Virtual Assistant Director: What does that mean?

For a few years now I’ve been encouraging camps, especially smaller camp teams, to consider using a Virtual Assistant to manage some of the day-to-day tasks both during the program season and off-season.

A quick Google Search on Virtual Assistants shows not only some of the best tasks to outsource to them but also how to recruit and hire one (or two or three or four).

While some tasks at camp can totally be done by anybody with a computer and internet (which we are all learning right now during our shelter-in-place orders), some tasks at camp you may be hesitant to pass off to someone who doesn’t “get camp.”

Need to sort through your camper schedules and resolve all the issues that your software’s autoscheduler created? Need to create yet another spreadsheet? Want to comb through your camper data from the last few years and get a great handle on your retention trends? Need to pester folks about the paperwork that needs to be turned in by all campers and staff. Want someone to tag all those photos you take every day? These are all excellent tasks for a Virtual Assistant.

But what about those tasks that require a Director’s eye or ears?

• The feedback gathering from staff that you never can seem to find enough time for.

• The online training that you want to lead with members of your leadership team.

• That parent, you know the parent, that calls every.single.day, just to talk.

• The staff member, you know the staff member, that knocks on your door every.single.day, just to talk.

How much of your stress would be eliminated by having the expertise of another Camp Director available to you for a few hours each week without adding another full-time salary?

• This summer, Ruby Outdoors is offering one camp the opportunity to hire a former Camp Director and current staff trainer Ruby Compton as a Virtual Assistant Director.

• In case of abundant inquiries, Ruby Outdoors works with furloughed and laid-off camp directors to match them as Virtual Assistant Directors to camps that are operating either in-person or virtual programming.

Special offering in response to COVID-19

In the midst of COVID-19, more and more programs are considering the use of remote teams to operate virtual camp—and the influx of digital tools to oversee those spaces, Camp Directors are increasingly being asked to not only run camp but also master an entirely new set of tools, community spaces, and gathering guidelines.

Imagine if all you had to do was show up for virtual content and do what you do best—BE THE CAMP DIRECTOR. Imagine not having to worry about knowing which buttons to push and how to resolve each person’s tech issues. Imagine being able to focus on what you know how to do best: building community and making memories for your campers.

A Virtual Assistant Director can make those dreams a reality.

Remember that with online spaces comes virtual personnel management as well and if you aren’t excited about keeping your staff’s Slack, Google Drive, WhatsApp up-to-date and managing through your keyboard, that your Virtual Assistant Director can integrate into the systems that currently work for you and help provide the day-to-day management of your team and your virtual workspace.

• Scheduling calls & virtual events

• Managing registrations for online gatherings

• Tech hosting gatherings to ensure videos, music, and chat boxes run smoothly

• Posting announcements to remote staff

• Conducting regular check-ins with remote staff

• Scheduling meetings

• Recording video updates for staff

• Editing videos, audio, and podcasts

It’s like on-call tech support for your position as a camp director.

And what if you have a staff member who would be an awesome Virtual Assistant Director—one of your own people! That’s fantastic! Ruby Outdoors is offering a four-hour training program for best practices for Virtual Assistant Managers. You can get a taste of the material with this FREE email course.

Interested in having Ruby train your Virtual Assistant Directors? Email her here to discuss your needs.

Red Cross Instruction Guidelines Amidst COVID19 Pandemic Protocols from Ruby Outdoors for Camps

Many of you utilize my company, Ruby Outdoors, to teach your staff American Red Cross certification courses.

Here is the most up-to-date info regarding certification courses based on guidance from the American Red Cross as of 5/8/2020.

Any person with a current certification in CPR/First Aid/AED, Lifeguarding, or Wilderness First Aid that expires between March 1-June 30

The American Red Cross has created a 120-day extension to all current certifications that expire between March 1-June 30. The extension is free.

I 100% recommend this option for any person who is expiring between March 1-June 30 in any of the above certifications. The new courses are adapted courses so in my opinion, it is preferred to extend the current certification. For Lifeguarding and Wilderness First Aid, this is the most certain way to maintain certification currently.

