Mar 29, 2011

Grandcamp Adventures Has Grandparent and Grandkids Playing Their Way To Better Relationships

Atlanta, GA –For the first time ever a company is offering retailers a suite of games, books, music and plush animals designed to enrich the grandparent/grandchild experience.

Adventures’ mix of storybooks, backyard activities, games and music — all housed in a compact retail fixture — appeal as gifts to grandparents as well as from grandparents to their grandkids. The collection’s “Here We Go!” adventure book and CD were tested with select mommy bloggers last fall with highly positive results. (See www.grandcamp.com for reviews.)

GrandCamp Adventures has just begun taking orders from retailers and will have a line of seven products in place by the American Specialty Toy Retailing Association’s (ASTRA) Marketplace and Academy in Anaheim in June. That product line will include the “Here We Go! — Around-the-World Family Adventure” book and CD, three plush meerkats representing Papa, Grammie and Aidan (the grandfather, grandmother and grandson from the “Here We Go!” book), the “Shake it Up!” three-in-one secret handshake game, and “Longbeard’s Treasure Hunt,” an indoor/outdoor treasure hunt with levels of play for grandchildren ages three to teen.

GrandCamp Adventures has a number of package options of products for retailers who are interested in carrying the line. Inquiries should be directed to 404-214-9866.

In creating GrandCamp Adventures, co-founders, Patricia Babuka and Scott Schaefer, saw a need for interactive activities that would “create the space” to nurture grandparent/grandchild relationships. Through GrandCamp Adventures, grandparents and grandkids play their way to better relationships.

“We realized through our own experience as parents the importance of building a strong relationship between our children and our parents,” Babuka said. “Distractions like high tech toys and expensive vacations contribute to the gap between these generations and push away the magical moments and memories that occur when you’re really interacting and just having fun together.”

Babuka and Schaefer created GrandCamp Adventures with their own parents in mind. For 20 years, Babuka’s in-laws have hosted an annual themed-family retreat for all their grandchildren. The “GrandCamp” has become a highly anticipated bonding experience for the family. It was this retreat that inspired Babuka to create the company focused primarily on baby-boomer grandparents (Grand Boomers) who tend to be more involved in their grandchildren’s lives.

The grandparent/grandchild relationship is widely recognized by developmental experts as vital to a child’s life, and yet, in these times it is challenged by the geography of spread out families as well as by time pressures. Yet, today’s 70 million U.S. grandparents are younger than ever before, very active and engaged, and they want to spend time with their grandkids. GrandCamp Adventures affords them the opportunity to do so. The company plans to continue to create adventure storybooks with accompanying games and activities that tie in with the story for grandparents and grandchildren.

How GrandCamp Adventures Works

In a GrandCamp Adventures experience, both grandparent and grandchild embark upon a backyard “adventure” centered on a storybook. This first storybook, written by award-winning author Walter Sorrells and animated with the help of former Disney animator Victor Tavares, breaks through the page and turns real-life into an “adventure” through activities, games and music that support the central story. Each story and accompanying activity are carefully constructed with the help of developmental experts to ensure the child’s imagination takes center stage while grandparents get the quality time and exposure they so deeply desire.

The First Adventure

The first storybook; “Here We Go! – Around The World Family Adventure,” is complemented with the release of the company’s first music CD (by the same name) that helps grandparents and grandchildren easily add dancing and singing to the fun. The CD features songs that can be played throughout the adventure and contains a variety of styles and genre including jazz, bluegrass, reggae and more. The adventure unfolds in the storybook featuring a pair of intrepid grandparents who’ve just returned from traveling around the world only to find that their plane had sprung a leak and their precious treasures have fallen out across the land. They quickly enlist the help of their three grandchildren and, along with a magic compass invented by Papa, set out to retrieve all the lost items. Before long, the story crosses over into real-life, much to the surprise of the grandchildren following along.

About the Company

GrandCamp Adventures is a company for a new generation of grandparents and grandkids who want to connect deeper, have more fun together and generate memories that will last a lifetime. Founders Patricia Babuka and co-founder Scott Schaefer share a deep commitment to family and see building the bonds between generations as a way toward making the world a better place.

www.grandcamp.com to learn more about GrandCamp Adventures.

Documents and/or Photos available for this release:

GrandCamp Adventures “Here We Go! Around-the-World Family Adventure” book and CD are the starting point for hours of adventure for grandparents and their grandkids. GrandCamp Adventures merchandise can be displayed in this compact retail fixture.

To view supporting documents and/or photos, go to www.enr-corp.com/pressroom and enter Release ID: 291228