Camp Caravan 2025 Site Host Application - New Communities of Faith

Camp Caravan 2025 Site Host Application

Interest in hosting Camp Caravan continues to grow, and the level of engagement for host communities is evolving for 2025!

We invite all congregations interested in hosting Camp Caravan in 2025 to complete this short application. This will help us evaluate potential locations and assess the ability to support Camp Caravan. We will offer camp weeks based on a range of factors, including the information provided in this application.

Please note that an inability to answer "YES" to all questions will NOT automatically disqualify a site from consideration.

APPLICATIONS WILL BE OPEN FOR 2025 UNTIL ALL WEEKS ARE BOOKED.

Why Camp Caravan?

In partnership with local United Church congregations in Chinook Wind Regional Council, Camp Caravan provides equipped leaders to nurture the spirit of each child, supporting children and families to live lives of faith, hope, and compassion in the world.

Camp Caravan is hosted at United Church communities of faith so that congregations can build relationships with both young people who are active in the church and those from the surrounding community. By bringing Camp Caravan to local churches, we strengthen their ministry with children, youth, and families, helping to foster meaningful connections that can continue beyond the camp experience.

Why Host Camp Caravan?

Hosting Camp Caravan is an opportunity for a congregation to engage with children and families in a fun, faith-filled environment. Through this partnership, the church becomes a place where children experience belonging, kindness, and a sense of community—all while having an unforgettable summer adventure.

Why Do We Need a Camp Caravan Site Host from the Local Church?

The role of the Camp Caravan Site Host is crucial in ensuring a successful and welcoming experience. The Site Host plays a key role in:

Building Relationships: Acting as a bridge between the church and camp participants, fostering connections that extend beyond the camp week.
Logistic Support: Assisting with space setup, access to facilities, and ensuring a smooth daily operation.
Health & Safety Oversight: Helping create a secure and well-managed environment for children, volunteers, and staff.
Hospitality & Welcome: Ensuring all participants feel valued and included within the church space.

Camp Caravan: A Summer of Fun, Friendship & Faith

Camp Caravan is a week-long summer day camp designed for children from kindergarten to grade 7, bringing adventure, creativity, and community to various locations across Chinook Winds Region. Each day is packed with dynamic activities, hands-on learning, and unforgettable experiences that help children explore God’s love and “Follow the Spirit” in their everyday lives—all while making new friends and having a blast!

🌟 What Makes Camp Caravan Special?

Interactive & Immersive: Kids will see, hear, touch, and even taste their way through the week's exciting adventures.
Faith in Action: Through stories, music, crafts, science experiments, and team-building games, campers will discover creative ways to experience God's power and love in their world.
Virtues & Values: While Bible stories and mentions of God are woven into the program, our focus is on kindness, community building, and living out strong values in a welcoming and inclusive space.
Engaged & Encouraging Leaders: Our enthusiastic team is dedicated to ensuring every child feels included, accepted, and celebrated for who they are.

💛 Everyone Belongs at Camp Caravan!

We believe that every child deserves a camp experience, no matter their financial situation. Subsidy options are available—just let us know during registration or reach out by email.

Join us for a week of discovery, friendship, and fun—because at Camp Caravan, adventure is always on the move!

Becoming a Camp Caravan Host Site: What We Need From You

Name*

First NameLast Name

Email*

example@example.com

Phone Number*

Please enter a valid phone number.

Name of Community of Faith and city in which you are located.*

ie. Beloved United Church, Calgary

Outdoor Space: Are you able to provide access to a green space within a safe, 10-minute walk from your location for daily outdoor physical activity?*

YesNo

Publicity & Marketing: Are you able to actively promote Camp Caravan by: - Displaying a Camp Caravan banner and/or sandwich board several months before camp, - Posting flyers on local community bulletin boards, and - Engaging with local community and family services to help spread the word?*

YesNo

Community Engagement: Are you able to coordinate a minimum of three Community Engagement sessions during Camp Caravan week? Community Engagement happens each afternoon (1–1.5 hours) and offers campers a site-specific, full-group activity led by a member of the Community of Faith or wider community. This could include activities such as card-making, bread-making, watercolour painting, felting, woodworking, science experiments, gardening, drumming, nature walks, bird watching, or outreach projects. Would your site be able to organize or host these sessions?*

YesNo

Insurance Coverage 1: As a host site, you are required to provide liability insurance coverage for Camp Caravan while it is operating in your space. Can your Community of Faith confirm that it can provide insurance coverage for Camp Caravan?*

YesNo

Insurance Coverage 2: If there are any limitations or concerns with insurance coverage, please let us know.*

Food Security & Meal Support 1: We recognize that food security is an increasing concern for many families. To help alleviate this stress and ensure all campers are nourished throughout the day, we ask host site to provide snacks and encourage them to consider providing lunch during Camp Caravan. Would your Community of Faith be willing to provide lunch for campers and staff?*

