Faith

Week 1= 32, Week 2= 27, Week 3= 69, **Week 4= OPC= 110, Week 5= 31, Week 6= 27, Week 7= 41, Week 8= 25, Week 9= 65, Week 10= 30. Total= 457.

That's a list of how many campers we have registered each week so far. Keep in mind, a full camp would be 144 kids. Last summer, we averaged 60 kids per week, with a total summer number of 547. Last year, throughout the month of May, we had 100 campers register, and I anticipate that will happen again this year.

Registration has been low for several years and the economy is terrible this year, so this number isn't a surprise, or even necessarily cause for panic. However, I have spent the past year working hard, really hard, to build relationships with past camper families, keep them involved with camp, recruit new campers, get the word out about camp. I have visited schools, churches and sent brochures, and emails to a LOT of people. We ran ads in magazines, on the radio and I was even interviewed on a morning show. There is literally nothing more I could have done.

With the Board of Directors, my assistant and anyone else who has asked, I have been optimistic, cheerful, and repeated, over and over, "everything is going to work out, don't worry." Camp looks more beautiful and is in better shape than it has in years. The website looks awesome. The newsletter was widely read and responded to. My summer staff is awesome, programming is top notch... And yet, we can't seem to get any kids in the door. I have no idea what else to do.

I have been adamant in my faith in this camp and unwavering in my positive attitude, refusing to even consider an alternative to a successful summer. But today when J emailed me these numbers, the wind went out of my sails, my near-manic level motivation dropped to zero and I have been on the verge of tears all day. It is difficult to devote 100% of my energy, spirit and commitment to something, to experience success in some areas and then see such low enrollment.

27 kids in a week? What am I supposed to do with that? You can't run camp with 27 kids. What am I going to do with my staff? You don't need 12 counselors for 27 kids. You do, however, need 12 counselors for 110 kids, which makes this even more complicated. It is devastating to me to imagine cutting staff at this point, but if it was that straightforward, I could just do it. Unfortunately, we can't have a week of 110 kids without the number of staff I have hired, but most of the other weeks, that many staff is way too many. I could come up with some sort of rotation, but that is almost as bad as being cut, because instead of earning money for 10 weeks, they might only earn money for half the weeks.

Maybe it really will get better and registration will pick up and all of the positive energy I'm sending out will yield some campers. I know that the only thing I can do at this point is to continue to move forward with faith it will work out and address challenges as they come. But today I am anxious and crabby and unmotivated. Some days are like that...