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 [Part 6]

Hello, I’m EJ Tiggs. I attend the University of Southern Indiana in Evansville, IN. I’m working on earning a bachelor’s degree in Public Relations and Advertising. This summer will be my third summer working on staff at SpringHill. I’ve been a Red Brush Counselor, a Red Brush Area Director, and this summer I will be a Teen Service Team Area Director. Before working at SpringHill, I had been a camper in both InPursuit and TST.

I’m so glad that I get to work at SpringHill this summer because it gives me this great opportunity that I don’t get often, and that is being able to share the message of Christ with younger children and teens and mentor them. Being that I was a camper before, I value the counselors and leaders that helped me through middle school and high school. SpringHill isn’t just a summer camp; it’s a tool that helps young people grow in Christ. What I’m looking forward to the most are the life changing moments that are sure to come!

From the glittering lights of the Las Vegas strip to the scenic location of SpringHill tucked away in the woods of Indiana, this summer is going to be quite a drastic and refreshing change. My name is Nicole Zimmerman, and I have the privilege of serving as Director for the InPursuit program. I have been actively involved in youth ministry and performing arts ministries since 2005 and attended college in Las Vegas and California with my focus in Business Administration and Biblical Studies. I cannot wait to spend my summer at SpringHill because I believe so greatly in its purpose and vision. Seeing youth come to know and grow in the Lord while learning to connect everyday life and activities with their faith is the greatest blessing. I look most forward to connecting with the youth and seeing all the preparation and prayer come to life once camp weeks begin.

Meet the Staff [Part 5]

Hello! My name is Morgan Feeney. I am from Cincinnati, Ohio.  I am currently a student at Miami University in Oxford, Ohio studying Strategic Communications. This summer I will be an InPursuit Area Director.

This will be my 8th summer at SpringHill! I was a camper for five years and this will be my third summer on staff. SpringHill has been a huge part of my life and a major component of my spiritual growth. As a camper, I always got the SpringHill experience and more. I had wonderful counselors and area directors who poured into me and shared their love for Christ. I went back home with a new mindset on how I wanted to live my life and on fire for the Lord. When I was finally able to be on staff, I was ecstatic. SpringHill has given SO much to me, and I was ready to give back to them. Being on staff has been such a rewarding experience and I can’t wait to see what God is going to do this summer.

This is my first year on the leadership team and I cannot wait for this summer to begin! I am excited to see SpringHill in a new way and to have counselors that I will get to spend the whole summer with. It will be a privilege to encourage them as they love on their campers and build relationships with them. I will be able to share my knowledge from being a counselor and what was beneficial for me, but also see them handle every situation on their own. I will also have a different relationship with campers this year, and I am very excited for that. I will not be with them all day, so my time will have to be more intentional and I will have to make every minute count. I absolutely love the middle school age and cannot wait to build my own relationships with them. I am counting down the days until I am back at SpringHill and get to be apart of such a powerful camp!

Hello! My name is Julia Mahlum.

I am from Oakdale, Minnesota.  I just finished up my junior year of school at Crown College in St. Bonifacious, Minnesota where I am double majoring in Christian Studies and Youth and Social Ministries.

This summer I will be the Business Services Intern.  I will be working with camp administration and camp finance.  I am excited to be at SpringHill because I have a passion for camp ministry, and this summer I feel that God has called me to SpringHill! I am looking forward to this new opportunity! I am most looking forward to what God is going to do this summer! I think God has a lot in store for my life, other staff members’ lives, and campers’ lives!

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!

 

Meet the Staff [Part 3]

 Hello! My name is Ashley.

I am from Greenfield, IN, which is about 20 miles east of Indy. I am currently studying elementary education at Purdue University. I am going to be a Red Brush Area Director. I want to be at SpringHill this summer because I was there last summer for the first time ever and I absolutely loved it. I fell in love with the facility and I really enjoyed getting to know all of the staff. However, my favorite part, and what’s drawing me back this summer are the campers. It is awesome seeing how God grows them in just a matter of a few days. I like that SpringHill incorporates this into every aspect and activity of camp and I am so blessed to be a part of it. I am most looking forward to meeting the campers and helping them experience God, as well as encouraging them to grow in their relationship with Him.

Hello! My name is Anna.

I am a sophomore at Purdue University studying nursing. I was born in China, but I have been living in Chicago for the past 11 years. This summer, I will be working as Craft Lead, and I am so excited to see how God will be working in my life and the lives of campers and staff. I love SpringHill because of their mission in spreading God’s love to every person at camp- campers and staff. Last summer as a High Adventure Instructor, I saw how God strengthened every camper through His word to help him or her step out of their comfort zone and overcome their fears during the high adventure activities. I also experienced how God’s love empowered every staff that worked day and night to ensure that in the midst of the thrilling and fun camp activities, meaningful conversations about God were still happening.  For this summer, I am especially looking forward to working and building relationships with my team along with other staff, and to use my experience with God last summer as a resource of encouragement to them. I also can’t wait to see how God will change my life again through the campers. So all in all, I love SpringHill and I can’t wait for the summer to be here!

