Running a day camp and an after-school program presents unique challenges, particularly with communication and tracking. When Lauri’s team adopted Campminder, they needed a solution that could adapt to the different needs of each program.

She shares, “Onboarding the simpler program first and learning the system gradually was a tremendous advantage.” This approach allowed her team to better understand Campminder’s features before fully integrating them across both programs.

One feature that Lauri’s team relies on is Notes. They run quarterly notes reports focused on two categories—“Boo-Boos” and “Behaviors”—and use these to audit their documentation process. This has significantly improved the quality of notes and helped identify patterns that help their leadership team train field staff and support campers better.

Lauri emphasizes the importance of consistency and clarity in notes. “I spend a lot of time teaching our office staff how to write notes and reminding them that their notes are only as good as somebody reading them out of context years from now.” Campminder makes this process—and these best practices—possible.

One of the challenges Lauri’s camp faces is managing transportation for the many week-long sessions they run. Campminder allows the team to track complex pick-up and drop-off arrangements, adjusting for varying weekly schedules. “Everybody gets tracked with transportation. We use it to know how they arrive and how they leave.”

Lauri’s experience highlights the importance of patience and phased onboarding for camps running multiple programs. She also says camps should be willing to wipe the slate clean if needed and think from scratch.