More Kids More Impact
A Quick Numbers Update
Holy moly! When Laura and I dreamed about starting camp we had to really trick ourselves into believing it was possible. We desperately believe in reimagining a more perfect world through camp and there aren’t many camps out there doing what we want to do, but starting camp was/is scary. You can read more about our origin story here.
The short story is in 2015 we ran one week of camp with about 60 kids. This summer, just four years later, we are on pace to run 6 weeks of camp with over 500 camper weeks. Camper weeks are how we budget. If a camper comes for one week they count as one camper week, if they come for two they count as two camper weeks.
Running Stomping Ground is a roller coaster, and Laura and I want to share three things.
One: Say Thank You
Running Stomping Ground is our dream coming true before our eyes and none of it would be possible without your support. As a camper parent, camper, staff member, Day of Giving donor (more on 2018 Day of Giving soon), friend, sharer of Facebook posts, or someone sending love we appreciate you. You have made Stomping Ground possible and we have been lucky enough to ride the rollercoaster of that process. THANK YOU!
Two: Let You Know That Spots are Limited
If you have followed us for a while, you know we avoid salesy tactics or tricks to get signups. We want people who want to be at camp to be there and do everything in our power to share that. We hope to build an authentic relationship with our parents and campers not one where you might be scared that spots will run out so you make a purchasing decision you might regret. In past years that has been easy because we have had a lot more spots at camp than we needed. This summer that is a little different, especially for Session 3 - July 15-20th and Session 4 July 22-27th. They each have about 10 spots left.
If you are interested in camp this summer or know people on the fence, please call Laura (585) 489-8880 to see if we would be a good fit for your family. We have a bunch of sessions with space and time to wait and see, but I know the summer schedule can get hectic.
Three: A Little More About Our Numbers
We don’t spend much time talking about numbers and registration updates on the blog. Mostly we write about what we care about and how we try to bring that to life at camp. For us that is the fun part, but the reality of running camp is that this thing is becoming a fairly complicated business. On the one hand that is super frustrating, and on the other it just means we get to have more kids come to camp and hopefully make a larger impact. I never thought I would say this, but the business of running camp has been really interesting to learn and think about.
Ok! Some Numbers…
Camper Weeks By Year
2015 - 64
2016 - 196
2017 - 384
2018 - 390 (Current)
We have grown by leaps and bounds each year and this week we passed the total number of registered campers in all of 2017. Camp itself won’t have more campers at a time than we did during are largest weeks last year, but we are running more weeks and will have more full weeks in 2018.
At the end of March last year we had 203 camper weeks registered and in April, May, June, and July we had another 181 register. This year we have almost double that number of campers registered today, with a week left in March. Last year at this time we had about half of our total campers registered, and the other half registered between now and camp. If that trend were to hold true for 2018 another 300-400 campers would try and register between now and summer. Unfortunately we don’t have that many more spots available for campers. We have another 150 or so spots in main camp sessions, and about 100 in our teen programs.
We are excited for this and nervous to have to turn people away. Our plan is to continue to provide updates like this and create waitlists for our closed out sessions. Thank you again for all your support and love. You are what makes Stomping Ground Stomping Ground.
With Love! (So much love)
Jack and Laura
