Background

Established in 1926, Camp Waldemar is a girls-only camp in Hunt, Texas, approximately 80 miles northwest of San Antonio. Waldemar’s mission is to provide a wholesome and fun atmosphere, and a unique and valuable experience, where each person can grow spiritually, mentally, and physically in becoming her finest self. The camp hosts approximately 800 girls each summer, ranging from 4th – 11th grades. In the off-season, Waldemar is a sought-after destination for weddings and events.

For the last eight years, Waldemar has been using camp software from the Active Network to manage photo, email and news services for its camp community. A veteran eCamp customer, George Anne Elmore, assistant camps director at Waldemar, shares her best practices in bringing the Waldemar camp community together through online photos, news and emails.

Solution

Prior to using Active Network’s eCamp software, Waldemar parents relied on a weekly newspaper and a phone hotline to receive updates about their campers. Now parents not only receive updates daily, but they also have access to news, photos and one-way emails to stay connected and to enjoy the camp experience along with their campers.

George Anne notes, “the eCamp Photos and Email service has been a great tool for Waldemar. Our parents and families are very dependent on news, photo, and email service which offers peace of mind and keeps the camp community connected each day.“

Photos

“The eCamp photo service just might be the easiest and most fun part of the business side. Photos offer parents a sense of security to know their children are safe and having fun.” In fact, Waldemar hires two photographers each summer to take 400- 500 photos each day. The photographs are then uploaded onto the eCamp site for parents to access at their leisure.

With Active Network eCamp services, parents can not only purchase photos, but also photo memorabilia, such as t-shirts, key chains and coffee mugs. For every photo and merchandise purchase, Waldemar earns a commission on the sales, making the photo service an additional revenue stream. Up to five years of photos are archived, making it easy for parents to access photos from previous years to add to scrapbooks or photo albums.

“In the off season, the eCamp photo service is great for our wedding and event customers.”

News

“The eCamp software makes it really easy to post articles and news; so much so that we post news up to twice a day.”

In the area surrounding Hunt, floods can sometimes be a concern for Waldemar campers and their parents. Where the phone hotline used to be swamped with calls during flood warnings, George Anne can now offer parents reassurance with immediate news updates online.

“Our tribal drawings are perhaps the biggest night of camp. We have fourth generation campers here and their families all want to know which color tribe their camper has been selected into. Within two minutes of tribe selections, our parents are already online looking for the updates, instead of having to wait to get through one of our four phone lines.”

Email

At Camp Waldemar, parents and designated family members have the opportunity to send emails to their campers every day to stay in touch and keep them informed on news from home. Parents send their emails to Waldemar by 6:00 a.m. and the emails are sorted and put in their boxes by 9:00 a.m. The emails can be sorted by bunk, tribal color or counselor for fast and easy distribution.

“Our campers love receiving these emails. It really makes such a difference to still feel connected to loved ones.”

The eCamp system filters inbound emails for inappropriate content which can be taken out and given to the director for her discretion. Once the emails are received, Waldemar is able to view reports to measure the use of the email system, including how many emails are received daily, how many emails are sent to individual campers, and more.

“It’s nice to be able to reprint old emails since the system archives them by camper. I cannot tell you how handy that feature is...”

Results

“Our parents are so pleased with the enhanced communication Camp Waldemar is now able to provide through Active’s eCamp system.” The easy-to-use software enhances and extends the campers’ experience through photos and emails, builds referrals within the camp community, and generates additional revenue and value when photos and merchandise are purchased from the site. “Our parent community depends on news and now we’re able to deliver it beyond their expectations.”

Best Practices

1. Set expectations. Let parents know when to expect news and photos, and when emails must be received, and stick to the schedule to avoid concerned parents.
2. Listen to parents’ needs. If they need more communication, less photos or a different email time, do what you can to accommodate their needs. The eCamp system is designed to require a minimal investment of time and effort for camp staff, yet build a great referral community of parents.
3. Use quality photos. View the eCamp photo service as an e-commerce site. The better the photos, the more parents will purchase them. The goal is capture the spirit of the camp, from small group and staged shots to action photos and close‑ups.