a transparent way.

Marketing our camp and building trust and relationships during this challenging time has led us to develop new skills and engage in different ways. Our campers had an absolute blast this summer, they went home with great stories and are willing to spread the word about camp to their family and friends. Parents also found great value in the Runoia experience and are talking up the benefits of overnight camp and the value for the whole family. Virtual connections are now more the norm and it doesn’t seem odd to be ‘meeting’ on zoom rather than in person.

With early enrollment at an all time high we are excited for the 2022 season and proud to be celebrating 116 continuous years of Camp Runoia operations. We will continue to grow and move with the changing environment that we live in and to connect and engage with our families and campers.

We love our Runoia connections.

 

It’s blue and white and other camp fun

Posted on by Alex

We are in the final stretch of First Session 2021. Many items are on the bucket list for our last several days, but first we have much to report on from this past week. 

After a couple of rainy days and a cozy Friday movie night, the weekend brought sunshine and new energy and both days saw temperatures in the high seventies. Saturday was the last day of our fourth activity block, and girls enjoyed getting into the lake for swim lessons and getting out on the blue waves for sailing, kayaking, paddleboarding, windsurfing, and skiing. We had our first 2021 American Archer (passing all of the levels) go Charlotte M. and some major level passing in target sports, girls gearing up for the Blue/White horse show, action on the tennis, volleyball, basketball, and badminton courts, fabulous dance and drama lessons going on around camp, baskets and art projects being completed, and so much more. Sunny days have also helped us to get our girls out for tubing, a highly coveted treat here at camp! Saturday night supper was Birthday Tables in which everyone celebrated all of the girls in their cabins who have birthdays during the session by dressing up in different themes and singing silly songs, eating cake, and having a Birthday Party Bash with music, limbo, hula hooping, foursquare, and lots of laughter echoing throughout camp. 

 

Sunday morning started with a sleepy breakfast – campers and counselors wore their pajamas to the dining hall and, as always, doughnuts were a hit! Blue/White junior and senior team captains were nominated and elected, and then we all gathered on the beach for swim races. Each girl earned points for her team, and we’re pretty sure our neighbors across the lake heard the awesome team spirit coming from the beach in the form of songs and cheers! Good thing most of them are Runoia alumnae and were probably cheering for their old teams too!

Juniors played kickball and seniors played softball Blue/White games in the afternoon, and then we all got into our uniforms for supper and again gathered at the lake all together for our first Sunday night campfire, revolving around the theme “Better Together”. Each cabin shared a skit with the rest of camp and we taught and sang some of our favorite traditional Runoia songs while watching the sun set over Great Pond. We were joined by three loons who seemed to linger in our cove longer than usual, perhaps entranced by the melodies and harmonies we created together. 

 

On Monday we began our fifth and final block, this one lasting for four days to allow our girls a good chunk of time to develop and build on their skills in each of the program areas they tagged up for. The farm program is very popular these days, giving girls a chance to learn some gardening and animal care practices. Our Harmony Land campers went horseback riding on Monday evening, while the rest of the camp did “Laundry Bag Skits” – each cabin received a box full of random items and got to write, direct, and perform a short play. There were some truly hilarious moments, and we think we may have some rising stars on our hands! 

 

Luckily the sun decided to hang around through Tuesday, letting us have a full program day and two excellent recreational swim opportunities. It was wonderful to see so much splashing around, diving for rings, handstand contests, and games of Marco-Polo. First and Second shack each went out for a half-day hike yesterday at “The Mountain”, and made it back to camp before the rain. The sun poked back out for a bit for the late afternoon, and Tuesday night’s evening program was Counselor Hunt – a giant game of hide and seek in which girls ran around camp together trying to find hidden counselors, several of whom got extra creative – up a tree, in an empty(!) trash can! 

