Our experience has also been that if you get parents to organize the Summer Camps and let the leaders participate as they can, they are very happy to have the opportunity and often do something. Our thinking is to make this as cheap as possible. There is no paid staff of any kind and no long-term commitments in terms of buildings, etc. These are the essentials. It is vital to keep the workshop as affordable as possible and to give families 3-6 months notice of when it will occur so they can make financial plans well in advance.
People appreciate advance planning and well-organized activities.
When you provide this, they are happy to spend the money to send their children. We also use incentive to recruit staff. The basic offer is that for every parent who volunteers as a full-time staff person, one of their children can attend free. There is no cost to the parent as well. We have also offered discounts for children from the same family.