Hey, Summer Camp Fans!

Today I want to tell you about a great company whose products can be found right here at Everything Summer Camp. Red Ledge—a leading brand in outdoor apparel and rain gear  for the avid outdoorsy folk—provides its customers with attractive, comfortable, technical, and affordable products.

Red Ledge, a very charitable company that’s been developing their products and satisfying their customers for over fifteen years, seems to really enjoy thinking outside of the box and going above and beyond in order to help those who are in need.

The Red Ledge mission statement reads, “Rain doesn’t have to be such a bad thing, it does so much good for the world and WE can too.” Everything Summer Camp is more than honored to be working alongside such a charitable business that gives so much back to emerging countries and the people in the world who are truly in need.

How does Red Ledge help others who need it? Well, this year they’ve funded their first water project completely through charity. Water, Red Ledge’s non-profit organization helps brings clean drinking water that’s actually safe to consume to the people in developing nations who don’t always have clean, safe drinking water readily available like we do in America.

And so, Red Ledge painstakingly designs an attractive rain-jacket along with other rain gear, producing performance-driven fabrics with technical features to provide their avid outdoorsy customers with suitable clothing that can stand up to the elements only to selflessly dish their profits out toward funding projects that help the needy.

They did it this year and they aim to continue funding future water projects in the coming year. In doing so, Red Ledge hopes to cut down the stereotypes and typical behavior of successful companies. Showing the world some class and initiative about issues in our modern world is a great way to start! When you buy a Red Ledge rain jacket, you are vicariously helping those who can use fresh and safe drinking water.

The gang here at Everything Summer Camp salutes you, Red Ledge. Thank you for showing the world the compassionate side of a company.

- John

Hey, Summer Camp Fans!

It is my great pleasure to virtually introduce you to our Receptionist here at Everything Summer Camp. Meet Missy. Missy is the first person you’ll see when you walk into our Main Building. Warm, and incredibly friendly, Missy is always there to help.

Hired on last year for our seasonal help in the Call Center, Missy showed exceptional skills in customer service where she handled inbound calls and the infrequent “problem order.” Soon after last year’s busy season came to an end, she was asked to stay at Everything Summer Camp year-round as the Receptionist.

She still answers customer calls when they go to overflow, so if you call us on a busy day to order a trunk or a duffel bag, there’s a chance you’ll get to talk to her on the phone.

Missy’s favorite part about her job is the variety of duties it entails. From handling camp clothing to checking in all of the cool personalized items like name labels that we make in our own facility through to shipping, Missy truly plays a vital role in making sure that your orders containing customized items are sent out to you just the way that you wanted it!

Aside from handling orders, Missy also handles important spreadsheets upon more important spreadsheets concerning information about our new system after all the changes we’ve made to our Web site as well as all of our sales reports and receiving all applications that we get for Everything Summer Camp.

Missy never did go to summer camp, though she did something much braver! She was a Girl Scout Leader for girls in the first grade. How did she get involved in that? Because Missy’s job stretches beyond her work here at Everything Summer Camp.

Missy goes home to her farm where she lives with her husband, Mike, and their three kids—Chelsea, Morgan, and Luke.

Our thanks goes out to Missy for her fine work as well as all of you readers for getting to know us better at Everything Summer Camp, one person at a time.

- John

Hey, Camp Aficionados!

Today I want to give you a little glimpse behind the scenes of a company that Everything Summer Camp is delighted to be working with: Columbia Sportswear. Columbia is a family-run company that, in its seventy years of business, has gone global.

After seventy years of continually satisfying their customers and beating their competition, Columbia likes to think that they know what it takes to make exceptional outdoor gear. How are they so good at improving their products and evolving as a company? Because they love the outdoors—just like you.

Columbia is more than aware of the gear you’re going to need in order to enjoy your summer camp experience to its full capacity; and with recent advancements in technology, Columbia’s high-quality performance apparel is able to protect you from harmful UV rays as well as buggy locations! From Columbia jackets to a sleeping bag, they’ve got a wide range of products.

Columbia is a company whose history is centered around one, great woman—Gert Boyle. Gert is the Chairman of Columbia. The company’s story begins in 1938, when two German nationals (Gert’s parents) fled Nazi Germany and bought a small hat company once they arrived in Portland.