 

When Church and Camp Combine

This past Friday SpringHill had the opportunity to help out Grace Community Church near Indianapolis by running our Euro Bungee at Fan Jam. This event had over 200 fourth and fifth grade students attend.  The children got to hear a presentation of the gospel, worship with Keith Conner, eat some pizza and participate in some crazy indoor fun.  We got to be a part of the “crazy indoor fun” part by providing our Euro Bungee.  It is not too often we bring this activity indoors and it’s not too easy either.  With the help of some creative minds and strong volunteers we made it happen.

This was such a fun event!  Once the kids were “released” to do the activities we instantly became the most popular with a very long line.  It was such a blessing to interact with all of these kids.  I even got to speak with some campers who expressed how pumped they are to be coming back this summer.  To be a part of an event focused on reaching out to the local community was a real encouragement.  Thank you Grace for all your hard work to pull this off.  Thank you Volunteers and SpringHill staff for helping make an outdoor activity, inside, a possibility.

Fan Jam is a real life example of a local church body investing in spiritual lives of children within their community.  Fan Jam is also another example of what is possible when ministries with a common purpose work together and share resources to achieve their common mission.  I pray that more and more Christ centered ministries would begin to realize the strength we have when we work together to spread the gospel of Christ.

Edison [or Tesla] Would be Proud

As I have stated before, change is in the air here at SpringHill.  Due to the unseasonably warm weather we have had the opportunity to really make some great strides on our “to do” list.  One of the exciting updates for this summer is electricity! Now I understand that it was over 120 years ago that Tesla and Edison duked it out over “power rights” and thus electricity may seem like old news.  However, when it comes to lights, fans and power to our Walled Tents, Hill toppers and Teepees, this is literally groundbreaking news.  Our site team along with some outside help and volunteers has spent hours tearing through our earth to lay down the cable needed to provide power to these (no longer) rustic areas.  Parents, staff and campers alike can rejoice knowing that this summer, no matter where you stay, you will have the ability to see and cool off.

I understand that some may ask: “At what point do you loose the rustic feel of camping?”  I have had to wrestle with this question myself so let me share with you why these updates are important for SpringHill and are aligned with our mission.  Our goal is to provide a safe, welcoming camp environment for all of our guests.  Our mission involves sharing the life-impacting message of Christ with every camper.  It becomes difficult to accomplish our mission if campers are too focused on such things as the heat or a fear of the dark.  We also understand that some parents are not comfortable sending their children to sleep away in an unlit cabin with no movement of air.  By adding power we now have the ability to add lighting and fans to each cabin, thus addressing the aforementioned concerns.

We are so excited about these updates and I cannot wait to see how God is going to use them to further His kingdom.  If you are interested in helping complete this project please contact me at cedgren@springhillcamps.com. If you have any questions about this project, please leave a comment.

Meet the Staff [Part 1]

Over the next several weeks I will be taking one day a week to introduce you to a couple of our staff.  The staff members that will be included in these introductions are our Resident Staff and our Leadership staff.  Resident staff is the staff here at camp that leads the summer camp experience and would include Camp Center directors. (ie the TST Director) Typically the resident staff team is made up of individuals who have been around camp a while and have graduated college.  Leadership staff report directly to Resident staff and are the direct leads for counselors.  Leadership staff would include Area Directors.

I am excited to introduce you to our 2012 Summer Staff and as you will see in their short bios, they can’t wait for summer!

 Hello, my name is Chad Tribbett and I am from Westfield, Indiana. I am currently finishing my last semester at Indiana Wesleyan University as a Criminal Justice major and writing minor. This summer will be my third summer on staff and I will be serving as the Target Sports Lead.  As the target sports lead I will be in charge of archery, rifles, trap shooting, slingshots and of course, paintball.

I went to SpringHill a lot as a camper and loved every experience, and working there the last two years has really shown me how great of a ministry it is and how rewarding it is for everyone involved. It’s an incredible opportunity to serve Christ and kids while having an awesome time.

I am looking forward to getting connected with staff and campers and seeing how God is going to use the camp to further His kingdom this summer.

My name is Amy Kappel.  I am a sophomore at Indiana University studying nursing.  I am so excited to be the kitchen lead for SpringHill this summer! I started coming to SpringHill when I was in high school, and they haven’t been able to keep me away since.

This will be my third year working in the kitchen and my second year as kitchen lead.  I am so excited to see all the remarkable ways God is going to work this summer at SpringHill.  It is truly humbling to see so many campers come to Christ as well as see the staff around you grow in His presence.   I can’t wait for summer 2012!