Monthly To-Do List for Family Camp Circle

January

• Identify potential Family Camp directors or co-directors and advisors. Contact them to check if they are interested and available. If no Family Camp director can be identified by the end of January, the issue will have to be discussed with the Operations Team and the Council to determine if we still should apply for Camp Shehaqua with the park rangers.
• In 2017, the PA State Park rangers added this requirement: “The camp must be under the immediate direction of a trained camp director, a person of mature judgement and at least 25 years of age.” If the weekend program director is younger than 25, make a plan to find an adult who can be at camp as a codirector, to represent the program leadership with the rangers.

• Decide dates for weeks and weekend program and let the Pocono Family Ministry secretary know (as of April 2018, the position is held by Kyra Moyer). The application has to be signed and submitted to the Hickory Run State Park by the secretary of Pocono Family Ministry.

• Submit a budget. Financial circle usually sends out a reminder. (From our guidebook: "Each circle puts together an itemized budget request for their estimated yearly expenses by February 1 and sends it to the Financial Circle.")

• Discuss progress of search for cooks

• Discuss the production of the t-shirt

• Discuss results from action steps of last meeting

February

• Match camp directors/codirectors with advisors

• Decide who can be liaison between Family Camp Circle and program director for each program
• Encourage camp directors to start recruiting key staff positions, such as chef/cook, move in/move out coordinator, general affairs, etc. Support where needed.

• Make sure camp staff is balanced between generations to avoid having one week with primarily small kids and another with primarily older kids. Weeks that have a lot of young families will struggle to fill the necessary volunteer assignments. Mixed camps work best for everyone.

• Camp Directors should recruit appropriate education director(s), possibly with suggestions from Family Camp Circle.

• Discuss results from action steps of last meeting

March

• Continue to encourage camp directors to start recruiting key staff positions, such as cook, move in/move out coordinator, general affairs, etc. Support where needed.

• Coordinate with registrar and webmaster about registration

• Coordinate with newsletter editor to announce Family Camp registration. Save the date announcement usually goes out in early March, and registration opens at the end of March or early April. (It opened April 2 in 2017.)

• Discuss progress of search for cooks, move in/move out director, and other important staff positions

• Decide on a date to go over Shehaqua policies with camp directors (use Guidebook/Wiki). Policies that program directors need to read and understand:
  • Pennsylvania State Park Regulations
  • General Shehaqua Program Policies
  • Financial Policies
  • Administrative Discounts
  • Shehaqua Code of Conduct
  • Shehaqua Data Privacy

• Discuss results from action steps of last meeting

April

• Work with social media coordinator to create a Facebook Event page
• Encourage camp directors and staff to make presentations at Sunday Services, etc. in local communities
• Ask advisors for report on how their camp directors are doing
• Discuss survey/reflection form. Will the Family Camp Circle provide a survey that both Weeks can use? Who can create it/update last year’s survey forms?
• Help directors to familiarize themselves with our registration system and start assigning volunteer roles on that document
• Discuss results from action steps of last meeting

May

• Coordinate with newsletter editor and social media coordinator to remind people of early bird deadline (May 31)
• Inform registrar by May 24 at the very latest about staff members who are entitled to administrative discounts.
• Remind camp directors that all staff members (including the camp director himself) who are entitled to administrative discounts register by May 24, one week before the early bird deadline (May 31 for Family Camp) so the registrar can make the adjustments in time. This is especially important for reduced fees, so the payments can be made in time. If they don't register by that date, they will not receive the full administrative discount. That includes the camp director.
• Work with social media coordinator to create a Facebook Event page
• Coordinate the ordering of the t-shirts and mugs
• Hold second conference call with directors, discuss among other things transitions of leadership between programs, move-in and move-out details, etc.
• Encourage camp directors and staff to make presentations at Sunday Services, etc. in local communities
• Ensure that camp directors are aware of deadlines to submit documents that need to be printed by registrar
• Ask advisors for report on how their camp directors are doing
• Discuss results from action steps of last meeting

June

• Coordinate with newsletter editor and social media coordinator to remind people of regular fee deadline (June 30)
• Encourage camp directors and staff to make presentations at Sunday Services, etc. in local communities
• Ensure that camp directors are aware of deadlines to submit documents that need to be printed by registrar
• Ensure that camp directors are aware which documents they or their education director will need to be print themselves: Schedule, education materials, HDK materials, reflection forms, group leader manual
• Make sure the camp directors are aware that they need to buy the notebooks and pens for the education sessions as well as the writing of reflections
• Make sure the camp directors are aware that they need to buy supplies such as markers and pens
• Make sure someone orders the candles for the candlelight prayer
• Make sure someone picks up the t-shirts and mugs

July

• Discuss results from action steps of last meeting
• Discuss last minute issues regarding the upcoming programs

August

• Identify potential Family Camp directors or co-directors and advisors for next year. Contact them to check if they are interested and available.
• Request reports from camp directors, education directors, and possibly other key positions such as general affairs manager, kitchen chef, cleanup coordinator, registrar, move in/move out coordinator, etc
• Discuss results from action steps of last meeting

September

• Identify potential Family Camp directors or co-directors and advisors. Contact them to check if they are interested and available.
• Evaluate reports from camp directors, education directors, and other key positions. Suggest changes to policies, practices, volunteer job descriptions, Guidebook checklists etc. if needed to Operations Team and/or Council
• Discuss results from action steps of last meeting

October

• Identify potential Family Camp directors or co-directors and advisors. Contact them to check if they are interested and available.
• Discuss results from action steps of last meeting
• Determine the signup process/applications for new camp directors. Should they apply through the online form? Will it have to be updated? If not, how can we get them to make a solid commitment?

November

• Identify potential Family Camp directors or co-directors and advisors. Contact them to check if they are interested and available.
• Discuss result from action steps of last meeting

December

• Identify potential Family Camp directors or co-directors and advisors. Contact them to check if they are interested and available.
• Discuss results from action steps of last meeting