Camp Cho-Yeh · Leadership Intelligence

Donor impact view

Two summers of parent feedback, re-analyzed from the raw data.

1,146 responses in 2026 and 1,443 in 2025, kept separate and compared year over year. 2025 and 2026. Every number here was recomputed from the underlying response rows and chart geometry of the source reports — not copied from the summary pages — and validated against the one question the reports publish numerically (agreement within 0.2 points).

9.36

2026 mean experience rating (1–10)

2025: 9.24 · +0.11 · n=1,097

84%

Rate the summer 9 or 10

2025: 80% · detractors (1–6) fell to 2.3%

98%

Would recommend Cho-Yeh

Of parents expressing an opinion, 2026

17,533

Retreat guests served

88 groups · 111 staff, 2025-26

Read this first

Six findings that don't jump off the summary pages

Each one comes from recombining the raw response data rather than reading a single chart.
1

Food is the year's biggest win — and still the weakest link

Agreement that “the food was great” rose +8.2 points to 81%, the largest single gain of any statement. Yet food remains the lowest-scoring item on the whole survey and the most common complaint theme (26% of written concerns). The kitchen improved substantially; it has not stopped being the top pressure point.
2

The activity bottleneck eased — on a half-sized base

“My child did not get to do some of the activities they wanted to” dropped -7.9 points to 32% agreement — the largest favorable movement in the instrument, and still its most common source of disappointment. Because only about half of 2026 parents were shown this statement, treat the size of the gain as directional and the level (32%) as the number to manage.

Answered by 52% of 2026 respondents

3

Counselors are now the strongest operational asset

Enjoyment of counselors rose +2.2 points to 96%, and “better than previous years” for staff quality is the only comparison item that improved (31%). Staffing quality is carrying the experience.
4

Faith outcomes softened slightly while faith demand held

“My child learned more about God and the biblical story” slipped -2.1 points to 93%, and “Effectively teaching the Christian faith” exceeded expectations for 57% of parents versus 66% in 2025 — while faith remains a top-two priority for 87% of families. A small gap, but it is opening in the area families care about most after fun.
5

Bullying response is the real improvement target

8% of parents with an opinion say the system for addressing bullying and relational conflict needs improvement — several times the rate of any other operational area — even though the number improved from 14%. Half of parents answer “unsure,” which is itself the finding: families cannot see the process.
6

Camp changes kids; it isn't yet changing homes

Parents report real behavioral carryover — 70% more self-confidence, 57% more God conversations. But only 8% of families read the Bible together weekly (essentially unchanged from 8%), and “equipping you as a parent” is the weakest excellence score at 43% exceeding expectations. The discipleship handoff to the home is the clearest unmet need.

Core experience

Where agreement moved, 2025 → 2026

Share of parents who somewhat or strongly agree, calculated among those who expressed an opinion (“unsure” excluded) so that awareness gaps don't read as dissatisfaction.

Biggest improvements

  • My child thought the food was great+8.2

    73% → 81%

  • My child enjoyed their counselors+2.2

    94% → 96%

  • My child had enough to eat+2.1

    89% → 91%

  • My child was picked on or left out(lower is better)+1.4

    8% → 7%

Softest movement

  • My child learned more about God and the biblical story-2.1

    95% → 93%

  • My child was strengthened in faith-1.3

    94% → 93%

  • It is clear that camp had an impact on my child-1.2

    97% → 96%

  • My child made new friends at camp-0.6

    96% → 96%

Movement is scored in the favorable direction: for the three negatively worded statements (“picked on or left out”, “did not get along”, “did not get to do some activities”) a drop in agreement counts as an improvement, and all three dropped. Nothing in the instrument moved more than about two points against Cho-Yeh.

2026 experience rating distribution

1

2

3

4

5

6

7

8

9

10

Median 10. 65% of parents chose a perfect 10, up from 61% in 2025. Strong agreement — not merely satisfaction — is what moved: “blast at camp” strong agreement sits at 87%.