YesNo

Food Security & Meal Support 2: If so, what meal and snack support do you anticipate being able to offer? (We will be able to support menu planning.)*

Daily Lunch and Snacks for the week1 Lunch and Snacks for the week2 Lunches and Snacks for the week3 Lunches and Snacks for the week4 Lunches and Snacks for the weekSnacks only for the week

Food Security & Meal Support 3: If not, would you be open to partnering with local organizations, food banks, or community groups to explore meal options?*

YesNo

Financial Support: Camp Caravan is a travelling ministry program, which comes with unique costs as we operate without a fixed campus and across multiple host sites. To ensure the sustainability of this ministry, all host sites are asked to contribute financially, helping to share these costs across all Camp Caravan program weeks for the benefit of every community involved. The cost to adequately staff and run one week of Camp Caravan—including staffing, training, programming, and activity supplies—is just over $10,000. To help support this ministry, we ask that your Community of Faith consider budgeting a minimum contribution of $500 to $1,000 or more if possible. Please confirm the dollar amount your Community of Faith is able to contribute toward hosting Camp Caravan through your Community of Faith's operating budget or other fundraising initiatives?*

Facility Use & Safety: To ensure camper and staff safety, and to minimize daily setup/takedown, we ask that all other programming in your building be paused during Camp Caravan week. Are there any ongoing rentals or programs (e.g., AA groups) that you would be unable or hesitant to cancel? If so, why?*

Volunteer Discernment: Are you able to carefully discern volunteers who are: - Well-suited for a camp environment, - Comfortable working with today’s children and their unique behaviours, - Flexible in responding to camp dynamics (e.g., weather, unexpected changes), and - Committed to upholding the First Third Ministry Leadership Code of Conduct?*

YesNo

Do you have a Site Host in mind? If so, please share their name and role within your community.*

Site Host Commitment: Will your Site Host: - Fulfill all responsibilities as outlined in the position description, - Sign the First Third Leadership Code of Conduct, and - Complete Commit to Kids training to ensure a safe and positive camp experience for all?*

YesNo

Camp Caravan Site Host Position Description

Camp Caravan Staff Accommodations – Communities of Faith Outside the Calgary Area

Camp Caravan prioritizes community-sourced accommodations, which help build relationships and reduce costs. As part of this approach, we have moved away from housing staff in hotels or rented accommodations whenever possible.

Our accommodation requests are as follows:

Homestay Option

For locations within the Chinook Winds Region but outside the Calgary area, we ask host sites to provide:

Homestays for up to six staff members, with a minimum of two staff per home, each with separate beds, within a 20-minute travel distance to the church/camp location.

A Homestay includes:

At least two separate beds in a home with a Police Record Checked adult(s) living there
Kitchen access and groceries for breakfast preparation
Kitchen access and groceries or dinner prepared for homestay guests
Homestay hosts are referred by your Community of Faith and vetted by Camp Caravan
A per-person, per-night remuneration is provided to the homestay host

Alternative Accommodation Option

If homestays are not available, an alternative accommodation arrangement may be made by providing:

A location with separate beds for up to seven people (six staff + one local chaperone), such as an empty home, camp buildings, lodge, or Vrbo
A vetted responsible adult (age 25+) to stay with the team for the week (job description available)
Camp Caravan will contribute the equivalent homestay remuneration toward this accommodation and food

For further details, the 2025 Homestay Guide is available below.

Homestay Guide 2025

Based on the information above, are you able to provide Homestays or alternative accommodations for Camp Caravan staff?

We can provide names of Homestay hosts who have agreed to participate and whom we are confident can support Camp Caravan staff.We will be able to arrange alternative accommodations.We are unable to coordinate accommodations.

If providing Homestays is not an option, please describe the alternative accommodation arrangements your Community of Faith can offer for Camp Caravan staff.

And now for the exciting part! Please select your top three preferred weeks for your Community of Faith to host Camp Caravan 2025.*

	July 7-11, 2025	July 14-18, 2025	July 21-25, 2025	July 28-Aug 1, 2025	Aug 5-8, 2025 (4 days)	Aug 11-15, 2025	Aug 18-22, 2025
First Choice
Second Choice
Third Choice

Final Thoughts: As we continue to grow the Camp Caravan community, we’d love to hear from you! - What excites you most about the possibility of hosting Camp Caravan? - Are there any unique aspects of your site that could enhance the camp experience? - Do you have creative engagement ideas to connect with your wider community through this ministry? We welcome any additional thoughts, ideas, or inspiration you’d like to share!

Thank You & Contact Information

Thank you for taking the time to complete this application and for your dedication to creating a meaningful Camp Caravan experience. Your thoughtful responses help ensure we build a program that is well-equipped, capable, and ready to serve our Communities of Faith.

If you have any curiosities, wonders, questions or would like to discuss any details further, please don’t hesitate to reach out to Lisa Penzo at lpenzo@united-church.ca .

Thank you for your commitment to this ministry—we look forward to partnering with you!