Our last several days will be jam-packed with more incredible program opportunities, day hiking trips, the completion of baskets and art projects, healthy and delicious meals, ziplining from the climbing tower, jumping on the water trampoline, the passing of archery, riflery, sailing, windsurfing, and riding levels, an early morning Oak Island swim, Blue/White competition, caring for our chickens and bunnies, end-of-session traditions, dips in the lake, and of course, those unforgettable moments of Camp Runoia magic that all of our Super Star Staff have been working hard to create for our campers. 

Wow – sound like a lot? Sure does, but we always get it done! A huge shoutout to everyone who has made the First Session of Camp Runoia 2021 possible we are so grateful for the opportunity to all be together again in person.

 

Thanks to Sophie B. for blogging and keeping track of our antics.

The power of the pen – handwritten notes are special

Posted on by Alex

I know I have blogged about handwritten letters before.  Again it feels worthy of a mention. It is of great relevance as we are coming up on the camp season and are reminded that contact with the outside world through mail is so valuable. When technology is not accessible a pen and paper is a great connector.

There is some great commentary and many books written about the art and often ‘lost art’ of letter writing. It’s worth acknowledging that in our high tech times, jumping on face time or a zoom is easier than finding pen and paper and the ever illusive correct postage stamp.

I was inspired this week by a photograph on facebook from my camp friend in Australia. Her daughter had asked for letters so I had pooped a note in the mail and after a long and arduous journey she finally had it in her hands. The pure joy on her face was amazing and she apparently slept with it under her pillow. She has never met me and as her mum explained our connection, they looked on the map at how far the letter had traveled. A lot of lessons were learned just through a piece of mail that took a few minutes to write and the cost of a stamp. I am excitedly awaiting my letter back from her. 

The majority of people that I send postal mail to are my camp friends. While we do keep in touch via electronic means we mostly write to each other. It’s so fun to get an unexpected note in the mail and then know it’s your turn to write back at some point. It’s very casual and doesn’t feel like an obligation, we share daily life news and stay up to date with each other when we feel compelled to.

Mail at camp has extra value,  when you are away from home a fun card, or a letter is a treat at rest hour. It is great to see girls get writing too! As it is there only means of communicating there are stacks of letters waiting to go out in the camp mail bag every morning. I hope parents cherish those notes from camp even the ones that just say ‘camp is fun’ in big letters across the whole card. 

I love sorting the mail at camp, the fun stickers on the envelopes, the scrawly handwriting from younger siblings and the formal notes from older relatives. I laugh at the bills that I know will likely go unopened until August. It always reminds me of our larger camp community, the campers that have graduated that still write to camp friends, the parents who were alums and carry on the traditions of Runoia in their family and all of those people at home wondering how much fun we are having on Great Pond. It’s a whole pile of love coming in letter form.

We truly can’t wait for the summer season, so stock up on your stationary because we love getting mail!

Spring migration

Posted on by Alex

The early mornings just after sunrise are noisy again here in Maine. The birds are back! While there are some hardy species that winter over up here many of our feathered friends head off to warmer climates over the winter and only head back north when it warms up. It’s an earlier than usual spring and we had very little snow and it seems like the birds are back earlier. While the migration does start in February it is not as noticeable until the songbirds are back or the large hawks can be seen in the leafless trees along the highways. They come in waves dependent upon when their food source is available. Check out this cool schedule of which birds show up in Maine when.

The noisy Canada Geese are an easy spot; they use Maine at both ends of the summer as a pit stop on their migration travels. The loons that spend winter out on the ocean have returned to the lakes and their calls fill the evening air once again. It’s amazing that birds have an internal clock that tells them it’s time to start fattening up for the trip north. Then head out on their long flight to arrive at just the right time.

If you want more information about Maine birds pick up a field guide there is so much to learn.

The great blue heron is a regular evening visitor in our cove.

The spring migration reminds me so much of camp time. Our campers and staff gather from their far flung locations to come back to their summer home. The winding down of the school year sets in motion the excitement for the coming of summer and the transition to camp. There is planning and preparation, purchases to make, travel to schedule, luggage to pack and then the journey itself. Like the birds we start getting antsy as summer creeps nearer, keen to be on our way but needing to wait until just the right moment to depart.

