Dear Staff, 

Summer camp is here, and God is moving. Through the late nights and early mornings, prayers and laughter, kids will meet Jesus! 

As you head to and from camp, here’s what you need to know this month: 

Make a Great Impression: Departure Day Tips 

You’ve been praying and preparing for camp for months, and it’s finally here — departure day! This is your chance to go beyond the prep checklist, make a great first impression, and build trust with families. We interviewed several area directors on how to have a great departure day, and here are their ideas:   

Bring Camp to Donor’s Mailboxes — Send Thank You Postcards! 

Share the positive impact of camp with your donors and ministry partners — send personalized postcards featuring your summer campers! Whether you’re still at camp or already home, there are plenty of options for mailing thank you postcards: 

How to order: 
Visit the Online Ordering System and look under Camp/Photo Postcards and Foldover Cards.  

For more information, visit Staff Resources. Questions? Contact Creative Services at 719-381-1783. 

10 Summer Camp Pro Tips 

Looking for ideas for your camp week? Here’s a roundup of 10 great resources to help you during your week at camp!

🧳 Things for leaders to pack for camp and a liturgy for packing

🚌 Strategies for the bus ride

🧠 Trivia questions for the bus ride

🎉 25 ways to make the most of free time

🍽 Table conversation starters  

📖 A devotional and prayer guide for leaders (printable PDF)

👥 One-on-ones at camp and at home 

❓ 20 questions to ask students about their week

🔧 WyldLife Cabin Time Toolkits 

🏡 After-Camp Ideas for Campaigners

Camp in Action — Video Scrapbook 

Want to see camp in action? Our awesome video interns are creating amazing videos that showcase the best moments of camp each week. Head over to our video scrapbook website, and find your camp week. Also, it’s the perfect way for parents to catch a glimpse of the Young Life camp experience so share the link with them!    

Videos will be uploaded as interns have availability, so be patient if you haven’t seen the video you are looking for! 

YL Connect Camp — Recent Email Update 

We’ve recently identified and fixed a delivery issue affecting YL Connect Camp emails. Some messages weren’t reaching parents and participants due to stricter spam filters. To improve deliverability, emails will now come from an authenticated "no reply" address (no-reply@e4.younglife.org).  

As of June 16, all messages sent via the “Send Individualized Email” option in the arrival form will use this new no reply sender address. Good news — you don’t have to do anything different! An email address for the person initiating the links will be listed in the email, so that participants and parents can contact you directly if they have questions. Refer to the learning guide for more information about this update. If you have questions, reach out to camping@sc.younglife.org or post in the YL Connect "How to" chatter group.  

Thanks for reading. Day Zero will take a summer camping break in July, but we’ll be back in August! View last month's issue and all our camping resources on Staff Resources.      

Happy summer camping! 

FYI – This newsletter is sent to all current U.S. field staff, camp managers, and camping admin managers. Do you know of a volunteer who would like to be added to this communication? Just have them sign up, and we’ll be sure include them.