This session, thousands of children and young people will be missing out on the opportunity of going on a BB camp, residential weekend or night away.

Help to fill that gap by running a #BBatHOME Camp instead, encouraging members to camp out (or indoors) at home and get involved in many of the activities you would normally do on camp.

What is #BBatHOME Camp?

We have produced a pack of activities and supporting resources to support you in re-creating the camp experience at home. These activities have been designed for Junior, Company & Senior age groups and Companies are encouraged to use some of these activities, alongside ideas of their own, to build a two day #BBatHOME camp programme.

How do I Run a #BBatHOME Camp?

Virtual and/or At Home Activities

Activities have been designed to be delivered either virtually on Zoom or as activities taken on by members at home. The sample programme (available online) shows a mixture of virtual and at home activities, however your programme can be all virtual, mixed, or all at home activities. Running some activities virtually via Zoom can be a good way to increase engagement and make it more interactive for your young people. Activities could include Games, Competitions, Campfire, Quiz, Talent Show, Worship, Bake Off and a whole lot more. As well as considering the suggested activities you should also introduce elements or activities which your young people would recognise from your regular camps/residentials

Planning

Start off by bringing your leaders together to discuss the possibility of running a #BBatHOME Camp and how you might go about doing it. You’ll need to think about when you want to do it, how you wish to run it, what activities you can offer and splitting up the responsibilities.

Involve Young People

Make sure you involve your members in the planning. Ask them which activities they would like included in the programme and if they have any ideas of their own. You won’t have time to run all of the activities, so you’ll need to pick just the activities that appeal to your group the most.

Create Your Programme

Check out the sample programme to see how a programme can be created, then use the blank version to produce your own programme to share with your group. If using virtual sessions, think about which activities these would work best for and when in the programme. Not everything needs to be done as part of a virtual session. Starting and ending the day with a virtual session, with a check-in during the day might be one way to do it.

Communication

You’ll need to send out your camp invite, programme planner, activities and any other information to parents/carers. Encourage members to respond, letting you know if they will be joining in, follow up and encourage any you don’t hear back from. An editable programme and leaflet/poster can be found on online.

Camp Pack & Resources

Whilst most of the activities have been designed to use equipment found in an average home, you could help to ensure your #BBatHOME Camp is accessible to all by producing a ‘Camp Pack’, which can be delivered or sent out to members. This might include a copy of the programme, some of the resources needed for the activities you are running and a couple of treats.

Pictures, Videos and Social Media

Many of the activities encourage interaction between members and the BB group, by sending in pictures and videos of the activities. Emails, text messages, WhatsApp groups and social media can all be used to do this. Remember interaction should always be via a parent/carer and the latest guidance available online should be followed.

Recognising Achievement

Competitions and awards often form part of a camp programme and are a great way of encouraging to get involved and maintain engagement throughout. Consider how you could recognise achievement as part of your #BBatHOME Camp including individual/team/tent competitions, points or spot prizes. The new Night’s Away Award can also be used to recognise participation.

You can find all the resources and support at boys-brigade.org.uk/bbathome-camp/