What should I do to get this set up for my staff?

• You can send the instructions to your staff to process their own extension. Instructions are available above where there is a link where it says “120-day extension.” Please copy and paste the information from that document rather than sending that document to them directly.

• OR, if you would like your certification extensions to be processed in a batch to get the requisite documentation for your certs, please be in touch and I’ll send you a handy-dandy form to fill out to make that process go like butter. I kindly request a one-time, all inclusive $20 payment to help cover my time to do the button clicking for you—but if you don’t have the funds to make that happen, be in touch and we will work it out.

New certifications

This section outlines procedures as they stand as of April 20, 2020 for folks seeking a new or lapsed certification from the American Red Cross.

First Aid/CPR/AED

The American Red Cross currently has an adapted CPR/First Aid/AED course available following social distancing guidelines (that is, this course can be offered when an area is still following strict social distancing guidelines). A few things to note:

• It is strongly encouraged that this course is completed in the blended learning format with all the video content being watched and completed by participants online prior to arrival at camp or prior to the skills check.

• Skills check can be offered in person or virtually. There are some skills that will not be practiced (specifically choking procedures and any application of direct pressure for controlling bleeding). All skills will be practiced on manikins.

• There must be a 1:1 student to manikin ratio during the skills verification and extensive cleaning procedures are required.

• For the AED certification to be completed, all students must have hands-on time with an AED trainer. If AED trainers are shared, they must be cleaned and sanitized in between users.

• Students and instructors are expected to wear masks during in-person training except when practicing rescue breaths.

• For entirely virtual training: there must be a 1:1 manikin, AED, and camera ratio to participants separated by at least 6 feet. This could be accomplished with a collection of webcams and mobile devices.

• These guidelines apply not only to CPR/First Aid/AED but also for the CPR for the Professional Rescuer/First Aid that is typically offered as part of the Lifeguarding course.

What should I do to get this set up for my staff?

• Decide if you want to offer a blended learning or entirely virtual training.

• Decide how you would like for the skills verification to occur—primarily how will your participants get access to manikins, PPE, and AED trainers and if you need to offer several smaller sessions. Course time for skills verification is approximately 3.5 hours.

• Be in touch with Ruby to schedule your course.

• Cost for the course in any format is $36/per person and a $300/day instruction fee. *ACA-Accredited camps are eligible for a discounted per-person price.

It may be helpful to know:

• I have 8 adult CPR manikins, 4 infant CPR manikins and 4 AED trainers available for use or rental. 2 pairs of gloves and 1 disposable breathing barrier are included per person in the cost of the course. If only renting gear, the cost of a training kit is $30 per person.

Lifeguarding

At this time, the American Red Cross guidance for Lifeguarding is that the course cannot be completed while a local area is under strict social distancing guidelines (shelter-in-place / stay-at-home)

How do I train my guards then?

• Good question. Your best bet currently is to rely on previously certified guards. Make sure you take note of the 120-day extension noted above. These are not issued automatically and do require some button-clicking via Red Cross’ system that your course participants or I can do.

• There is guidance available listing that life-saving does take precedent over following social distancing guidelines so it is “legal” to make lifesaving rescues as your lifeguards do their jobs this summer.

• If you want to still offer a course, this is how I would recommend doing so:

  • Have any one interested in taking the Lifeguarding course complete the ~8 hours of Blended Learning Lifeguarding course content online. This is available via a Direct Link and requires no financial commitment to make available to your staff. *Please note I am encouraging all camp programs looking to offer a Lifeguarding certification course to their staff to offer it as a Blended Learning option this year.

  • Schedule a skills verification day (or days if your class is larger than about 10 people) with Ruby. If you have more than ten folks and are on a tight window for completing your skills verification for lifeguards, let Ruby know and she can try to recruit an additional Lifeguard Instructor.

