Logistics

Contingency Plan

Our contingency plan was that we could move the program indoors if needed since TOPs had access to gym space at many of their locations. We would move the stations indoors, and forget about the “bonus photos” aspect of the scavenger hunt, as these were specific to Pullen Park. The program would have still been a competition, because points were based on whether or not the teams participated in the stations. We also planned for a rain date just in case they would have rather postponed the program versus simply moving it indoors. The TOPs supervisors and staff members would have been the ones to decide if we needed to move the program indoors and where exactly it would be held, or if we would just postpone it to a later date.

We also made plans in case we had more or less time than originally planned for the program. If we ended up having only half the time, we would have cut down the number of stations that the participants would visit. They also would receive more direction to the next location instead of having to figure out the clues. If we had twice the amount of time, we would have kept the students at each station longer and spread the stations out more so it would take longer to get to each one.

Finally, since TOPs never knows exactly how many participants they are going to have, we planned our program to accommodate anywhere from 16 to 36 participants. We planned to divide the students into six groups, and the number of students that showed up would ultimately determine the size of those groups. The more students that came, the larger the groups would be. If only a few students showed up, we would decrease the number of groups so that we could have a minimum of three people per group.

Facility

Since our facility was Pullen Park, we decided to use most of the park to set up the scavenger hunt. Our stations were scattered throughout the park at locations such as the stage, the fountain, the island, the cement area, the field, and the rose garden. In order to enhance our theme, we created posters that welcomed the participants to the event and hung them in the shelter area where we all met. Stations were designated with numbers on the maps that we handed out, and Shelter 4 was the shelter we rented out to use as a meeting place for the group. Initially, each group was supposed to receive a map with a different route outlined so that there would not be more than one group at a station at any given time. However, since we only ended up having four participants, we randomly chose one map (the one shown below) and made our way around the park as a single group. The stations were as follows:

1) Spaghetti Toes

2) Gummy Worm Dig

3) Iron Feet

4) Spam Toss

5) Baby Food Hot Potato

6) Omitted*

*We actually omitted this station prior to holding the program, as we decided time would not allow for a sixth station but this station is reflected in the map shown below.

Marketing Plans

Since we were partnered with Teen Outreach Programs, our target market was the teens of the city of Raleigh who attended TOPs (teens aged 13-18). Our best way to reach them was to go and visit our site of choice, Chavis, to tell them about our amazing scavenger hunt (including when, where, and why) that we would be putting on for them. We created a flyer to hand out at the site to let the teens know about it in advance, and this flyer is shown below. We also had their supervisors remind them of the event as it approached.

Staff Considerations

For this event, we did need to recruit some volunteers. We decided that the six of us [group members] would serve as a leader for each of six teams that the participants would be divided into. Beyond that, we knew that we would have, at a minimum, the two supervisors from TOPs that we were working with. We wanted to plan on recruiting at least four student volunteers as well to serve as supervisors at each station and to utilize one as a photographer/videographer.

When seeking out volunteers, we wanted them to display enthusiasm. We did not want them to act like they were forced to be at our program - we wanted them to be excited to help us! We needed one volunteer to help with taking photos and videos during the program. Other volunteers were needed to supervise the stations set up throughout the park. Those volunteers had to be energetic and excited so the teens would buy into the program, and also so that they could be informed as to what their specific task was at that particular station. The volunteers also needed to be flexible in case we needed to utilize them elsewhere. Finally, they needed to be responsible enough to enforce rules (no playing near water, steering clear of small children, etc.) so that both the teens and other park users would remain in a safe environment. Before the day of the program, we got in contact with the volunteers to let them know exactly what they would be doing.

All volunteers needed to wear clothing that they felt comfortable in because we were outside walking around the park. They also needed something to keep time with (a cellphone, stopwatch, etc.). We had them arrive about an hour and a half prior to the program's start time so we could brief them on what they needed to do. Also, we compiled folders with clear maps, rules for each game, and a breakdown of the points system so that everyone was on the same page and could have a universal reference if needed. Since we had so few students actually show up, the volunteers mostly ended up acting as participants themselves and also assisted with gathering photos and video.