Pam and Mark will be back first to dust the cobwebs off their summer house and start getting things open and ready for the work crews to come in. The horses will be an early arrival as they like time to settle in and get back into the swing of the Runoia barn routine. Then it’s the staffs turn, coming in from all of their varied locations to bond and build a team for the summer. The most exciting day will be June 27th when finally our girls arrive! To have camp filled with noise and chatter, laughter and singing is what we are all longing for.

We can’t wait for the camp migration to begin.

 

College Search Likens to Camp Search by Jennifer Dresdow

Posted on by Pam Cobb

The college search begins very similarly to the camp search with factors such as location, size, cost and activity/academic focus at the forefront. As a parent to a current senior, COVID has added another layer to the complex process. Not only has it complicated campus visits, but college response to COVID is now a factor as well when looking at pros/cons of campuses. 

We, my daughter Natalie & I, were actually on a college visit trip last March as the country went into various stages of lockdown and campuses sent their students home. Two of our visits were outright canceled and two modified. We’ve been able to visit campuses this fall with screenings and limitations.

Despite all these hurdles, Natalie has been able to visit her top choice schools this fall and has been accepted to her top choices and is waiting to hear from one last school before making a final decision. Having attended Runoia as a camper for nine summers, a CIT for one summer, and working as Junior Counselor last summer, Natalie found camp to be an obvious choice around which to mold her college essay. Specifically she wrote about Camp in the Time of Covid. Having learned so many lessons about perseverance and the power of camp during this trying time in our history, she was anything but short of material.

As an equestrian, a college with a strong equestrian team was a priority for her. Second, she plans to major in math education, with a goal of teaching middle school math in the future, so a strong teaching program was a necessity. As far as location, Natalie knew she didn’t want to be too cold. As much as she loves Maine in the summer, far north schools were eliminated early. Natalie attends a large high school with 400 in her class, but loves the small community of Runoia, so she narrowed her search to schools with enrollment under 2500. Finally, while gender was not a factor, she has two all girls schools on her final list. Having spent eleven summers at Runoia full season, she values the single gender experience and knows the benefits of building quality relationships with other women.

Senior year has been challenging, as many of your have experienced. Our school system started late due to COVID. Then we were virtual, switched to hybrid, with Natalie attending every two days, then back to virtual after Thanksgiving. We returned to hybrid mode last week for our 2nd semester. Natalie has missed connecting with her friends at school. The riding barn she belongs to has proven to be a place of solace.  A naturally social distanced sport, riding is one thing she can do and it feels fairly normal. 

Just like we hope camp can feel a little more normal this summer, we hope some spring rites of passage can happen. A carefully sought after prom dress still hangs in her closet from last spring and cap and gown are ordered for graduation. Working at camp last summer has left us both with a “Masks up, let’s go” attitude. We have continued to explore schools and take safe trips with the “new normal” precautions. We are both ready to dive into another summer at Runoia and then settling Natalie into college this fall, wherever her final decision may land her.

JMG – A college application essay topic

Posted on by Alex

The Junior Maine Guide (JMG) program has been a mainstay at Camp Runoia for decades. It provides older campers with the opportunity to participate in a Maine State, organized youth program that develops and tests their wilderness skills. It is a rigorous program that can take a couple of years to accomplish. Camp develops all kinds of life skills and becoming a  JMG is a huge achievement but the process also has great value.

This weeks guest blog is Lilly Grace’s college application essay that focused on her time working towards becoming a JMG.

Common App Main Essay by Lilly Grace
To the average person, building a roaring fire with a soaking wet billet of wood, an axe and just a few matches may seem like a nearly impossible task. After all, that’s what I thought as I was first learning how to make a “wet day fire.” However, what most people don’t realize is that the dryness of a billet is irrelevant to one’s ability to build a “wet day fire.” Rather, what is most critical to their success is practice, preparation, and an ability to persevere through
setbacks until ultimately satisfied. Building a wet day fire is a mentally and physically challenging skill that is just one of twenty-one tests to become a Junior Maine Guide. Although the process of becoming a Junior Maine Guide was only intended to teach me wilderness skills, I believe it was the most rewarding experience of my life thus far because I gained more than just a vast amount of knowledge about the wilderness. I also took this unique opportunity to
learn and develop critical life skills.

