We are half-way through Session 5 at Ockanickon, our final 2-week session of the summer. This has been a summer of change at Camp Ockanickon, and the campers are letting us know that they’re enjoying the program by enrolling for additional sessions as the summer progresses. We’ll detail most of the programming changes in the fall, as there is too much for a single blog post!  However, I am happy to discuss some of the changes made as a direct response to our customer feedback efforts, as my fourth post in our series of blog posts.  Check back next week for a post tying it all together!

What’s new at Ockanickon?

One of the most important points of feedback we received was that camper families wanted more of a connection to camp throughout the year, and during the summer as well.  We post photos of our campers daily during the summer for camper families to check out each night, but clearly there is more that we can do to connect our camp families with camp. As we say at Ockanickon… camp is good, so more camp is better! So we asked, what could we do to give campers and families more camp?

Of course, the answer is lots – and we’re just getting started!  First, we have done more to communicate with camp families from the point of registration throughout the non-summer months leading up to the start of camp. We have utilized family emails as a way to help prepare our campers for camp, and to discuss important information and changes in advance of the summer.

Further, we put together a number of blog posts and other social media content to connect our camp families to camp during the non-summer months, and also to showcase some of the fun new things we were planning in advance of the summer. If you haven’t already, please give our Facebook pages a ‘like’: YMCA Camp Ockanickon, Inc. and Ockanickon for Boys.  The latter Facebook page was created specifically for Ockanickon campers and families, and has been used to showcase returning staff, highlight new camp programs, provide camp updates during the summer, and also delve into some of the fun things going on at camp.

Beyond emails and social media, a copy of our camp newspaper, the Blue Feather Press, was also mailed to all of our 2016 camp families this spring to highlight some of the fun things in store for this summer.  Finally, we found other ways to connect families to camp by hosting some fun, free activities, including several ‘Family Dinner Nights’ where families could disconnect from their devices, eat dinner together, and enjoy some quality bonding time at camp. We also hosted a ‘Family Fun Day’ in the spring where we invited our 2016 and 2017 camp families to spend a day at camp enjoying programming and touring the grounds. Family Fun Day was a hit, and we’re excited to make it even better in 2018!

As for the programming, well… you’ll have to check back for more posts in the coming weeks!  Thanks for reading, and check back next week for a final thought on our 2017 camp changes.

Greg Keresztury, Director of Operations
YMCA Camp Ockanickon, Inc.
gregk@ycamp.org | 609.678.1515 (direct line)