Life change at home

What parents notice after camp

Share answering YES, among parents who answered the statement. These are the outcome measures donors and boards care about most.
Statement20252026Change

  • My child is showing more concern for the needs of others, putting others' nee…

    57%61%+4.0 pts

  • My child has been more social, wanting to spend more time with others than be…

    47%51%+3.5 pts

  • My child has more self-confidence

    68%70%+2.6 pts

  • My child has engaged me in conversations about God and faith more frequently…

    54%57%+2.5 pts

  • My child has been nicer or more pleasant to other family members…

    60%62%+2.3 pts

  • I have noticed significant changes in my child

    37%40%+2.2 pts

  • My child has been spending less time on electronic devices (computer, phone, …

    37%38%+1.6 pts

  • My child has been singing Christian songs

    62%62%flat

  • My child has been more helpful around the house

    —52%new in 2026

13 2026 statements were shown to only about half of respondents

These items across the 2026 instrument were answered by roughly 52% of respondents — a consistent subgroup, not random skipping, which points to a mid-season questionnaire change. They are reported here on their own base and should not be compared head-to-head with 2025 without that caveat.

  • My child has shown greater interest in attending church47%

    base: 52% of respondents · 2025 (full base): 49%

  • My child has asked to lead the family in prayers during meal times more frequ…22%

    base: 52% of respondents · new in 2026

  • My child reads their Bible more frequently38%

    base: 52% of respondents · 2025 (full base): 35%

  • My child is more adventurous, willing to step outside their comfort zone and …67%

    base: 52% of respondents · 2025 (full base): 62%

  • My child has shown greater interest in spending time outdoors or interacting …51%

    base: 52% of respondents · 2025 (full base): 49%

  • My child has expressed a new or greater interest in serving others in our com…43%

    base: 52% of respondents · new in 2026

Operations

Program excellence: what exceeds, what needs work

Left: share saying the area exceeds expectations. Right: share saying it needs improvement. Both exclude “unsure”, which is itself a visibility signal worth watching.

Exceeds expectations (2026)

  • Communication and preparation with families prior to the camp week…72% (-4.2)
  • Offering age-appropriate activities and programshalf base70% (+0.8)
  • Opening day check-in process66% (-2.7)
  • Closing day check-out process64% (-5.0)
  • Photo and Email system58% (-11.2)
  • Effectively teaching the Christian faith57% (-8.7)
  • Maintenance and upkeep of current facilities and grounds56% (-6.8)
  • Communication with parents/caregivers during the week of camp…52% (0.0)
  • Equipping you, as a parent/caregiver, to continue the positive impacts of cam…half base43% (-2.7)
  • System of addressing bullying and other relational conflicts…half base36% (-3.4)
  • Quality of food available for the campers29% (-3.6)

Needs improvement (2026)

  • Quality of food available for the campers9% (-9.8)
  • System of addressing bullying and other relational conflicts…half base8% (-5.6)
  • Photo and Email system6% (-0.5)
  • Communication with parents/caregivers during the week of camp…4% (0.0)
  • Equipping you, as a parent/caregiver, to continue the positive impacts of cam…half base3% (-3.4)
  • Maintenance and upkeep of current facilities and grounds2% (-1.9)
  • Opening day check-in process2% (-5.2)
  • Closing day check-out process2% (-2.7)
  • Communication and preparation with families prior to the camp week…1% (-0.8)
  • Effectively teaching the Christian faith0% (-0.4)
  • Offering age-appropriate activities and programshalf base0% (-1.8)

Bars scaled ×4 for legibility. Dissatisfaction fell in every area year over year.

The pattern to notice: enthusiasm compressed toward “satisfied”

Dissatisfaction fell in every operational area, yet “exceeds expectations” also fell in 9 of 11 areas — most sharply for the photo and email system (-11.2 pts) and teaching the Christian faith (-8.7 pts). Parents moved from delighted to content, not from content to unhappy. Overall ratings rose because the core experience — counselors, friends, fun — improved, while the surrounding systems became merely adequate. That is the quiet risk in an otherwise strong year.

4%

Highest “worse than previous years”: Camper check-in and drop off on first day of camp

Down from 7% in 2025

50%

Say the overall experience was better than previous years

Among returning families who could compare

33%

2026 families attending for the first time

Why roughly a third of comparison answers are “unsure”

In their own words

What families value, and what they raise

Coded from 1,416 open-ended 2026 answers and 1,774 from 2025. Percentages are the share of written answers mentioning each theme.

