Recently (14 June) the Government of Bermuda presented a Public Service Excellence Award (PSEA) to the Department of Sport and Recreation's Summer Day Camp Program Team for the month of May.
The team, made up of Kenneth Bartram, Janaesha Place, Kimberly Bean, and Edmond Johnson, is honoured for their excellent work in planning and delivering Camp Connect, a low-cost, high-quality summer camp program for Bermuda's youth and families.
For many years, the Department had challenges with the number of spaces available for students in its Summer Day Camp Program, leaving parents with few affordable options for their children during the summer. After a thorough evaluation of the 2023 Summer Day Camp Program, it was decided that instead of simply operating Government sponsored summer camps, partnering with private camp operators to offer a wider range of camps at an affordable cost would be a positive solution to increase camper enrolment and reduce the waitlist. After the proposal and approval of this initiative, a budget was assigned for the 2024/2025 fiscal year, and on May 14, 2024, the Department proudly launched Camp Connect to the Bermuda community, providing a rich variety of options to parents and children alike.
With Camp Connect, the Department has been able to accomplish remarkable results beyond normal expectations, such as: increased enrolment capacity to an extra 850 spots, allowing more children to attend these camps; extended camp duration, allowing programs to run all summer with varying durations; and expanded variety, offering a wide selection of camps to ensure diverse and dynamic experiences for Bermuda's youth via a partnership with private camp operators.
In addition, the team was able to improve the online registration process via their website www.sportsandrec.bm, launching an improved registration portal that is user-friendly, interactive, and serves as a comprehensive hub for parents seeking information on the various camp options. By improving the registration portal, they were able to handle a high volume of registrations with ease so that less than a week after the portal opened, an increase of 576 students were enrolled compared to the previous year, and the waitlist reduced by 165. The website recorded an impressive 21,309 views on the first day of registration and did not crash.
Premier David Burt congratulated the team on the success of their project. He said, “The work of this team to expand the number of available, affordable summer camp places for Bermudian children is to be commended. The team launched the Camp Connect summer Program along with an informative website that provided parents with the necessary information and a simplified and accessible registration process in line with the Government’s efforts to streamline services.”
“Their work alleviated the stress many parents previously faced in finding affordable summer camp places by working with private operators to expand availability. Their work helped ensure that nearly 1,000 students have a place at summer camp this year, doubling the number for 2023. Camp Connect is a shining example of how we can make impactful changes that benefit our community, particularly our youth. Congratulations to the team for their well-deserved recognition.”
Head of the Public Service, Cherie Whitter, also expressed her appreciation to the team for their efforts. She said, “Thank you for your commitment to improving the lives of the people of Bermuda, specifically our youth. As public officers, we must continue to seek innovative solutions to address the needs of the communities we serve. On behalf of the entire Public Service Executive, thanks for the customer-centric focus.”
The PSEA is a programme that recognises a group or individual within the Public Service who made significant achievements in service delivery in the last 60 days.