Tim Hortons® Foundation Camps Continue to Support Youth with an Innovative eCamp Program Powered by Tribe Platform
Tim Hortons Foundation Camps launched an online community as a replacement of physical camps to sustain the delivery of life-changing experiences to kids during COVID-19 pandemic.
TORONTO, Aug. 26, 2020 /PRNewswire-PRWeb/ -- Tim Hortons® Foundation Camps is the non-profit, charity of Tim Hortons®, dedicated to social and emotional development in youth between the ages of 12 to 16 from low-income families. Through a multi-year, camp-based program, kids learn skills like leadership, resilience, and responsibility, empowering them to believe in their own potential and change their stories for the better.
For the past 45 summers, Tim Hortons Foundation Camps have proudly served youth from Tim Hortons communities with life-changing camp experiences. With the health and well-being of campers and staff as the number one priority, Tims Camps were unable to safely plan and prepare for their traditional in-person, overnight camp programs this summer due to the COVID-19 Pandemic.
However, supporting youth is all the more critical during these challenging times. The isolation and the uncertainty caused by the pandemic could take a toll on the wellbeing and mental health of kids. Hence, the team at Tim Hortons® Foundation Camps wanted to find a way to bring the elements of camp to youth, in a virtual format. The plan was to create an online community with the camping theme to deliver the same social and emotional skills, the sense of belonging, the connection with peers, and camp counsellors.
Tribe, a customizable community platform, was selected by Tim Hortons® Foundation Camps as the community partner to create this virtual camp program - Tims eCamp. The camp community was launched within a month from scratch with campers who were registered to participate in the regular Summer Program. This involved the required customization and technical configuration based on the agreed timeline.
"The ability to customize the Tribe Platform to meet our campers' and program needs has been critical as we have quickly pivoted our programs. Using this technology, along with the support of the Tribe team, has enabled us to continue to show up for our campers and provide a safe space where they can be themselves, build community and create lasting friendships - at a time when they need us the most," said Kathleen Wheatley, Chief Youth Development Officer at Tim Hortons Foundation Camps.
Tims eCamp features eCabins for campers managed by experienced and trained counsellors. These eCabins are comprised of campers based on age and timezone with 3-5 hours of content per day. The focus is on supporting youth emotionally and developmentally while encouraging them to have fun, learn important life skills, and foster positive relationships in a safe online space.
"It is a great privilege to serve the Time Hortons® Foundation, a leader in youth development, and play a small part with a community platform that acts as an enabler to support vulnerable youths," said Mo Malayeri, co-founder of Tribe. "At Tribe, we're creating a platform that supports the digital manifestation of real-life communities and the social glue that binds people. We're truly honored to support innovative new camp programming for kids from disadvantaged circumstances and help them connect during these challenging times."
About Tribe Technologies, Inc.: Tribe is a community solutions company dedicated to empowering organizations and creators to build branded online communities with a collection of social media best practices. Founded in 2018, Tribe now powers communities run by some of the biggest names such as IBM, Pipedrive and Decathlon in a vertical agnostic manner. For more information about Tribe Community Platform, please visit tribe.so.
About Tim Hortons® Foundation Camps: Tim Hortons® Foundation Camps is a non-profit charitable organization founded in 1974 helping kids to change their stories for the better. A leader in youth development programming, Tims Camps support youth from low-income homes between the ages of 12 to 16 – an important developmental time that helps shape who they will become as adults. With seven camps in North America that run year-round Summer and School Programs, youth are supported to thrive when they return home, to excel in post-secondary education, to succeed at work, and to contribute positively to their communities. The Foundation's funding comes from Tim Hortons Camp Day, fundraising activities, special events, and year-round public donations collected through counter and drive-thru coin boxes, as well as other donations. For more information about Tim Hortons® Foundation Camps, please visit timscamps.com.
SOURCE Tribe Technologies, Inc.
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