  • Wait for social distancing guidelines to be relaxed or superceding guidelines to be issued by the county department of health, the American Camp Association, the American Red Cross, or the CDC. Consider that this may not occur until your season is underway. Consider if it is possible to pull these staff during a program day to complete their Lifeguard Skills Verification.

• Cost for Lifeguarding is $375 per instruction day plus $45 per person. *ACA-Accredited camps are eligible for a discounted per-person price. This fee is only assessed for participants that complete the in-person skills verification and thus successfully receive a Lifeguarding Certification from the American Red Cross.

• This price includes a CPR mask for all participants to keep as well as gloves to utilize during the skills verification check and other rescue gear.

• I have two rescue tubes available for use in the course. It is preferred that all participants can have their own rescue tube. Otherwise strict cleaning protocols are required in between uses for participants and may require additional time for conducting the skills verification.

• The cost of the course does not include any applicable facility rental fees.

• Please note: When possible while operating under pandemic protocols, it is preferred that skills verification sessions are conducted in chlorinated-pool-settings. There is currently simply a lack of research on spread of this coronavirus in water, especially during aquatics activities. Water is typically a poor agent for virus transfer. Initial research indicates that that chlorinated water does likely offer a slight extra barrier to virus transmission but it is unclear if there is any significant difference.

Wilderness First Aid

At this time there is no certain option to conduct American Red Cross’ Wilderness First Aid certification course due to the inability to offer the course and follow strict social distancing guidelines. If social distancing guidelines are eased (to be clear, there has been no clear definition of “eased” offered by the ARC), a course may be offered. Please rely on currently certified Wilderness First Aiders and their 120-day extension. There is no online/blended learning option for this course.

Could these guidelines change before camps open?

Yes. It is possible. I continue to monitor the ever-changing updates and guidelines. As stated above, if there is new guidance issued by the CDC, American Camp Association, or the American Red Cross that relaxes guidelines listed above, Ruby Outdoors will follow those guidelines assuming they are in alignment with county health orders as well. Local guidelines will be considered first, followed by any summer camp industry-specific guidelines that are issued.

Asking Your Boss to Support Your Attendance at the Women in Camp Summit

Now is the time to ask.

After reading this article entitled “Why Women Should Demand Professional Development,” I am reminded of a really important lesson that I have learned time and time again as an educator:

Every person learns differently.

Sure there are categories of learners and learning preferences. There are learning cycles and education strategies—and yet, when I think about many of the professional development events in the camping industry, they tend to be sit-and-get sessions with an “sage on stage” where learners taking a relatively passive role in their own learning.

In fact, that very reasoning is why I live tweet during conferences so I can retain what I’ve heard and continue to learn from it in the future as my followers engage with the nuggets I share.

I also think this is why many camp professionals discover that the networking time tends to be some of the most valuable time at a conference. Learning is social no matter whether you are an introvert or an extrovert. Engaging in conversation about an idea and thus formulating your thoughts and beliefs and understanding of the concept are the best ways to truly learn about a topic.

The Women in Camp Summit is designed with this in mind. With intentionally designed small group discussion and learning environments as well as opportunities for networking and mentorship, this is not a sit-and-get experience.

Today, ask your boss to support you in attending the Women in Camp Summit on November 7-9…

• because it will make you a more effective and assertive leader when managing staff and parent relationships

• because it is an economical option for a professional development that is designed by educators who understand how learning works.

• because you will return refreshed, rejuvenated, and ready to tackle the challenges in front of you

• because your organization can proudly share that they support Women in Camping.

• because your camp community wants to know what you are doing as an organization to prepare your campers and your staff to operate in a #metoo world

• because you are worth investing in.

Registration for the Women in Camp Summit ends October 1, 2018 and can be completed at this site.

Boss says no but you still want to come? You deserve it. Contact kim@acail.org about financial assistance and check out the Women in Camp Summit Ride & Room Share group to get linked up with others who can help you reduce your cost.

Why a Women’s Summit?

Where are we?

“Do you want to look at your photos from camp?” Joanna was talking with her daughter Kelly. Kelly, nervous about her upcoming first day of school, was visibly withdrawn from her usual confident self.