The wet day fire test
One thing that I learned quickly upon arrival at the five day testing encampment is that candidates must be organized, disciplined, and confident in order to succeed in this environment where there is little structure. I had three full days to complete twenty-one tests at any time and in no specific order. I lacked those three essential qualities that I needed, and JMG presented additional challenges that I had never had to tackle before in school. However, as I had learned from my past experiences, success is something that does not come easily to me and has always required more time, effort and motivation on my part. Therefore, these challenges that I was presented with were simply just a few hurdles in reaching my goal.Throughout the three summers, I was committed to gaining the skills needed to succeed.
I overcame my organizational challenges by making study and testing schedules that were essential to keeping myself motivated and on track throughout the summer, and I made sure to stick to them. I learned how to study in more exciting and efficient ways that developed my self-discipline. For example, when learning locations on the map of Maine, my friends and I would place M&Ms on the different locations and if we guessed the location correct, we were
rewarded with the candy. As for my time-management, I learned that using a watch was extremely beneficial to budgeting my time and ensuring that I was able to complete every test in the short time frame. And once I learned that I could build a Wet Day Fire and solo a canoe with ease, I knew I had the confidence to take on anything.

Becoming a Junior Maine Guide has been, by far, the proudest moment of my life, as I knew it was something that I worked so hard to accomplish on my own. This rigorous program typically takes two years to complete, however it took me three. While some people may perceive my additional year in the program as a failure, I choose to see it as a blessing in disguise. I struggle with ADHD and weak executive functioning skills, which is something that affects my everyday life, but I clearly have never let it stop me. In fact, I believe that I have made more improvement with my executive functioning skills through trial and error in the JMG program than I ever have in a school classroom. In the end, I proved to myself and others that I am exceedingly capable of persevering through my learning challenges to accomplish anything that is important to me. It just might take some additional time and effort.

The Harmonyville Quilt Project

Posted on by Pam Cobb

We are commemorating our summer of Harmonyville Camp during the 2020 pandemic with an all camp quilt project. This fall I was catching up with my friend and camp director peer, MJ Parry. She is the executive director of Fleur de Lis. She gleaned some ideas from me about how we ran camp during Covid and I picked up this idea of a camp quilt project from her.  The greatest part of the camp industry aside from helping youth and adults stretch and grow and build lifelong skills, is the way camp directors share and pool knowledge.

My co-director, Alex Jackson, and I have talked with numerous camps who wanted to know what we did to run camp safely in 2020. We have been on a panel discussion with through Maine Summer Camps Education Committee to help other directors see a path forward in 2021.  I have been interviewed for a blog with CampMinder, a national online camp information tool. One of our doctors is being interviewed for the American Camp Association’s “Camping” magazine about how we ran camp. We share.

I shared the quilt idea with Alex and she latched onto it with excitement. I asked Alex if she would write a limerick to showcase the quilt project. She is so clever!

The Great Harmonyville Camp Quilt

Harmonyville camp was a blast

Great memories that will certainly last

“Masks up and Let’s Go!”

We soon got in the flow

This quilt will commemorate the past

We came up with the instructions people would need to make their square.  Alex mailed the quilt squares to all the Harmonyville campers and staff so they can contribute their square to the quilt project with the limerick and instructions and some fun stickers on each envelope. We are seeking quilters to help compile the project this winter. The finished quilt(s) will hang in the Dining Hall and Den to remind people that Runoia girls have grit, determination, courage, love and kindness.

Love,

Aionur

P.S. Are you one of the CRH participants who enjoyed camp this past summer? Do you have a square of fabric sitting on your desk or counter top?  Sketch out your design of what the summer meant to you and get it back in the mail to camp soon!, A deadline of December 15 is set for your square to be included so our quilters can quilt this winter. Let’s go #runoiagals!

