How Falling Creek Uses Custom Software to Manage a Summer Camp
Falling Creek, a summer camp in Western North Carolina, needed help managing hundreds of campers, staff, activities, awards, and operations. Between coordinating activities, ensuring camper safety, and maintaining effective communication, the administrative load can become daunting. They also wanted everyone working for the camp to organize their work day on one system in real-time, while automating tedious tasks, like taking attendance.
"Most business management software is sold as-is for monthly or annual fees. We tried all those first, but they were never a perfect fit" explained Nathan Newquist, Operations Director of Falling Creek Camp.
They reached out to us for custom business management software so that they could do this beyond pen and paper, with a real-time picture of their camp’s operation.
Activity and Camper Management
A summer camp like Falling Creek is brimming with fun activities. Falling Creek's custom software allows administrators to plan, schedule, and then monitor activities. Campers can be assigned to activities based on their interests and their availability, ensuring a safe, fun, and rewarding experience for all.
Through the application, counselors use tablets and smartphones to track the whereabouts of campers, upcoming activities, allergies, medications, cabin members, while also seeing real-time schedule conflicts for campers and staff.
- Flexibility: Easily adjust schedules and activities as changing needs arise
- Organization: Streamline scheduling and monitoring
- Optimization: Camper enrollment in appropriate activities
- Cherry on top: Counselors can keep track of major and minor achievements, like camper awards and merit systems.
Real-time Communication and Integration
Falling Creek's software includes a communication module that facilitates live updates between staff, campers, and parents. Whether it's sending out daily schedules, emergency alerts, or general announcements, the software keeps everyone informed while integrating all departments.
A web application like this doesn’t need to live on a desktop computer - all it needs to run is a web browser. Counselors and administrators can start work on one device and finish on a different one.
- Safety: immediate notice of any emergency
- Transparency: parents stay informed about their children's activities
- Coordination: communication among camp staff is swift and easy
Data-driven Decision Making
"We offer our campers a lot of choice in their daily schedule, so we needed custom solutions.”
We also built in powerful data analytics tools for camp administrators, so that they can review attendance records and an activity's popularity.
These insights into their camp's operations improve long-term planning, resource allocation, and staff-to-camper ratios - critical for running a thriving seasonal camp.
Medical and Health Management
Falling Creek Camp needed all aspects of their operations to be connected, from administrators in the central office, nurses handling medicines and illness at the infirmary, and to counselors on backpacking trips far out in the mountains.
Their new software securely manages medical records, tracks health incidents, and provides access to authorized personnel. This is crucial for managing best health outcomes and maintaining comprehensive records for each camper.
- Detailed Health Tracking: including allergies and conditions
- Emergency Response: Quick access to medical information in emergencies.
- Compliance: Ensures compliance with health regulations, security, and standards.
Staff surveys
Falling Creek's custom software also includes an internal survey feature for staff. These surveys allow administrators to gather valuable feedback from staff members regarding various aspects of camp operations.
Surveys such as the Activity Leader Report, Trip De-brief, and Weekly Activity Report provide insights into staff experiences and suggestions for improvement.
Enhanced Operational Features
We included additional features that elevate Falling Creek's operational efficiency:
Forestry Service Usage Compliance
This is automatically calculated based on camper activity schedules in nearby national parks and forests.
Camper Medication Needs
These are automatically calculated for overnight trips, with a prepared medication list for the nursing department.
Meal Requirements
Meals are automatically set based on activity schedules. For example, a camper who has a trip scheduled would then be taken off the meal prep data for cafeteria staff.
Allergy and Drug Interaction Alerts
Allergies are automatically flagged for cafeteria staff to ensure safe meal preparation.
“Tasks that previously took hours now take seconds. When you have hundreds of staff members saving even one hour a day, that adds up fast."
Falling Creek says that their new custom software has revolutionized their operations. "Automating and streamlining our daily workflow has allowed us to focus on other aspects of camp and collect and analyze valuable data to constantly improve our operation.”
