Chapter HI 
RELATIONSHIP TO ENROLLEES IN CAMP 
When a youth goes to camp, he should not feel that he has 
severed connections with his home community. Selecting agents through' 
out the country are instrumental in making each youth feel that the 
selecting agency still retains a real interest in him and remains the 
official link between his CCC camp and the community from which he 
comes. If matters arise during his enrollment concerning which the 
enrollee feels that his interests in his home community are not being 
properly looked out for, the selectixg agent is the logical person to 
whom to turn. The selecting agent's work properly includes the pro¬ 
vision of service functions while enrollees are in camp. 
Continued Orientation and Adjustment 
Many selecting agents have had success with various types 
of written messages which are designed to aid new enrollees to become 
adjusted to camp and to alleviate homesickness. Examples of these 
follow: 
The selecting agent in one community obtained a supply 
of double post cards (reply cards) and divided them into 
two groups. The first group was sent to the parents of the 
new enrollees, and the second group was sent to the enrol¬ 
lees themselves. Each was asked to detach the unused card 
and send it to his boy in camp or to his parents at home 
with a cheerful message written on it. The addresses of 
the boys in camp were provided to the parents. This was 
done a few days after the boys had been enrolled. A check¬ 
up later revealed that everyone concerned thought that this 
procedure helped to reduce homesickness greatly. 
In another community, the selecting agent personally 
composed a "newsy” letter which was mimeographed and mailed 
to each of the youths a few days after they had left for 
camp. The enrollees who received this letter felt that 
they had not lost contact with their home community and 
were buoyed up by the letter. This, too, was found to be 
a most helpful way of bridging over the first few days and 
weeks of enrollment - the most difficult period for almost 
every youth. 
Many camp commanders say, "If I can hold a boy for the first 
two weeks or the first month, I can keep him for six months or a year 
without any trouble." The selecting agent can greatly aid camp offi¬ 
cials, by such methods as those listed above, to hold their enrollees 
for the first two weeks or the first month. 
- 36 - 