 

 

The Work

Posted on by Pam Cobb

We started our work this summer with the pressure of COVID and a full-on effort to provide camp with physical and emotional safety for campers and staff being paramount.  The rest of the world was going on outside our bubble including the tragic killings of Breonna Taylor, George Floyd, Ahmaud Aubery, Dion Johnson, Travon Martin, and too many others. We were all consumed in our mission about Camp Runoia Harmonyville 2020 and not thinking about the message silence was creating for our organization.

On June 2, I received a wake up email from three of our 15 year old campers. “We are disappointed you have not made a stance on Black Lives Matter. What is your stance?” We were so focused on how we could operate camp during a global pandemic that we had overlooked the importance of sharing our belief that Black Lives Matter and moreover, being a strong female organization where girls specifically need to be lifted up, that Black Women Matter. Thanks to Emily, Keira and Margo for helping us to get to work.

And we went to work. I didn’t even know the expression, The Work, I’d known Diversity, Equity and Inclusion work but not The Work. Hello! I like it. For 30 years we felt we started the work. We had reached families of color to include them to attend camp, we reviewed our hiring practices to try to find more people of color for summer camp jobs in with college students majoring in education, health care and social work. We provided staff training about celebrating differences and inclusivity. I’d been on conference panels about diversity in camp in our very white northeastern privileged resident camps. We were doing work other camps hadn’t even considered. In the late 1990s we added our Community Statement in our Staff Manual – a statement that needs revising and updating:

Camp Runoia has fostered a culture of celebrating diversity and encouraging campers and staff from around the world with a spectrum of socio-economic backgrounds as well as different religious backgrounds.  Each person in the community is treated with respect and acceptance regarding their race, religion, country of origin, sexual orientation, creed, socio-economic standing, gender, disability, and culture.

Our work so far is just the tip of the iceberg. We need to do more. This summer we did a few things immediately to support Black Lives Matter thanks to the prompts of our 15 year old campers. We researched and made a plan. We celebrated Juneteenth with staff (camp was not yet open on June 19), we implemented a three part anti-racism training for staff during our upcoming staff training with anti-racism trainer, Love Foy.  We added books to our library on diversity and inclusion as well as novels with black protagonists. We created a Black Women Matter advisory board to the Runoia administrators with four alumnae who are people of color, plus a representative from the 15 year old group and one Runoia administrator. We removed the old bell post at camp that clearly screamed cultural appropriation that we had never seen before. It had just always been there and was carved by two women back in the 1930s. It seemed innocent although I never liked that there was a man at the top of the bell post at our girls camp. Blinders are hazardous. We took it down to go in our future museum and our 16 year old CITs with no prompting proposed they make a new bell post. they did it! Incredible!

When I read the newsletter, Ideas in Progress, by Crystal Williams, Vice President and Associate Provost for Community and Inclusion at Boston University, I realize we have so much more work to do. Our book club just met to discuss How to be An Antiracist. I purchased it from a black owned bookstore. If you’ve not read the book and want to visit with Brene Brown and Ibram X Kendi, here’s the podcast. Supporting black owned businesses is another way we are doing the work. I need to pace myself because I feel we are so far behind it is overwhelming. After just attending a conference on DEI, in virtual breakout rooms I heard from others that they feel overwhelmed. We can take small steps toward affecting change and success. Here’s one way we can start. Share with your family about 10 phrases that are racists that you may be surprised to learn and practice removing them from your vocabulary. Be kind. Be patient. It takes time to unlearn.

In summary we have a lot to do. Alex and I have been connecting about how to honor the people who lived and walked on the land our camp is on before we arrived. Stay in touch and we’ll have more to share!