What we value about Cho-Yeh

  • Faith / God49%
  • Independence / growth28%
  • Fun / activities22%
  • Friendship / community18%
  • Counselors / role models12%
  • Unplugging / outdoors11%
  • Safety / trust10%
  • Tradition / legacy2%

Themes inside written concerns

  • Communication28% (-0.4)
  • Food26% (-1.7)
  • Cabin / bunkmates19% (-3.0)
  • Counselors18% (-3.9)
  • Activities16% (-2.0)
  • Check-in / out11% (-2.8)
  • Heat & water6% (+2.3)
  • Bullying / conflict6% (+0.4)
  • Medical / health4% (-4.3)
  • Cost / value1% (-0.9)
  • Homesickness0% (-1.4)

Written concerns fell from 542 to 355 responses (38% → 31% of parents), with homesickness and cost mentions nearly disappearing.

fun 320amazing 74exciting 51engaging 32memorable 21faith 19awesome 18fulfilling 17great 16happy 15joyful 15excited 14impactful 14adventurous 14active 13life 13spiritual 12growth 12

One word to describe camp: “fun” dominates both years, but faith and character words (adventurous, impactful, fulfilling) sit right behind it — parents describe formation, not just recreation.

Cho-Yeh as a whole

Retreat and group ministry reach

Beyond summer camp, the 2025-26 retreat season served 17,533 guests across 88 groups with 111 staff — roughly 15× the number of families represented in the summer survey.

17,533

Retreat guests

Combined sites

88

Groups hosted

Avg 199 guests per group

111

Staff serving retreats

Roughly 1 staff per 158 guests

SiteGuestsGroupsStaff

  • Boxwoods

    4,5372642

  • Carolina Creek

    12,9966269

Carolina Creek carries 74% of retreat guests and 70% of groups, at a similar guest-to-staff ratio to Boxwoods — the year-round side of the ministry serves several times more people than the summer program that the survey measures, and currently generates no comparable feedback data.

Alignment

What families want camp to do

Share rating each goal very or extremely important. Stable across both years — a useful anchor for programming and case-for-support language.
Statement20252026Change

  • To have fun

    98%99%flat

  • Make friends and develop social skills

    96%95%-0.9 pts

  • Grow in faith and learn more about God

    88%87%-1.0 pts

  • Strengthen character traits like integrity and self-confidence…

    98%99%flat

  • Have new experiences or try new things

    95%95%flat

  • Develop an appreciation for nature and the outdoors

    80%80%flat

  • Equip/influence families to continue the positive impacts of camp in the home…half base

    77%77%-0.8 pts
1

Fun is the entry ticket, character is the expectation

99% call fun very or extremely important, and 99% say the same of character growth — statistically identical. Faith formation ranks lower as a stated priority (87%) but higher in intensity: it draws the most “extremely important” votes after fun.
2

Church-connected, but not church-saturated

50% of families attend church at least multiple times a month, and 8% never attend — nearly unchanged from 2025. Camp is reaching beyond the highly churched core, which raises the value of parent-facing follow-up resources.

Method and confidence

How these numbers were produced

Response-level data (experience ratings, one-word descriptions, and all open-ended answers) was read directly from the source exports: 2,540 numeric ratings and roughly 27,000 comment rows. The published 2025 mean of 9.24 reproduces exactly from the raw rows.

Quantitative results that exist only as chart images were recovered by measuring bar geometry against detected axis gridlines, then calibrated against the single question the reports publish as a numeric table. Recovered values match that table within 0.2 percentage points, and every 100%-stacked row reconstructs to 100% ±0.5.

All rates on this page are recomputed on an explicit base: “unsure” is excluded from opinion measures rather than counted as disagreement, and partial-coverage items are reported on their own base.

Data quality flags for leadership

  • Mid-season instrument change. 13 2026 items were answered by only ~52% of respondents. Fix the questionnaire before the 2027 season so every statement carries a full base.
  • Response volume fell. 1,146 responses in 2026 versus 1,443 in 2025 (-21%). Scores improved, but a smaller sample skews toward more engaged families.
  • Awareness gaps, not dissatisfaction. Bullying response draws 47% “unsure” answers and faith-in-the-home items draw the next most. Where parents cannot observe a process, silence is being recorded as neutrality.
  • Retreats are unmeasured. The year-round side of the ministry serves 17,533 guests with no equivalent feedback instrument.
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