As far as specific numbers, we ended up getting three volunteers from the PRT 152 class, which we had previously visited for recruiting purposes on February 23. This ended up being the perfect number of volunteers, because TOPs brought along three additional staff members of their own. Since we only had three participants, we had more than enough supervision, and all of the volunteers that we had were fantastic. They were enthusiastic and willing to participate in the events to provide more competition. We would definitely utilize the PRT 152 class again if we need volunteers in the future.

Safety and Risk Management

1. Activity Selection/Program Design: A strategy we implemented to safeguard our choice of activities/stations during the scavenger hunt was doing a test-run beforehand to ensure that the stations were age-appropriate and program-appropriate. In addition to the test-run, we gave the volunteers a run-down of what we expected from them and the safety measures they needed to adopt and take into consideration. Furthermore, our choice of activities was safeguarded by running through our expectations with the participants before the scavenger hunt began so that everyone could have a fun, yet mature and program-appropriate, experience.
2. Manner of Conducting the Activity and Supervision of Participants: During the program, the supervision of the participants was safeguarded by having the participants supervised at all times. All volunteers, group members, TOPs employees, and students moved through the scavenger hunt together as one group. The supervisors were not there to ruin the fun so much as to facilitate the fun by encouraging participation and making sure activities were being performed in a safe manner. Lastly, before we began the course, we made sure all of our valuable equipment (computers, cameras, phones, projector, etc.) were either in our hands or locked up in one of our vehicles to prevent theft.
3. Environmental Conditions/Hazards: One way we safeguarded our participants during the program, in terms of the environment, was by giving them a general safety speech before the scavenger hunt. We reminded them to stay on paths and in general areas and not to wander down near the water or any heavily-wooded areas of the park. We also told them to be respectful and mindful of the public (especially small children) who were using the park at that time as well. To safeguard the physical areas we were using, we tried to leave the areas as natural as we found them and discarded of trash in the appropriate trash receptacles. If any environmental/physical incident was to occur, we had a first-aid kit both at the main shelter as well as on the bus the participants took to get to/from Pullen Park. If any emergency had occurred at the park, we would have followed the park rules and directions during the emergency to ensure that our participants were safe and taken care of.

Budget/Resource Allocation

Since the TOPs program is through the City of Raleigh, the supervisors took care of the expenses for the supplies needed for the scavenger hunt. They did not set a budget for us - they just told us to make a list of the supplies we needed, and then they would make it happen. Much of the supplies needed could be found within the department since the City of Raleigh is such a big resource. Furthermore, we did not charge for this program since the teens involved were part of City of Raleigh's TOPs program and TOPs's main goal is to provide a safe place for teens to go after school free of charge. This is important to the City of Raleigh because by creating this program, it helps to alleviate the problem of teens getting into trouble after school and allows them to build their professional and social skills.

Evaluation of Participants

Some ways we were able to tell if the participants accomplished our goals was to see how well they all interacted with each other before the program and afterwards. After the program we heard the different groups interacting and telling stories about the day which told us that we were ultimately successful in our goals. We also listened to the participants during the stations to see if they were making encouraging comments and being supportive of one another. This was quite easy to do since we all moved around as one group instead of five or six different groups. Also, doing interviews after the program helped us to see if we were successful in our participant goals. Interviews are below of the winning team from the scavenger hunt. More detail are in our Activity Plans under the Event tab.

Evaluation of Program

As a group we looked at our participant evaluations to see how effective our program was. Furthermore, we gauged how well we worked as a group before the program and during the program. After the program we discussed areas of improvement that the TOPS leaders can implement for the summer program. We also completed a SWOT analysis with the supervisors to see what areas worked well regarding the event and the planning of the event as well as what adjustments we recommended for ourselves.

Lessons Learned from Program 1 in Preparation for Program 2

When discussing the SWOT analysis with our supervisors, the most important lesson we learned from program one was to create thorough contingency plans. Only having four teens show up was very unexpected and we had to quickly modify our program in order to accommodate only four teens. Therefore, in preparation for program two the group decided to really focus on contingency plans for if we had over the number expected or under. Another area that we focused on for program two was ensuring we gave ourselves enough time for set up. Although program two required significantly less set up, we still all got to campus extra early in order to prepare since we were tight on time when cooking the noodles for program one. The last lesson learned during program one that we implemented for program two was to really pay attention to time. Since we have such a short time with the teens due to travel time we ran out of time for the last station during our scavenger hunt. Therefore, for the second program the group did mock program with ourselves to make sure we allotted enough time for each tradition stop along the tour.