Yakov and Estee Fleischmann, Co-Directors, Camp Stone
Cultural change is something that every organization wants (at some point in time). It is quite powerful, but difficult to achieve.
We attempted to change the culture in our camp two summers ago with respect to the
staff cell phone policy at Camp Stone.
We have been on a soap box about it for a long time, and we’ve read all the
Jonathan Haidt research regarding the damage it is causing, which is well documented and rather scary.
But rather than imposing our will, on our staff, we brought them into the conversation. We know that if not a single person in a roomful of teenagers has a phone, they will interact with each other and socialize. The minute one or two kids have cell phones, it dramatically changes the dynamic. So how do you get everyone on board?
Summer 2024 Pilot
If you remember from
our previous article, we did months of research, engaged with over 100 division heads in our system, and determined what it is that we actually need to solve for.
What does one need a cell phone in camp for anyway? We came up with 4 uses: (1) communication, such as making phone calls or texting/WhatsApp, (2) a camera (3) music, and (4) an alarm clock. We solved for all 4 by doing even more research!
- We purchased cobra walkies to replace phones for communication. 22 channels and a 15-mile radius – hard to beat. www.cobra.com
- We added photographers to our photography staff to capture more staff activities and photo opportunities. We also gave out a very cool device called a CampSnap. www.campsnapphoto.com
- We purchasedMP3 players that act strictly as a music playing device with access to all music online platforms and provided speakers to all staff and camper divisions.
- We bought any staff member who wanted one a $5 alarm clock from Walmart, although they were welcome to rely on the head counselor to wake them up as well!
Then we added layers of prizes. All phones had to be kept in one location (The Great Room) during the day; if you kept your phone there at night as well then you received a prize depending upon how long you left it there. All of it was done on the honor system. There were all sorts of fun things that went along with it, but that was the gist of it, with one very interesting additional detail.
Send Your Phone into “Orbit”
As with all trends, it starts with one: there was one staff member who often heard me say about my phone, “One day I’m going to send this thing into orbit.”
Based on that statement, the staff member asked, “What if we do the Orbit Challenge? What prize could I get if I lock my phone in your safe for the WHOLE session?"
In response, we surprised him and a group of 15 staff members that successfully met the Orbit Challenge (kept their phone in the safe for the entirety of session session that first summer) with an extra $200.
Little did we know that the seeds had been planted for a quantum leap forward in 2025. Our staff developed these ideas themselves, which led to further buy-in and started a real shift in our culture.
Summer 2025 – Expanding the Orbit Challenge
We arrived at camp this summer and suddenly the entire focus of our staff was whether they were going to take on the Orbit Challenge! The idea of cell phones being kept in one location during the day had already been accepted by everyone and was considered old news. All they cared about now was how they could level up! In the end,
45 staff members first session and
125 staff members second session gave up their phones for the entire month – we had to buy a bigger safe!
Moreover, the staff made exclusive Orbit t-shirts for each session for those that took on the challenge and THEN the staff color war team second session was called Orbit – with aliens, tin foil, the works.
We watched the culture transform before our eyes. The Great Room was always full, and people certainly used their phones at the allotted times, but we didn’t see a single cell phone during the day the entire summer.
That. Is. Remarkable.
Culture Change
The story this week [at the time of writing] in the Bible is the story of Noah and the flood.
“The earth had become corrupt before God; the earth was filled with violence.” (Genesis 6:11)
The problem wasn’t individual sin alone — it was societal corruption. The “culture” itself became destructive.
So then who was Noah and how was he different?
Was Noah objectively righteous in a corrupt generation, or only relative to it?
We’re not sure it matters. Noah walked with God even when no one else did — his righteousness was not passive obedience but active independence.
Culture change begins with one person’s refusal to conform. That was Noah. He stood alone and he stood apart.
Just as Noah lived in a world where corruption and distraction were the cultural default, we too live in a time where a certain way of living has become nearly universal — the culture of constant digital connection, doom scrolling, and digital dependence.
Noah changed the world not by confronting it head-on, but by building an ark — a space apart, a world-within-a-world where a different culture could take root.
In that sense, the ark was not an escape; it was a laboratory for renewal. Inside, life continued in purity, order, and purpose, while outside the world drowned in chaos.
At Camp Stone, we think we do something remarkably similar. In a world flooded with distraction — where phones, screens, and noise dominate every waking moment — we’ve built an ark of focus, connection, and genuine community.
So our staff put their phones away all summer. It’s not just a rule; it’s a statement — that we believe a different kind of culture is possible. That we can step out of the flood, even for a few weeks, and remember what it means to really see each other, talk to each other, and live with each other — not through screens.
And when the summer ends, we don’t stay on the ark forever. We open the door, just as Noah did, and step back into the wider world — but now we carry something new: the conviction that change is possible, that culture can be reshaped.
Estee and Yakov's first article on this topic can be found here. They also hosted a webinar to share learnings from the first two summers of doing this and answer questions. Watch the webinar here.
Do you or your camp have a program or initiative or new way of working that you think other camps could learn from? Let us know - we are looking for future Directors' Corner content to share with your peers.