Sadly, I’ve been to a lot of funerals connected to camp people in the past month (including my own dad’s). Each time, I found myself standing in a semi-circle of “Ernstpersons” and thought about what connects us.
Nationally, the Y has named “Creating Connected Communities” as its current strategic aim. This means that in the midst of child care, fitness classes, sports leagues, swimming lessons, senior centers, college readiness, youth in government, camp, and all the other community services the Y provides, we believe that human connection is at the core.
Of course, at camp we have always prioritized connection. This month we’re mailing out this past summer’s “Affirmation Cards”—postcards with tiny notes of encouragement from each camper’s cabinmates. A small sample (WARNING: Gen Alpha lingo and handwriting!!!):
Ask camp alumni from the past twenty or so years and they’ll remember sitting down in a circle in their cabin with their counselor, passing the cards around, getting reminders to avoid inside jokes and commentaries on friends’ physical appearances. Many camp parents tell me that their kids’ affirmation cards hang on the refrigerator for months (even years) after the fact. They think back fondly to the week of camp when they won cabin clean-up, braved a storm, decorated their counselor’s bunk, made up a dance, had the best gaga players, sang Peanut Butter Monday non-stop, etc., etc.
Connection is built between the zipline and the waterslide, in the moments when someone helps you buckle your lifejacket, passes the bug juice, braids your hair before the party, and high fives you for winning that round of gaga. And somehow it’s stronger because you’re out in nature, without devices, experiencing new things together.
In this world where we are so often divided, isolated and lonely, social connections (like the bonds we build at camp) can be what keep us afloat.
What will you do today to build connection with someone else?
Subscribe to our CEO of YUSA’s Linkedin newsletter for more on the Y’s commitment to connection here.
“If we have no peace, it is because we have forgotten that we belong to one another.” (Mother Teresa)
Ernstlove,
