Supporting LGTBQ+ Campers and Families - CampHacker #118

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We can go beyond acceptance.

One of the things we all know to be true about camp is how much better of the world would be if EVERY child spent at least one week at camp.

With that in mind, it’s important that we are consistently looking at how we are best serving campers and families that may be under-represented in our camp communities.

Newsflash! Even though in the last 10 years we’ve begun to really talk about inclusion, there have been campers and families who have identified as LGTBQ+ for as long as the camp industry has been around! Furthermore, we can see that the world has begun to be intentional about welcoming and celebrating inclusion, and so has the camp industry.

That being said, it would be the understatement of the year to say that the world, and even camp, has a long way to go towards being a completely welcoming, safe and celebrating place for LGTBQ+ campers and families to truly be themselves.

We, as an industry have the chance to be an example of what it looks like to bring LGTBQ+ families and campers to the table and make our communities the type of place where they feel safe and welcome to call home. This is not necessarily an easy conversation. Some camps may be new to being outspokenly inclusive or maybe have never been made aware that they have a queer camper, staff or family and it can be hard to realize when we haven’t been doing well enough. Even still it’s a worthwhile conversation.

As a start to that conversation, we welcome a fantastic panel to the CampHacker Podcast to help Camp Directors begin to think about how they can best serve their campers, staff and families who may identify as LGTBQ+. Joe, Travis and Gab are joined by Emily McGranachan from Family Equality Council, Ross Murray from The Naming Project, Chris Hudson from Camp Highlight and Nick Teich from Camp Aranu'tiq and Harbor Camps.

We hope you find this show useful and thought-provoking.

We know this is just the beginning of this kind of conversation. How would you like to see us continue it? Let us know in the comments!

Tool of the Week – Make Yourself a Better Camp Director

Gab: Desk Standing Balanceboard - FluidStance

Chris: McDonalds to thank staff for their hard work

Joe: 20v Max Cordless Tool Set + Lots of batteries for them!

Emily: Made Good Bars

Nick: Amazon Wishlist

Ross: Prayer Squares (3x3 crochet squares! - Tune into this ep. to hear about this!)

Your Hosts:

Travis Allison, Summer Camp Consultant - CampHacker.TV, Founder at Go Camp Pro

Joe Richards, Executive Director - Pearce Williams Summer Camp & Retreat Facility

Gabrielle Raill, Camp Director - Camp Ouareau

Emily McGranachan, Director of Family Engagement - Family Equality Council - Family Week - Family Equality Podcast

Ross Murray, Founder and Director - The Naming Project

Chris Hudson, Camp Director - Camp Highlight

Nick Teich, Founder and Director - Camp Aranu'tiq and Harbor Camps

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