Love, Aionur

The Unique Treasures of Maine

Posted on by Pam Cobb

When we share the unique treasures of Maine, we reveal the value proposition of our magical Pine Tree State.  During this unprecedented pandemic, we Mainers feel fortunate to live, work and play in a state where clean, fresh air, quality water sources and majestic natural settings are just a few of the vast resources that help keep us healthy, happy and safe.  We also live in a state where the elderly nest, millennials ignite and baby boomers find their roots.

There are indeed economies of scale, but there isalso incredible opportunities to embrace “the way life should be”. If one can find the best balance of work and innovation anywhere, they can find it in Maine. Helping our buyer & seller clients to find their best path of lifelong learning and living in Maine is like making the best patch of chocolate chip cookies.  You only want to use the best ingredients (your strategic partners).  Follow a well-crafted plan of action (the best recipe).  Pay attention to the bake time (do your due diligence).  And finally, share the baked goods with the ones you love (the dream home).

If you want to explore Maine, I’m here to help you find your dream home. Also, my real estate partner, Derrick Buckspan, and our REMAX Shoreline team are available to hear about your favorite house recipe and share our best approach about buying & selling  Maine real estate .  We’re here to help you mix up your very best patch! Please feel free to give us a confidential call or contact us @ team@mainepropertysource.com or 207 831 8159

Our friend, peer and camp director of Birch Rock Camp , Rich Deering wrote this guest blog this week and we asked him to put in his contact information. He is a friend to many, lives the BRC motto “help the other fellow” and is the 2020 recipient of the

 

 

Halsey Gulick Award

Thanks Rich!

Love, Aionur

Moving forward – covid camp ‘experts’

Posted on by Alex

We are in demand. We have become an overnight sensation as covid camp ‘experts’. Having been one of the very few camps that opened for campers this summer, many of our professional peers want to know how we did it. What was the magic plan that we used to operate camp with all of the required protocols and stay covid free? How can it help others as they work towards summer 2021? The conversations are engaging and also help us to process our own experience as we grow from this past summer and plan for next season. We are by no means ‘experts’ but we have some good experience to share. Our Maine camp community is committed to helping all types of camps so that more campers can have a great camp experience if what we did can help others we are happy to chat.

We are still riding high on our success, proud of the efforts that we put in and the outcomes that resulted so are happy to talk about the things that we learned and the pieces that did and didn’t work well. We do however caution that what worked for us may not work for others. Our plan was specific to our camp, worked because of the amazing people involved and was supported by our Runoia families. It is still  hard to know how 2021 may shake out and what restrictions will be in place at that time so right now broad strokes are the planning way to go. We also clearly see that not everything that was successful for us at Runoia will work for other programs. 

Before heading into our 2020 summer we educated ourselves as best we could and learned an awful lot of new information. From reading and absorbing endless amounts of literature,  listening to medical professionals who as camp parents really understood the context of what we were trying to accomplish and also from having a staff that totally bought into providing our campers with the best experience possible under the circumstances we were able to devise a plan that would work for us. Even when there were day to day changes in advice and protocols we stayed true to what we believed were the best options for Runoia.

As schools now struggle through the fall semester we see plans instigated then modified with a population that is far less containable than camp. With hybrid models and distance learning being a reality for many students we wonder what kind of emotional shape our kids will be in by next summer. School is hard right now, teachers and administrators are doing their best and trying to provide for all children, meet curriculum requirements and follow state mandated protocols. I can navigate the management of a whole camp a lot easier than I can the schedules of my two children in different schools alongside my own job.  Come June camp will be a welcome relief for everyone.

The unpredictable and shifting school year is very disconcerting and the anxiety of a possible school based covid 19 outbreak is always looming. We know that by the summer our campers will be ready for the simple security of being on Great Pond with friends enjoying participating in fun outdoor camp activities. 

As we chat with our peers we remind them to look at what they value most about their camp. The relationships, the beautiful facility, the history and traditions. We must all  move forward with courage knowing that camps can open safely and can continue to provide children with healthy, intentionally developmental outdoor experiences.  We can learn from the experiences of this past summer and be ready for an amazing season in 2021.

We can’t wait to celebrate Runoia’s 115th season.