In a decade of hosting the Blueprint4 Camp Summit for camp providers in the St. Louis region, we’ve learned that there’s one essential thread running through everything these providers do: it’s ALL about the kids. Whether it’s planning fun activities, connecting with campers, or making programs accessible to more kids in STL, camp providers consistently have the best interests of their campers in mind. It’s inspiring to witness!
What is the camp summit?
The Blueprint4 Camp Summit is a gathering of STL-area camp providers for a day of professional development and networking. We bring together youth organizations in the community to share resources and collaborate instead of competing. This event is free of charge to providers so that the learning and connections are accessible to all organizations. And we also make sure to celebrate the hard work out-of-school providers do and recognize their achievements after the summer camp season!
View the full album of photos from the summit here.
Our 10th Camp Summit was all about adventure and the possibilities that open wide once kids have access to the opportunities that summer camp and out-of-school programs provide.
Keynote Speakers
After our traditional rock paper scissors competition kicked off by Blueprint4 Program Manager Abbey Barrow, we heard from Program Coordinator Nicole Chen about how the database was looking this year. We listed 10,050 summer opportunities on the site! That’s a lot of chances for kids to get an out-of-this-world summer experience. Blueprint4 founder Maxine Clark spoke about the core reasons Blueprint4 was started and why it still matters to this day.
Family Survey Results
Next, we heard from Dustin Nadler, an Associate Professor of Psychology at Maryville University. The university worked with Blueprint4 this year to compile data from our survey of St. Louis families to hear what’s most important to them about out-of-school opportunities. No surprises, cost remains the biggest barrier for families accessing programs. Dr. Nadler had some suggestions on ways camps can help mitigate this factor without necessarily reducing the cost of attendance, since many camps are also experiencing the effects of rising overhead.
Breakout Sessions
Then everyone broke out into sessions to dive deeper into the challenges and opportunities facing summer camps. We hosted both presentations and roundtables for discussion, hearing from everything about marketing to camp leadership to preparing for weather events to supporting neurodivergent campers and more.
Thank you for joining us!
We wrapped up the day with networking and a raffle, where the big prize of a $1,000 scholarship went to Circus Harmony. Three cheers for sending more kids to camp! Thank you to everyone who came out and spent time with us. It is always powerful to see camp providers come together and make STL youth a priority.
