Great Camp Makeover 2012

Last week we had the privilege to host a volunteer group from Greenwood Indiana.  This team is made up of a student ministry led by Mike Bandy.  They have been a part of getting camp ready for the summer since the beginning of the SpringHill Indiana property back in 1999. This year they brought more than 70 volunteers who worked for an entire week. We are so honored and humbled by the dedication and service we have seen out of these students year in and year out.  Seeing the hard-work and long days these teens put in is a true testament to their understanding of service and the heart of their leader Mike.  We are so thankful for everything they accomplished this past week.  The photos attached to this post only begin to show some of the projects they were involved with, including; staining, putting up the tents, decking the party barge, weeding, raking, cleaning, scrubbing and building.  Since you may not know this group personally, I encourage you to leave a comment below thanking them for their heard work and service that has made camp possible once again.

Thank you Mike, Pam, Leaders and Students!

Camp Safety

As Summer Camp approaches and our weeks fill-up I would like to take a moment to address a commonly asked question.  “What does SpringHill do to provide safety for campers?” While this question is very broad and can be broken into categories of emotional safety, physical safety, mental safety and spiritual safety, I will present some processes we have in place and how they addresses these areas.  As always, if you have further questions please feel free to email, post a comment or call the office at 812.497.0008.

The safety of children is the number one concern for parents as well as that of SpringHill.  We cannot accomplish our mission if we are not first providing a safe environment.  Our first line of defense, as well as the most important, is our extremely low camper to staff ratio.  In a given week we will average 450 campers at our Seymour Overnight location.  During that same time we have 170 (or more) staff members on site.  This means that for every 2-3 campers there is one staff member.  This allows us to demand of our staff that no camper is ever left alone.  I contrast this with my experience as a camper at a camp in New York where there was 3 hours a day when we were “free” to do as we wished.  We were given three full hours where we saw no staff members and our counselor did not even stay in the same cabin at night with us.  By lowering our ratios and increasing our expectations we instantly lower our campers risk in all areas.

Obviously when we talk about safety the first thought to come to mind is that of physical safety.  We address this area with a multi-tiered approach.  On the ground level, all staff are trained in basic first aid and illness awareness.  They are able to respond to minor issues as well as spot potential sicknesses that campers tend to hide.  The next level is that of leadership staff.  All leadership staff are trained and certified by the Red Cross in First Aid and CPR.  This means that about 60 staff have this training and are always spread out around camp.  Our final level is that of our Health Services staff.  In our health office we have college students majoring in health sciences (most seeking nursing) as well as 1-2 Volunteer Registered Nurses.  Along with all of this great nursing expertise we also have an on-call doctor who also makes regular visits to camp.

The environment of camp and the activities we employ present some inherent risk.  However there are many steps we take to ensure that all controllable areas are well controlled.  Our High Adventure activities are all inspected annually at the opening of the season to ensure they are safe for usage.  We bring in an outside authority to do this inspection, Experiential Systems Inc.  This same firm inspects all of our equipment used in this area.  We also inspect all High Adventure activities and equipment on a daily basis in-house.  All activities that are done on or in the water require a lifejacket.  Our lifeguards are fully trained and certified by the Red Cross.  We also inspect all water activities daily.  There are many rigorous standards we must meet in order to have Red Cross lifeguards, ESI Certified High Adventure areas as well as to be certified by the American Camping Association.  If you would like more information about these standards please check out the ACA’s website.

The final component I would like to discuss is that of communication. We operate on quite a large piece of land and interact with a vast audience, thus communication is a challenge but extremely crucial.  If you have ever been to SpringHill you might have noticed yellow boxes everywhere.  These yellow boxes are our “Call Boxes” and they enable us to connect to all areas of camp instantly.  These call boxes allow anyone to get in contact with the main office or a full time staff member at any time.  We also have loud speakers installed around camp that also connect to our radios so we can broadcast needed information instantly.   These systems are vital to our communication during weather related events.  All staff are trained to react to code words used over these speakers and respond accordingly.  Communication is also very important when it comes to the interaction of camp and Parents.  We strive to be in communication with parents whenever a camper is seen at the Health Services office and employ software to document this process.  I will also be posting daily video blogs throughout summer so that parents will be able to see what is happening on camp.

Obviously this is just a snapshot of a much larger more intricate system with which we strive to ensure the safety of every guest.  We are constantly looking to improve and grow in all areas of our camp, however this area receives consistent attention.  We truly view the safety of campers as part of our mission and imperative in being able to present the message of Christ.  Please feel free to contact me with any questions.

Meet the Staff [Sibling Edition]

Please join me in welcoming a dynamite sibling combo, Grant and Ashley Henry!  (I chose this picture for them, its from Crud Wars, it gets a bit messy!)

 Hello!  My name is Grant Henry.  I am from Warsaw, Indiana.  I attend Purdue University where I am an elementary education major. This summer I have the privilege of being the Summer Camp Director!

This year will be my 3rd summer at SpringHill and with each summer I have so greatly enjoyed seeing what God does in the lives of kids at Camp and in the lives of staff.  He moves in mighty ways.  It is a place that is an incredible experience for everyone involved, leaving a life-changing impact that is contagious and something I just cannot get enough of.

The thing I am looking forward to the most this summer is being able to invest in staff, encouraging them, ministering to them, and praying both for them and their campers that they would have a direct impact for the Lord that would last a lifetime.  I am looking forward to seeing how staff will have the opportunity to reach thousands of campers through sharing the gospel with these kids. I pray that they will then have a growing faith in Jesus that carries with them for the rest of their lives.  Kids do in fact need camp as camp offers irreplaceable experiences.

 

 Hello! My name is Ashley Henry. (Grant’s Little Sis) I am from Warsaw, IN and I will be graduating this spring with an Exercise Science major from Taylor University. I will be the High Adventure Lead.  As the “HIAD” Lead I will be leading the staff which facilitates the Climbing Wall, Euro Bungee, Solo Challenge, High Ropes Course and everyone’s favorite, the Zipline!

I knew I wanted to work at SpringHill from the first time I ever came to camp.  It was during a Family Weekend visit when my brother worked there in the summer of 2010.  The next Spring I applied and I got to work as a High Adventure Instructor during this past summer.  SpringHill is a special place and I have come to love everything about it!  From the beautiful landscape, the awesome activities, and especially the people I can’t wait to get back.  The people that work here at SpringHill are very high quality and I feel blessed to know them and work with them everyday!

What I am probably most excited about is meeting my new team of High Adventure Instructors and getting to know each of them personally!  I am also looking forward to my new leadership position as well as training, teaching and encouraging my team throughout the summer.  I had a very challenging but great experience as an Instructor last year and now I am very thankful that I get the chance to lead others.  God has truly given me a love for the outdoors and for kids and teaching others about Christ.

Overall, I am VERY EXCITED for my second summer at SpringHill!