Kelly looked up at her mom and smiled as she glanced at the photo on her mom’s phone of Kelly and her cabinmates on their last day of camp for the summer. She jumped off the dining room chair and ran to her room and came back a few minutes later decked out in her camp t-shirt, camp pajamas, and camp bracelets. Her camp bandana was wrapped on her head. She stood in the doorway of the kitchen and put her arms on her hips, took a tall stance, and a big smile crept across her face.

“I’m ready,” Kelly remarked. “I climbed to the top of the climbing wall! I stayed away from home for two weeks without you. I even chose to eat BROCCOLI!”

Joanna smiled at her daughter’s confidence and said, “What could third grade possibly challenge you with that you can’t face? You will be a star.”

As a friend recounted this story to me and showed me the photos of Kelly in her camp gear, I wanted to celebrate the impact of camp and that it had made Kelly feel SO good.

And then my attitude quickly soured as I came to think, “What’s wrong with our world that our girls have to put on armor to face every day life? Why are girls being torn down?”

And lastly I thought, “It doesn’t have to be this way.”

As I rewatch the passionate speeches of the students from Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School at the March for Our Lives where the students, one by one, demanded that we, the adults, the people in charge of this world, do better, I couldn’t help but feel passionately that it does not have to be this way. We do not have to sit idly by and have our world become a place where we don’t want or can’t live.

We have to be better.

Who runs this world anyway?

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It’s time. Period.

Four years ago I took a Leave No Trace Master Educator class and my two male instructors stated to the class, “You need to be incorporating a discussion about proper disposal of feminine products into your lessons about disposing of waste properly. It’s not only about trash and poo anymore.”

I remember hearing that and thinking “Of course! Why haven’t we been doing that all along?”

Earlier that year, the company Thinx was founded. They released videos of famous female celebrities talking about their periods. Mila Kunis talking about her period! What?!? TV like this doesn’t happen.

And yet, it was brilliant. Thinx set out to take the stigma out of period talk. Because this is a natural process. Because it happens to roughly half the earth’s population at some point in life.

Because--let’s be real--as women, most of us have or have had periods. And, if not, we've certainly helped another woman through it. You know you have an established friendship with another person when you can finally talk about periods. When you feel safe and brave enough to broach the topic with someone else, you know that this person will be a friend, be it just for now or forever because the door has been opened to a path of vulnerability and sharing.

So, consider the Women In Camp Summit as a large gathering of people who not only are brave enough to talk about periods, but also about what it is like to be a female in charge, how to navigate the “old boys clubs” that persist, and how to build a world where females can be true agents of change. And what if these women also built a world where they don’t have to hide their tampons in their sleeves?

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Change happens now.

At a recent national conference, a friend of mine spoke with several notable female leaders who are members of the preceding generation of camp leaders. These are women who fought to wear pants in the workplace. These are women who were some of the first to really be faced with the a true choice to have a family, a career, or both. These were women who fought to get in the leadership positions they are in.

As my friend shared with these remarkable women about her experiences of being ignored or the assumption that she was the assistant when accompanied into a professional setting with a male, the older generation grew visibly upset. One even remarked, “I thought we fixed this.” Another commented, “We worked too hard to make things better for you to be treated that way.”

There is still more work to be done and with the emergence of #metoo and #timesup, more people are ready to engage in the discussion. Males are reflecting on past relationships and wondering if they have caused #metoo moments for the women in their life and are asking how they can help and how they can be allies.

In truth, I don’t think we have the shared language and cultural norms established yet to fully teach others how to be allies and how to make sweeping cultural change because we are navigating an entire nation’s history of oppression and privilege.

And that’s why we need summer camp to be the living laboratory where we test our theories, practice new language, and process the experience in these smaller social settings so we can hone in on strategies that work and social skills that need to be taught and developed. What does it look like to create an equitable learning community? What does it look like for women to be empowered? How does that change or remain consistent across cultural differences?

