In Jessamine County, Week Long 4-H Camp is the highlight of summer for nearly 400 youth and counselors who attend each year. As a result of the global pandemic, and out of concern for the safety of our 4-H members in the commonwealth, 4-H camp was cancelled for the summer of 2020.   Jessamine and Mercer 4-H saw a need for normalcy, and a need for camp magic to continue in some form, thus “4-H Camp at Home” was born.  4-H Camp at Home was a weeklong virtual experience that sought to keep camp alive, and take parts of the summer camp experience into the homes of our 4-H campers and counselors! The Jessamine County District Board recognized the need for youth to have some normalcy in their summer and worked to fund the camp at home experience. 

A team of camp counselors from both counties was formed to assist in the creation of the Camp at Home experience.  We called this team “Operation Camp Magic” These leaders stepped up and helped the extension staff with the creation of lessons, and activities to be placed in a “Camp at Home” box.  We formed teams from this group to help create alterative, at home activities for those well know camp wide activities like Sadie Hawkins games, Water Olympics, Gold Rush and Swamp Monster. Several members of this team also created lesson plans for a variety of classes. We also had members of this leadership team volunteer to serve as “Spirit leaders” for our week of camp.  These leaders helped keep youth engaged and excited. The “Operation Camp Magic” team was a great way to engage our camp counselors and give them a taste of camp, which so many of them missed dearly.  

172 Jessamine County youth signed up to participate in the 4-H Camp at Home experience.  They received a box, with the following items in it: a schedule for the week, a bandana to let them know their color assignment, (team assignment), a parent packet, which had instructions for them and a “Camp Counselor” badge for them, since they would be serving this role for their camper,  Instructions for 2 classes they signed up for, with some supplies for said classes, instructions for those iconic camp wide activities mentioned above, several iconic camp foods and snacks as well as a menu and snack description, a recipe for French toast sticks, glow sticks and a glow sally alternative activity instruction sheet, a camp slushy recipe, two tree seedlings to plant in honor of summer camp, a cable for the last night camp fire ceremony and a t shirt.   The entire Jessamine County Extension Staff assisted in some way with our camp at home program.  They helped put boxes together, arranged for the tree seedling give a way, helped distribute boxes, taught our cooking class on zoom and were all great support for this event.   

We had 89 first year campers who participated in the Camp at Home experience.  In order to help them understand camp a bit, and be prepared for next year on site, we wrote them a special note from our office staff.  We also had counselors write them a personal note with advice for week long camp and words of encouragement, as well as explaining some of the counselor’s favorite things about summer camp. 

During the week of camp, June 15-19, 2020, participants and their families were invited to join a private Facebook group.   They were asked to post them participating in different activities and earn points for their color team.  We followed the schedule sent home, and had certain things posted, certain times we were live on the group etc.  We utilized some videos from North Central camp staff, and also produced our own.  Spirit leaders completed “Hype” videos to get their teams excited, and also lead the group in songs and dances.  We even ended the week with a Thursday night Camp fire video and live Facebook event, singing the meaningful end of camp song, Linger. The Facebook group allowed us to interact together while participating in our camp at home. We gave prizes for earning points 

Of those surveyed after the week long Camp at Home event, 93% said they plan to send their young person to 4-H Summer Camp in the future, and the other 7% said maybe.  35% said they learned more cooking skills, both indoor and outdoor.   74% of youth reported being more physically active during that week than normal.  Many parents commented that being their child’s “Counselor” allowed them to make lasting memories and get an understanding of what goes on at summer camp.  When asked in the survey what their favorite thing about Camp at Home was the following statements were made- “I love that you guys made camp work even with social distancing in effect. It was something special for the kids and they loved it.”,    “How creative and organized it was.  Very well organized and excellent communication”, and “It was a full day, starting with the pledge. There were appropriate games, crafts, camp songs, and cheering their team along by the counselors.”   Some other comments mentioned in the evaluation were “Thank you all for making the camp magic still happen. It may not have been ideal but it definitely keep my family entertained and camp magic was made at home”,  “Thank you all for all of the work on this - it will never replace "real" camp, but it was an amazing experience nonetheless. “ and “ It was amazing way beyond my expectations.”   Overall, though no replacement for a week of summer camp, “Camp at Home” for Jessamine and Mercer Counties was an overwhelming success and brought just a bit of camp magic to our counties.