Helpful Camp Tidbit: Emailing Parents While At Camp

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E-mailing parents while at camp can let them know that their son or daughter is being well cared for and having a great time.


In an effort to keep parents in the loop, one staff person nightly e-mailed the parents of the kids whom she took to camp so that they would know what their son or daughter had done that day. She also attached pictures in each of her e-mails.


Below are examples of the letters she sent on day one and seven.
Day One at Windy Gap
Hey parents,
Well day one has happened, and everyone is snug in their beds ... well almost!
We had an easy trip in, with a stop in Knoxville for lunch at Five Guys! We arrived at camp with about 50 people standing at the doors of the van and buses to cheer for us and clap as we ran off to then be welcomed by the camp staff!
We had some free time and managed to hit the basketball courts, take naps (some of us), mingle, meet new friends, run into friends we knew from school, etc. From there we headed to our first amazing dinner — the food here is incredible! Then to games, a camp tour and into our first Young Life club of the week! Yup, 400 people singing, dancing, playing silly games and hearing about Jesus!
A highlight was that we sang Your Love is Deep, which is a song that we sing at club every week with hand motions! All of our friends stood up and did the motions as we sang; it was beautiful!
The program (funny) guys came out and sold the "obstacle course." We put on our messy clothes, got war paint on our faces, Andrew led us in warm up stretches, had a ride in the back of pick-up trucks (I think everyone's favorite part — I have never seen Jon smile, laugh and talk so much!), ran through the woods with Whitney, Elizabeth and Lizzy being carried by "hot summer staff boys," climbed tire walls, ran through mud, did a maze in the dark while being pegged by water balloons and then ran through a huge shower/sprinkler system at the end!
We're settling in after showers, laughing and showing off our muscles from accomplishing the obstacle course — with no tears!
Here are a few pictures from the night! More to come tomorrow.
Suzanne
Day Seven at Windy Gap
Hello parents,
Well, they are all home snug in your beds ... exhausted and with minds full of fun memories!
We had a wonderful last day at camp! The chance to sleep in, an incredible brunch and free time ALL day until we had to start packing and cleaning!
With it being the last day at camp we had to fit in everything that we possibly could — the Screamer swing, water slide, pool, hot tub, snack bar, bead cart, store and hanging out with old and new friends!
I can't thank you all enough for the privilege of getting to spend the week with your son or daughter. We enjoyed every minute of our week and were thrilled to have your son/daughter with us for it!  We rejoiced as they conquered fear, tried new things, made new friends, asked great questions about Jesus, had wonderful attitudes, helped each other, made us laugh, changed perceptions and showed us all what it meant to have the best week of your life!
As leaders, we will continue to rejoice in the memories of our week, grateful for you all and for the opportunity that you gave us!
I'm excited to go through all 1,100 photos that we took this week, as well as all of the video footage, to print pictures and to make a DVD of our time together!
Gratefully,
Suzanne

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