These are not easy questions and that’s why women must come together and network with one another, learn from each other, and build community with smart #ladycamppros across the world.

That’s why I ask you to join us at the Women in Camp Summit November 7-9 in St Charles, IL for three days of networking, discussion, and mentorship. Because, as Beyonce says, “Who runs the world?”

“Girls.”

The Intersection of #MeToo and Summer Camp

According to Wikipedia, the #MeToo movement went viral in October 2017 after Alyssa Milano tweeted the following suggestion from a friend:

“If all the women who have been sexually harassed or assaulted wrote “Me Too” as a status, we might give people a sense of the problem.”

On the days following October 15, across the world, ‘Me Too” Facebook statuses, tweets, and Instagram posts were abundant. The stories seemed to be endless. Some shocking, others horrifying, and many, familiar.

Pandora’s box was opened. The curtain pulled back. Social media, for a few days, felt like a release valve had finally been turned. The gravity and magnitude of how many have been violated in their personal lives and, furthermore, in their professional careers became very real and very personal.

#MeToo was first used by Tarana Burke, a social activist and community organizer, on Myspace in 2006 in an effort to promote empowerment through empathy especially among women of color. The phrase “me too” came from Ms. Burke’s recounting of a story of a 13-year old disclosing abuse she had endured to Ms. Burke. Ms. Burke found that she had nothing to say in response and upon reflection, wished that she had simply said, “Me too.”

In the months following, Hollywood, news, and political figures were accused of a variety of acts against others ranging from harassment to assault. Some apologized. Others denied. Some remained silent.

And like that, the nation was thrust into a conversation about rape culture, gender, and equitable work environments.

What role does summer camp play in a #metoo world?

There are many lessons to be gleaned from the current events of the last year though first and foremost, camps have an obligation to create the space for staff to practice having honest and vulnerable conversations about what is happening in the non-camp world.

The camp bubble has been popped and as much as we may want to live in our own little worlds and ignore what is happening “out there,” this year parents will ask harder questions about harassment and abuse policies, teens will have walked out of school in support of gun control, and elementary age children have been asked what pronouns they prefer.

Summer camp has the opportunity to be the living laboratory where social experiments are conducted to see what a truly equitable world looks like. Summer camp is the world where everyone can be included and all are recognized and respected for their differences and strengths. The skills, rules, and commitments necessary to make radically inclusive environments can be determined, refined, and then shared to the rest of the world.

The rest of the world can’t immediately enact legislation that requires people to ask for consent before touching another person’s body. But summer camps can make that rule.

The rest of the world can’t just snap their fingers and say everyone must use non-binary gender pronouns, but summer camps can.

The rest of the world can’t instantly implement a brave space where conversations about privilege and intent versus impact happen respectfully. But summer camps can.

The rest of the world can’t simply say, “everybody put down your screens and talk to each other.” But summer camps can. And summer camps do.

What does summer camp look like in a #metoo world?

Call-in to a brave space

In the past when having challenging conversations, youth development professionals often used the term “safe space” to represent an environment where it was okay to speak up, share out, and challenge one another. However, the very definition of safe contradicts the experiences necessary to grow. To experience growth, one must take risks, be challenged, and have the opportunity to fail or stumble. By using the term “brave space,” camps, can instead, ask for bravery from the community, rather than promising the illusion of safety.

Bravery can be celebrated in your camp community. Imagine the staff member that says, “I’m a white male and I recognize that I have been privileged growing up and I still don’t understanding why the Black Lives Matter movement is such a big deal.” While this statement may sting some in the group, in a brave space, this staff member is acknowledged for his bravery to speak up and for offering the invitation for others to educate him.

Instead of calling him out as privileged or racist, there is the opportunity for this staff member to indicate to the group, “Hey, I want to know more and I am not totally sure how to ask. Help me understand.” And when staff step into that space with vulnerability and authenticity, those staff are able to take control of their own learning, open their minds and hearts to others’ experiences, and listen more fully to what is shared around them.