When they came upon the Columbia River they knew they could make this new place their home and they named their new hat company after the body of water that helped encourage their stay. With the freedom of their fresh start, the company supported the Boyle family. Gert grew up, got married and eventually her husband took over the company.

When Gert’s husband died, she took over. She stepped right up and transformed herself from a housewife one day to an executive the next! Still a family-run business as it’s always been. Columbia is now run by Tim Boyle, Gert’s son. Tim has now been the company’s longtime president and CEO.

Columbia has continued to see great success because it is a company that truly believes in its products. They have a knack for trying different things to develop their technologies. As they say at Columbia, “Trying stuff made us what we are.”

Thanks for reading. Till next time, Camp Fans!

Hey, Summer Camp Preppers!

For today’s blog post I want to give you a few tips and pointers about having fun in the sun this summer camp season. As wonderful as it is to feel those glowing rays beaming down on your smiling face, it’s important to take the necessary precautions for hanging out in the sun.

Everything Summer Camp has a plethora of available products containing 100% natural oils and plant-based extracts that ensure your protection from harmful UV rays while being totally skin-healthy themselves.

Remember, it’s a general rule of thumb that you should apply your sunscreen a full twenty minutes before venturing out into those bright, sunny days. Also, sun screen is just as valuable on hot, overcast days in the summer.

Just because you can’t see the sun doesn’t mean it isn’t there. UV rays can still pass through a cloudy sky, so it’s just as important to use your sunscreen even when it seems like you don’t actually need it.

If you’re on a multi-day hike, you’ll definitely need to reapply throughout your time outdoors in the sun. Some sunscreens remain active longer than others so you’ll need to read the information on the back of the sunscreen product you purchase. Everything Summer Camp has sprays, lotions, wipes—we even have sun protective clothing!

Clothing with built-in sun protection is a fairly new idea in the United States. Many people wonder why you would need clothes to be sun protective when the clothing itself is already shielding you from sunrays. That’s just it, though. Everyday clothing doesn’t shield you from sunrays—not harmful UV rays, anyway.

But most people don’t realize this fact. In fact, lots of summer styles usually leave a lot of skin exposed—naturally. However, clothing with built-in sun protection is intended to cover a large amount of skin. The point in this is to keep the majority of your body protected from harmful UV rays. You won’t get too hot, though as sun protective clothing is designed to keep you cool underneath.

Have your fun in the sun. But do it the smart way and walk outside protected with sun care! And, as always, thanks for reading.

- John

Hey, Camp Fans!

Today I want to tell you about another outstanding company with whom everyone here at Everything Summer Camp is very proud to be doing business. And that company is JanSport. This extremely well-known name is the Original Outdoor Gear Brand that we all know and love.

A division of VF Outdoor, Inc., by 1967 JanSport was founded in Seattle, Washington thanks to three innovators of the outdoor industry. Manufacturing and marketing topnotch outdoor backpacks has always been JanSport’s calling though they do now offer other outdoor gear, travel gear, daypacks, as well as collegiate decorated apparel.

You can find JanSport backpacks and products all over the world in sporting goods stores, college bookstores, department stores, as well as specialty and boutique retail stores. The entire idea of JanSport is based on helping people get from point A to point B—whether that means going to school or going across the world, JanSport is there to help you do it.

It doesn’t matter whether your destination is the longest of distances or just a couple blocks down at your friend’s house—it’s typical to have essentials that you need to bring along. That’s where JanSport comes in. They help you get to point B with utter convenience and functionality.

That’s what they mean by their Brand tagline: Discover Freedom. It means, get out there and discover who and where you are in the world. JanSport can help you with everything you’ll need. It’s all in your backpack. Now go have an adventure.

As basic as they may be, JanSport puts a good effort forward to make their backpacks versatile. The same backpack that you load up with books to take home from school may be what you bring with you to hike the trails at camp. Keeping this concept forefront in the minds of the designers, each backpack design is made to be useful on multiple levels—flexible.

Safe travels, campers! Wherever you’re going, go with JanSport.

- John