resources (documents for review)

Get yourself prepped to have the best volunteer experience possible by familiarizing yourself with the following:

• Staff Handbook (contains emergency procedures, prep materials, and medical overview)

• Camp theme and theme days (in case you want to bring coordinating clothing or accessories)

• Packing List (essentials to bring to camp)

  • Camp or stadium chair to be elevated during picnic lunches

• Staff Dress Code (bring comfortable & camp-appropriate clothing)

• Directions to Camp (once you ferry over, driving directions are pretty easy)

• Songbook with Grace options (favorite camp song lyrics)

• Acronym List (camp vocabulary and acronyms)

• Staff name list (to help first-time staffers choose a camp name)

• Camp Schedule (subject to change; same for June and July)

staff insights

• Camper check-in & welcome gauntlet: Some check-in stations will be outdoors (including the welcome table, the nurses, luggage, and mail). The photo station will be inside Grisham and the gauntlet will occur on Grisham’s back patio (like pre-COVID times). Parents will drop off camper’s belongings in a designated area and camp staff will transport it to cabins; parents will not accompany campers to their cabins.

• Camper check out & closing ceremony: we will end camp on Saturday with a Closing Ceremony in the amphitheater. Each cabin will be called to the stage one-by-one, will briefly share, and will then sit back down. Once all groups have shared, we’ll have a final dance party ending in a reverse gauntlet. Staff will lead campers to upper field where campers wait to be called to be reunited with their parents.

• Meals: the majority of meals will be eaten indoors in the dining hall except for planned picnic lunches. If a camper needs to eat outside on the patio area because of sensory issues, ensure they receive their meds first.

• STOs: staff are allowed to leave the camp property for their scheduled/approved time off; no masking is required, eating indoors is OK.

• Dance: Friday night’s dance will happen outdoors in Upper Field.

illness (including covid) protocols & guidelines

It’s important that all of us know and adhere to the following. We cannot stop illness, including COVID, but we can employ layered protocols to help deter spreadable illnesses from entering and spreading during camp. *The following are subject to change if circumstances and mandates change.

VACCINATIONS:

• All staff are required to have had their primary COVID vaccination series. Boosters are highly recommended but not required.

• All staff should have had their childhood vaccinations, such as MMR, Polio, Chicken Pox, etc.

PRE-CAMP:

• Staff with any symptoms, including fever, runny nose, cough, rash, or COVID/confirmed exposure to COVID, should not attend camp.

• If a staff member gets ill leading up to camp, please reach out to S’mores immediately. He will consult with the nursing staff to determine next steps and eligibility.

DURING CAMP:

• Staff should report symptoms of their own illness (or that of a camper) immediately to a nurse; including runny nose, cough, fever, chills, diarrhea.

• The nursing team will assess the staff member or camper and it is up to them and/or the camp provider whether any symptom or ailment is cause to be sent home.

• All staff consent to a rapid COVID test during camp if they become symptomatic or were exposed to a COVID-positive person.

• If a camper or cabin counselor tests positive for COVID during camp, that individual will be sent home immediately. The remainder of the cabin will stay (unless a parent asks to pick up their child) and will be monitored for symptoms. Any non-cabin staff that tests positive will be sent home immediately.

sto’s:

• Staff are permitted to leave camp for their scheduled time off (STO). No masking is required; eating in a restaurant is permitted.

covid cases:

• We do not want any campers or staffers to get COVID during camp, but we are approaching this with a realistic lens. We ask that everyone take all the big and small steps they can to help keep camp COVID-free.

ONBOARDING: Forms & Documents, Online Training

Onboarding tasks are divided into two phases:

Phase 1: Documentation—the following reside in the Forms & Documents section of your CampMinder account (by the yellow pencil icon). All forms and documents must be completed by June 1.

• Confidentiality Policy

• Emergency Contact/Pickup

• Immunizations

• Personnel Policies & Acknowledgement

• Staff Health Information

• *Insurance Waiver (only required of those without health insurance)

• *Staff Handbook (ensure you read prior to camp)

Phase 2: Pre-Camp Online Staff Training—each staffer will be assigned approximately 2 hours of online training and quizzes. You can complete your entire assignment at once or choose to do modules over a number of days.

• On June 1, each staffer will receive an email, with the subject line “Camp Goodtimes: Expert Online Training (Due June 16).”

• It contains your login and password.