Consider setting aside time this summer for your staff to share what gender means to them personally and how they have come to understand their own and other gender identifications. Simply hearing from one another about what they have learned in the past can help those in the community have more empathy and understanding about where folks are coming from.

Offer your staff the opportunity to fill in the blank on the following statement and share out with others in the community: “It really bugs me when others ask me_________________.” Most camp directors hate being asked what they do the rest of the year and having the opportunity to share that frustration and talk about it further can be a true bonding experience between people. This same bonding experience can be extended to discussions about gender, race, religion, and other beliefs and values.

Teach consent to all

Consent education doesn’t just belong in sex education class. Consent education can be taught to all ages if you use the guiding principle that a person is the captain of their body and nobody can touch, change, feed, or enter that body without the captain’s permission. See the flow chart below about the difference between asking for consent and asking for cooperation in youth programming.

Talk about trust and boundaries

With the prevalence of fake news and alleged atrocious acts from public figures, it can be impossible to know who to trust. There is much uncertainty today and anxiety about trusting the “right” people is rampant in both youth and adults. Encourage staff to use the word trust when appropriate with one another and with staff. Consider having staff discuss what it means to break trust and what are some of the boundaries around trust. Encourage a strong connection to self for campers and staff and a trust in their own beliefs, values, and boundaries. If something doesn’t feel right, encourage campers and staff to speak up and advocate for themselves.

Encourage action

In light of the March for Our Lives, it may be that campers or staff want to create their own movements. If a group of campers wants to put together a march to rally around a topic, ask how you can help. Ask questions about what they want to accomplish and offer guidance on how to plan programs or events that are effective and engaging for all. Consider a social justice evening program or an opportunity for campers to ask questions about what they are hearing about in the news. Perhaps that is an informal conversation that is sparked during a more sedentary activity.

If a camper brings up a controversial topic, use the technique that Scott Arizala teaches and encourage staff to say, “It seems like you are curious about XYZ. Tell me more about what you are wondering about.” By asking questions directed at the camper’s curiosity, rather than directed at the topic itself, it demonstrates to participants that the staff member may be able to engage in the conversation without shutting down the discussion because it is taboo and without sharing personal details from the staff member’s life.

Camp staff are professional role models and they can role model how to have conversations about controversial or uncomfortable topics in a respectful and professional way. Equip staff to ask campers about their evidence when a camper states strong beliefs or facts and to ask this question regardless of whether they believe the fact to be true or not so all in the community get used to evaluating and sharing their sources.

You don’t have to be an expert

One of the biggest hurdles to leading conversations around controversial topics is directors feeling like they are not experts in that topic. In this case, it is okay to show some vulnerability and authenticity and say, “I don’t have all the answers and I am interested to hear more about your experiences.” There may be a staff member who has expertise to share that may step up and voice their knowledge given the invitation. There may be questions or concerns around the topic that never occurred to you that will be brought up for the whole group, raising awareness of triggers, challenges, and frustrations that may have previously been unspoken.

Look at your own social media accounts and pay attention to what voices you are hearing. Are there podcasts that you can listen to that express opinions or experiences vastly different from your own? Are there Jnstagram accounts you can follow that will give you a glimpse into someone else’s life that is completely different from yours? Are there other camp directors or professionals in the area who want to talk about gender, equitable work places, social justice, and other issues that are relevant in local, regional, and national communities? Can you create the space for these conversations to happen? Yes, summer camps can.
    

Want help?

Consent education - Keep an eye on rubyoutdoors.com for a suite of materials to assist in bringing consent education to your camp from lesson plans to power points and handouts for staff and campers coming soon.

Delegate this - Hire me to come to your camp to facilitate these conversations and empower staff on the skills and tactics addressed above.

Hey those who identify as female in the camping industry! - Come to the first annual Women in Camping Summit in St Charles, IL November 7-9, 2018 where all kinds of discussions and presentations surrounding being a female camp professional will happen. This first year is only open to those who identify as female with plans to open the summit up to all genders in future years.