An Overview of the Ohio 4H Camping Program

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An Overview of the Ohio 4-H Camping Program

• Developed by Niki Nestor McNeely Presented on
  behalf of the Ohio 4-H Camping Priority Team

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How Big is 4-H Camping in Ohio?

• Camping is recognized as one of the four primary
  4-H program delivery methods in Ohio and across
  the United States.
• The number of 4-H campers in Ohio is the fourth
  highest number in the country, behind Georgia,
  Massachusetts, and New York.

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How Big is 4-H Camping in Ohio?

• Number of campers 28,914
• Number of camp sessions 1,704
• Number of camp counselors 2,575
• 15 facilities are utilized by Ohio 4-H Camps
• Based on 2003 Statistics
• Based on 2004 Statistics

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How Big is 4-H Camping in Ohio?

• Canters Cave 4-H Camp
• 4-H Camp Conger
• 4-H Camp Hervida
• 4-H Camp Clifton
• 4-H Camp Piedmont
• 4-H Camp Graham
• 4-H Camp Ohio
• 4-H Camp Palmer

• 4-H Camp Whitewood
• Harbor Point
• Indian Hills 4-H Camp
• Kellys Island 4-H Camp
• Richland Rural Life Center
• Tar Hollow
• YMCA Camp Kern

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• SHOW MAP FROM WEBSITE

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How We Do 4-H Camp?

• Just one county or multi-county
• All ages, age groups
• Length of camp -1 to 6 days
• Utilization of volunteers
• Role of camp counselors
• Individual philosophy of camp planning and
  implementation

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How We DO 4-H Camp?

• Where we do it
• How far from our county
• Lake, pool, river, or combination
• Size of cabins
• Flat or hills
• Large or small
• Each one unique with its own feel

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What the Facilities Provide?

• Craft hall, nature room, marked trails
• Inside/outside space
• Shooting sports, ropes, ASE, courts, miniature
  golf, cliffs, ball field,
• Natural setting-woods, stream, pond, fishing
• PA system? Throughout camp? In dining hall?
• In rec hall? With record, cassette, CD player?

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Role of the 4-H Educator

• Who owns the camp
• Year round or seasonal
• Full time manager or executive director
• Number of program staff members
• Role of program staff
• If you have to take the food, cooks, and
  lifeguards with you

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What We Have in Common?

• Organized camping is a sustained experience that
  provides a creative, recreational, and
  educational opportunity in group living in the
  out-of-doors. It utilizes trained leadership and
  the resources of natural surroundings to
  contribute to each campers mental, physical,
  social, and spiritual growth (ACA, 1998).

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What We Have in Common

• Positive youth development outcomes
• Involvement of teen counselors in meaningful
  leadership roles for positive youth development
• Value experiential learning and 8 key elements of
  positive youth development
• 4-H Name, emblem, reputation
• Extension resources, policies, guidelines
• Expectation to offer a high quality residential
  camping program that upholds 4-H standards

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• One of the greatest challenges in youth
  development is clearly identifying how schools,
  youth serving agencies, camps, and others can
  each play an effective, complementary role in
  helping young people on their journey to
  productive adulthood.

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• Positive youth development is an interrelated
  process that involves all the influencers in a
  childs life, working together to build
  childrens resilience to the stresses and
  challenges they encounter in the everyday world.
  The role of camps in this tapestry of experiences
  cannot be overstated. (American Camping
  Association, 2003)

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• It has been widely acknowledged by a variety
  of youth development professionals that the
  involvement in a positive camp experience has
  both worth and value and contributes in multiple
  ways to the growth and development of the youth
  who participate as campers (ACA, 2003 Chenery,
  1981 Garst Johnson, 2003).

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Camping Professional Development Opportunities

• Proposal Deadline for Mid States ACA October 31,
  100 stipend
• http//www.acamidstates.org/callforpresentation.h
  tm
• Dramaties, Incorporating Dramatics into Camp
  Programs, Columbus, Dec 3
• Ohio ACA Conference, Columbus, January 26
• National ACA Conference, Chicago, Feb 7-10

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Camping Professional Development Opportunities

• National 4-H Camping Institute, South Dakota Feb
  17-21
• Ohio 4-H Teen Conference, Columbus, Feb 25
• Ohio 4-H Volunteer Conf, Columbus, Mar 11
• ACA Mid-States Conference, Chicago, April 6-8
• Camp Live!, Deercreek State Park, Sept 19-20
• International Camping Congress, Quebec, October,
  2008

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Announcements

• Camp Counselor lessons
• Camping Website
• Camping Priority team website
• Dramaties
• Spring camp counselor training weekend

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Todays Objectives

• Provide a 4-H camping professional development
  opportunity
• Share lessons that you can utilize in your
  camping program
• Network with other extension professionals about
  camping
• Increase knowledge and skills in experiential
  learning, risk management issues, counselor
  recruitment and retention, camp management

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Promotion and Marketing Ideas

• Hold the date card
• Paragraph on marketing
• Life skills
• Bring the camp postcard