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by Charlene Wendell
Sending a child to camp, whether it's a day or resident camp, can be
a scary proposition for parents. After all, they are entrusting us with
their most precious possessions. They want assurance that we are as concerned
for their children as they are themselves - that we will keep them safe
under any circumstances. Communication is an invaluable tool to assure
parents that their children are safe.
Remember the old saying, "First impressions count"? Communication starts
with our first contact with parents. This could be by word of mouth,
an inquiry phone call, brochure, advertising, or at an open house. If
we establish right from the start that we want to be open and honest,
we will build a foundation of trust that we can depend on if an emergency
happens.
Communication Is a Two-Way Street
Of course, communication is a two-way street. It is just as important
for parents to tell us about their children as it is for us to let them
know what is going on at camp. A term that I have used for years is "partnering
with parents." It emphasizes the shared responsibility of camp directors
and parents to provide a successful summer for their children. In order
to have a complete circle of communication, parents need to share the
appropriate information about their children, and directors need to share
that information with their staff. Camp directors should discuss this
partnership with parents long before the summer begins, both verbally
and through a parent handbook. With increased access to the Internet
by parents, camp directors are also using e-mail and the Internet as
a quick and easy way to transmit and receive information. Many camps
now have Web sites with up-to-date information to accommodate busy parents.
This summer, considering the emotional trauma we have all gone through,
it will be doubly important for parents to let us know how their children
have reacted to the past few months so we can be more attentive to their
needs. Bob Ditter, licensed child and family therapist, author, and camp
consultant, reports that in the conversations he has had with camp parents
since September 11, the most frequently asked questions are, "Are camps
thinking about cutting down on mail?" and "What if something happens
during camp?" Parents want and need to hear that camp directors are being
proactive and have a specific plan to deal with unforeseen emergencies.
Camp directors need to communicate with parents before camp starts and
let them know what the emergency plan is.
Communicating in a Crisis
Communicating with parents can be difficult in the best of times, but
during a crisis, it becomes simultaneously more important and more difficult.
Communication is an art, and like most arts, it needs to be practiced.
Our directors are in a unique position in that they all have executive
directors to whom they can turn for assistance in assessing what needs
to be said and who should make the phone call. We suggest that directors
role-play situations before the start of camp so if they should be in
a difficult situation, their response will be second nature. Camp directors
must choose their words carefully and control the tone of their voices.
Getting an unexpected phone call from a camp director is every parent's
worst nightmare - at least for that split second until the parent hears
the reason for the call.
A weather crisis
One of the Jewish Community Center (JCC) day camps experienced a frightening
weather-related situation last summer. On the first day of their second session,
a fierce thunderstorm moved through the area, and the entire JCC campus lost
power. Since there were no phones, no electricity, no swimming pools, and
it was forecasted to be over 100 degrees that day, the decision was made
to cancel camp.
Unfortunately, some of the child-care children had already arrived.
Staff with cell phones were immediately mobilized to call parents. They
were asked to follow a prepared script to let parents know of the situation
and assure them that their children would be well cared for until they
could be picked up. In the meantime, the local TV and radio stations
were contacted and told that the JCC was closed and day camp was cancelled.
To show appreciation to parents for understanding the situation, everyone
who was registered for camp that week received a coupon good toward any
JCC program within the year, plus two guest passes per camper. Once more,
quick and clear communication forestalled irritation and resentment.
A transportation crisis
Sometimes an emergency can arise while children are traveling back and forth
to camp. After spending a marvelous day at a JCC day camp in the Midwest,
all the children boarded busses to head home. As one of the busses came to
a stop at a stop sign, the driver slumped over. As the bus began to roll
backward, the bus monitor in the front seat jumped up and pulled the emergency
brake. Quickly, the counselors in the back of the bus opened the emergency
door, ushered all the campers off the bus, and assembled them on the lawn
of someone's house to keep them safe, calm, and occupied.
One of the monitors, who was a medic, determined that the bus driver
had had a heart attack. He administered CPR while other counselors radioed
the bus company and the camp director. Another bus arrived shortly to
pick up the children, and the camp director immediately put together
a team of administrative staff to call the parents of every child on
the bus to let them know what happened and reassure them their children
were safe and would be home shortly. Calling parents to let them know
about an incident before they hear it from their children allows them
to process it before the kids get home. They are then better prepared
to help their children deal with what happened.
Attack on a center
There are some crises at camp that we would not expect to happen in our wildest
dreams. On August 10, 1999, on a beautiful sunny California day, while camp
was in session, a madman with a gun burst into the lobby of the North Valley
Jewish Community Center and started shooting. He fired up to seventy shots,
wounding five children and adults, before deciding he had done enough damage
and ran out.
In the report, "A Case Study in Crisis Management: Attack on a Jewish
Community Center," published for members of the JCC Association, Jeff
Rouss, executive vice president of the JCC at the time, stated, "General
evacuation procedures called for exiting to safer environments. Although
they were unsure what was considered safe from a gunman's automatic weapon,
most counselors and teachers took their students and campers to safety.
Using the camp's walkie-talkie system and following directions of police
reached by a counselor's personal cell phone, counselors hastily loaded
the camp busses and drove to a nearby park. Teachers and counselors also
led their students and campers to a nearby church and convalescent hospital."
Once the JCC became a crime scene, staff could not access their records,
and therefore, parents learned of the evacuation and reunification procedures
through the media. "Within a half hour after the attack, we had secured
top-level public relations assistance and recognized that the press had
to be managed from the site of the attack," Rouss explains. "The media
followed our protocols, which were designed to protect the privacy of
the Jewish Community Center and its members. In order to keep the media
satisfied, we held frequent briefings and introduced them to members
and staff who we had determined could tell the story we wanted told."
After consulting with community mental health professionals and the
police, it was decided that camp and school would reopen the next day
in the nearby church. Dr. Robert Abramovitz, chief psychiatrist at Jewish
Board of Family and Children's Services in New York City, believes that
community support is a useful response to a traumatic event. "Taking
part in organized community activities directed towards responding to
the problematic situation . . . can be very valuable for older children
and adolescents." There was a pre-Shabbat service of healing on the Friday
after the attack, attended by 1,000 people on the grounds of the North
Valley Jewish Community Center. On Sunday, the Jewish Federation of Greater
Los Angeles coordinated a community rally of unity attended by over 2,000
people. The Jewish Community Center reopened at its own site on Monday,
with no evidence of the assault visible in the building. In a paper on
crisis management prepared for AM Skier Insurance, Gary Kimball, executive
director, Camp Alert Network, says, "Be consistent by maintaining your
daily schedule. Consistency equals safety in a child's mind."
Responding to Tragedy
The Jewish Community Centers Association has always recommended that
camps have a crisis plan in place. This summer we are asking them to
take that one step further. We are asking our directors along with our
program staff to develop a plan to answer the question - What if September
11 happened on July 11 when JCC camps were in session? - and to communicate
the plan to the parents. Norman Friedman of AM Skier Insurance suggests
including the following statement in parent handbooks: "Until we can
communicate, we will personally care for your child."
Even though parents want to hear only good things, they understand that
things can happen. Our parents have faith in our camping programs. They
believe in us. They trust us. The thing they want most is to be kept
informed and for our camps to be honest with them right from the start.
William Shakespeare wrote, "No legacy is as rich as honesty." What I
recommend to all camp programs is to continue the legacy and tradition
they have all worked so hard to develop and preserve.
Originally published in the 2002 March/April
issue of Camping
Magazine.
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