Strategic Priorities

While aspects of the Huckins experience have changed over the last 95 years, many elements of the camp experience have remained constant and true. As we work to put our mission and vision into action and develop leaders within our community, we will work to identify the timeless elements of the Huckins experience that we will build upon. These elements will guide our decision making as we explore organizational and programmatic change and growth.

Those who know Huckins implicitly understand the value of a CCYMCA Camp Huckins experience, but as we strive to ensure each camper and staff person benefits fully from the Huckins experience it is necessary to clearly explain that value.

Beginning in January of 2022, a group of Huckins Board Members, campers and staff met monthly to identify the key elements of the Huckins Experience. Our goal is to explicitly state the essential elements and outcomes of a summer at Huckins to use as a guide as we grow and evolve the Huckins program for the future. This will support all aspects of our master planning and our Diversity, Equity, Inclusion and Belonging work.

We will engage with alumni, families, summer staff, campers, and key stakeholders to inform this work and create a shared understanding of the importance and value of a Huckins summer.

For youth, families, individuals, and communities (campers, staff & volunteers, families, adults, alumni, donors, Carroll County Stakeholders) that meet their changing needs.

When Samuel Huckins donated the land for Camp Huckins in memory of Nellie Harmon Huckins, he wrote, “Nothing but a living, pulsating institution can justly portray her personality.” As a living institution, Huckins has adapted and innovated to deliver our mission throughout its history. We will continue to do the same as we mindfully grow and improve our programs, review our traditions, build a culture of belonging, and implement our Master Plan and capital improvements. We will approach all aspects of this work creatively and bravely, centering the Huckins Experience as we strive to serve our Huckins communities.

• Huckins has always prioritized the safety of our campers and staff. As our industry changes, we will utilize the Huckins Experience work described above and best practices in child safety to update our programs and expectations.
• One of the most powerful aspects of a Huckins summer is the friendships that are made and how they continue to thrive well beyond summer. Our hundredth will be a celebration of this Huckins community. We want to expand our engagement with our CCYMCA Camp Huckins communities – our alumni, families, donors, Carroll Country stakeholders, participants, staff, and volunteers.
• We will continue to prioritize delivering Huckins programs that increase diversity, equity, inclusion and belonging in our communities.
• As we update our Master Plan, we will mindfully consider the changing needs of campers, staff and families to ensure CCYMCA Camp Huckins continues to thrive.

Young people feel increasing pressure to build their resumes in support of their college applications and job searches. The expectations staff have of work have also changed. Huckins is uniquely positioned to meet these changing needs and expectations as we re-envision the staff experience. We will leverage our history of investing in staff leadership development and the staff experience. We have a committed alumni network to support staff in their resume building and career development, framing the skills gained by working at Huckins to be competitive with summer internships. We will create a culture that nurtures mind, body, spirit and joy for our staff.

• In 2022 we worked with staff to create a healthy Huckins “ecosystem”, building a culture that nurtures mind, body, spirit and joy. We will continue building on our interconnectedness as we support staff in their physical and mental wellness in the context of the camp community. As a staff and leadership team, we will explore some of the assumptions/expectations that we need to be open to change and what do we need to hold onto and help staff embrace. For example, what does it mean to live in a “tech free” environment for the summer when staff need regular access to their technology? What does time off look like in a camp workday?
• How can we utilize the talented Huckins network to support the professional development needs of our summer staff? We are seeking to translate the value of working at Huckins, recognizing the skills learned working at camp for the summer are value-adds for college application and most careers.
• We are seeking to build a culture that encourages learning, recognizes mistakes as a part of learning, and builds on the creativity and innovation of this community.
• As we re-envision the staff experience, we will center CCYMCA Camp Huckins Mission, Values & commitment to DEIB in our staff experience – diversity, culture building, decision-making, training. We want to mindfully include “how we do our work” while doing our work.

The strengths, shadows, and opportunities and bring that lens to all our work.

Campers and staff consistently describe Huckins as the place where they feel a sense of belonging as their true self. It is a powerful testament to the Camp Huckins program and experience, and this has inspired us to strive to create that sense of belonging for all our campers and staff. We recognize this will be a continual process of individual and organizational learning, and unlearning. We will utilize outside resources and the perspectives of our Huckins community as we seek to integrate new knowledge into our programs and work.

In 2021, CCYMCA Camp Huckins engaged an outside consulting company to conduct a DEIB organizational assessment. We began exploring their recommendation in 2022 and will continue to do so as we move forward.

We will continue to utilize resources from Y-USA, the ACA, outside consultants and trainers to build our skills and understanding to integrate new knowledge into our programs and work.

We will prioritize individual learning along with community learning, with ongoing assessment of strengths/challenges and reflection on action steps to set goals for future action. In 2021 we began asking our campers directly about their experience during camp and utilizing their feedback on belonging and inclusion to engage with cabins, plan divisional activities, and in the development of 2022 staff training and program planning. We will continue to include camper perspective, along with staff and families, in our annual planning.

Support culture grounded in our values, manage risks, and engage & value staff, alumni, participants, donors and community members.

The way we work is changing quickly, bringing new opportunities, technologies, expectations, challenges and risks. It is essential that we have a strong foundation that centers CCYMCA Camp Huckins mission and values as we meet these changes. To ensure the long-term health of CCYMCA Camp Huckins, we will buttress our systems that protect the human, financial, capital, and natural resources of our organization. We will review and improve systems and tools in our financial reporting, human resource management, databases, risk management & child safety, use of technology & digital platforms, infrastructure & facilities management, sustainability, and communications. We will ground our work in the simplicity of life under the pines while acknowledging the increased complexity of camping and youth development.

We will bring a DEIB lens to the creation of systems and tools to achieve the above.