The Latest News from the Campfire Collective - The June/July issue of the association’s Branches enewsletter is now available. It features the upcoming Compass Points class, hosting opportunities for the 2028 and 2029 Annual Conferences, and Camp Day at the General Assembly of The Presbyterian Church in Canada. If you did not receive this in your email inbox, you can subscribe by going to the sign-up page.
A Zoom Gathering for our Camp and Conference Leaders is Held Every Third Thursday - Our monthly Zoom calls are held almost every third Thursday of the month at 11:00am EDT. These Zoom call with your fellow camp and conference leaders will cover a specific topic, as well as offer mutual support. We hope you will be a part of this conversation. You can join us for the Zoom call listed below at https://us06web.zoom.us/j/82867576883?pwd=Bu95hdEjBXbrrMgdHxeqrmwBo144vT.1. If needed, the passcode is 984320. Below are the dates and topics for our upcoming calls. Our Zoom Call on Thursday, August 20 at 11:00am EasternOur topic will be a summer camp recap. What did we learn? Since summer 2026 is in the books, this is a great time for camp leaders to step back, reflect on what happened, and learn from one another as we begin thinking about summer 2027. How did your registration numbers compare with last year? Did you find yourself wondering how your numbers compare with other camps? How did your summer staff hold together through the season? If you introduced new activities, programs, or approaches, what worked well—and what would you change next time? This call will provide an informal opportunity for our community to share successes, challenges, surprises, and lessons learned from the summer. Bring your questions, ideas, and experiences—we’re sure there are issues you’ve encountered that others are navigating as well. We hope you’ll be part of this conversation! Our Zoom Call for Thursday, September 17 at 11:00am EasternThe title of this session is “Transform Your Camp’s Board Development Strategy…in Less Than One Hour Per Week.” Our guest speaker will be Christine Deska, who is the Co-founder of BellesBoard and Nonprofit Sector Strategies. Are you struggling with board engagement or finding the right board members for your camp? This Zoom call will show you step-by-step how to craft and execute on your camp’s board development roadmap. Whether your initial focus area is board recruitment, education, engagement, or fundraising – this session will give you the confidence, knowledge, and tools to implement your strategy by setting aside just one hour per week. Bonus materials include a ready-to-go, customizable board development roadmap worksheet. Our Zoom Call on Thursday, October 15 at 11:00am EasternThe topic is yet to be determined. Our Zoom Call on Thursday, November 19 at 11:00am EasternThere will be no call this month due to the date being so close to the Campfire Collective Annual Conference. Our Zoom Call on Thursday, December 10 at 11:00am EasternThis call will be a little earlier in the month due to the Christmas rush. The title of our session is “Why Girls-Only Spaces Still Matter.” Our guest speaker will be Wendy Hammond, the Executive Director of GEMS Girls’ Clubs. What can gender-specific programming offer girls that may be harder to cultivate in a mixed-gender environment? Drawing from GEMS Girls’ Clubs’ nearly 70 years of ministry experience and the recent development of GEMS Outdoors, Wendy will explore how intentional girls-only spaces can foster belonging, confidence, leadership, spiritual growth, and a willingness to try new things. She will also share what GEMS has learned about designing outdoor experiences around girls’ needs without reinforcing limiting stereotypes. Participants will leave with practical ideas for thoughtfully incorporating gender-specific opportunities into their own camp settings. We hope you will join us for this time of fellowship and support among your fellow camp and conference leaders. If you have a topic suggestion for a future call, please contact Joel Winchip. 36 Discounts for Our 2026 Members! - As a part of the benefits you receive through membership, Campfire Collective offers special discounts on different products and services related to camp and conference ministries. This is a complete list of the discounts that will be offered to our members this year. Utilizing one or more of these company discounts could save you more money than you pay in membership dues. If you are a current Campfire Collective member, you can log into the Membership System and access the discounts in the menu at the top of the page (it is there that you will see the actual discounts and the methods for accessing them). If you are not yet a member, you can join or renew at campfire-collective.org/membership.