The
Results Are In
In
June of 2006, Ashton
Communications Group (ACG)
was engaged by Dragonfly
Forest to survey
participants of
Dragonfly's 2006 camp
session to measure
positive impact of the
camp experience on
participants and their
families. The survey
consisted of pre and
post camp questionnaires
distributed to camper
and their parents. The
survey measured four
domains, Positive
Identity, Social Skills,
Adventure and Medical.
Positive Identify -
Self Esteem
Helping our campers feel
good about who they are
is the goal of Dragonfly
Forest. Increased
self-esteem is an
outcome of camp not
reached by empty praise
but rather from feeling
competent, have
successful experiences,
and making genuine
contributions. When we
explored Self Esteem
with Dragonfly Forest
campers and parents we
found the following:
* 60% of campers
reported improvement in
their self confidence
* 90% of parents
reported improvement in
their child's self
confidence
* 80% of camper's agreed
with the post-camp
statement that other
kids look up to them
Positive Identify -
Independence
The experience of
achievement when away
from home nurtures a
child's independence.
Our campers are
encouraged to step out
of their comfort zones
to take healthy risks at
Dragonfly Forest. When
we explored Independence
with our campers we
found the following:
*Campers had an 8%
positive improvement in
their ability to "do
fine" without their
parents around
* 50% of all respondents
agreed that the camp
experience provided the
impetus to do things
that had not been done
previously due to the
child's illness
* 50% of all respondents
agreed that the camp
experience helped
improve the camper's
life upon the return
home by allowing the
camper to do things that
previously had not been
done due to illness, or
by providing information
to better manage life
with illness
The greatest change in
response dispersion and
mean improvement in the
entire survey was in the
question: I/My Children
worry about my/their
illness. In the pre-camp
survey 50% of campers
and 40% of parents
agreed with the
statement that they or
their child worried
about their illness. In
the post camp survey 80%
of the campers
responding agreed that
they felt like they
don't worry about their
illness since attending
camp, which was
supported by 73% of the
responding parents.
Social Skills -
Leadership
Leadership, like
self-esteem, is earned.
Camp can play a critical
role in fostering
leadership by giving our
campers responsibilities
unavailable in other
settings. When we
explored leadership with
Dragonfly Forest campers
and parents we found the
following:
* 80% of post-camp
respondents indicated
that the camp experience
enabled the child to
become a good role model
for other children with
an illness
Social Skills -
Friendship
For most campers, camp
is about the friends
they make and not the
facilities or fun
activities they are
involved with at camp.
We measured Friendship
based on a desire to
introduce themselves,
talk and play with new
kids, including those
different then
themselves. The results
were:
* 75% of parents agreed
that their child
initiated contact more
after camp than before
* 100% of campers in the
post-camp survey
responded positively
toward they felt liked
and accepted by others
Adventure
Trying new activities
and taking healthy risks
is a desired outcome at
Dragonfly Forest. We
want to challenge our
campers to try new
activities, learn new
skills, and get caught
up in the feeling of
being more competent.
When we measured
Adventure via the
camper's desire to try
new activities we found
that both parents and
campers had a positive
response to since going
to camp they have found
out they could do
something on their own
that they had not done
on their own prior to
camp.
Medical
Given that Dragonfly
Forest is designed for
children with serious
illnesses, we use our
survey to evaluate the
medical aspects of camp.
The following is what we
found:
* 80% of the campers
indicate that if they
experienced an illness
episode while at camp,
the overall camp
experience was still fun
* 92% of parents
responding felt that
their child still had
fun, even if there was
an illness episode
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