Virtual Camp Takes Valiant Counselors

Camp on the computer? Come on, you gotta be kidding. The concept seems to defy the very definition of what this summer institution is all about. Without the playing outdoors, the eating in the dining hall, the jumping off the dock, the walking the paths together, the fireside singing, the sleeping in bunks— what are you left with?

As you’ve probably read, many parents (mostly parents who are comfortably off) have opted out of paying for camp on the computer this summer. They, understandably, want their kids to get outside and will do their best to see that this happens. Here’s one article depicting their skepticism about what some camps are trying to market. https://www.nytimes.com/2020/05/19/parenting/virtual-summer-camp.html

Words can be plenty flexible, but maybe if it’s just on a screen, you can’t even call it “camp.” Or if you do, you’re in a purely comic realm.

The caption for this got cut off somehow, but it goes, “Can I get my badge now?”

Nonetheless, having no other choice except outright cancellation, the camp I’m most connected with –– The Circle Program –– is doing its best to go virtual this summer. Talk about a daunting challenge. Ever tried presenting, say “Dry Land Swimming” training in a video…to kids who have already struggled through three months of remote school, no less?

Last summer and all the summers before, those of us who are mentors got to pay visits to see sweet scenes like this– girls showing off their cabins.

This photo looks almost old-fashioned now. Even imagining say six girls, with a couple of counselors, spending a couple of weeks sleeping in one big room with a screened door makes the mind do a little back-stretching. We can only hope that this kind of real togetherness can come around again by next summer, when everyone will be a whole lot older– in some cases, many hours of working at Dunkin’ Donuts older.

Moving here to New Hampshire seven years ago as a new bishop’s wife, I first learned of The Circle Program through my husband’s connections; the Episcopal Church had been a steady donor to this non-profit organization that works to improve the lives of girls (referred by school counselors, in most cases) between the ages of 10 – 17. It’s one of the only organizations in the country, surprisingly, that works through a specific combination of mentoring– each girl has one, and the relationships are generally long-term ones– and summer camp.

I remember that first drive up to camp that Rob and I took; the first portion was on the highway, the second part through a regular New Hampshire town with a manufacturing base, past a big lake where camps started appearing, winding still farther down to a little town and past that to find a mostly hidden pond and Circle Camp, with its welcoming log buildings and paths leading to various kinds of activities for girls eager to walk in clusters, build things, have fun on paddle boards, put on dance performances, and learn all about their cool college-age counselors.

It was such a long drive that whatever topic we started hashing out on the way up (I remember, but no need to divulge here) could definitely be further pulled apart on the way back.

There are many aspects of a full camp experience that can be considered “essential,” but none more so than the counselors. Without them — their energy, their compassion, their willingness to impart skills, their overall good sense — there really can be no program at all.

Having had a daughter who worked as a counselor at another New Hampshire camp for a few summers, I know just how demanding these jobs are. If you’re looking for a 24-7 kind of thing, almost no privacy and middle of the night trips to the bathroom with girls who can’t go unaccompanied, this is your ticket! Suffice it to say that I am filled with admiration for the 20-somethings (where my daughter worked, many came from Europe) who take on these summer responsibilities and really fulfill their contracts. Judging by all the sweet and funny letters the campers wrote Cora at the end of each session, I have no doubt about the degree to which she– and all the Circle counselors, by extension — have made an impact on girls’ lives.

This summer, though, being a counselor looks partly like this:

This is Jamie, not actually a counselor but Program Manager for Circle. She and her colleague Lindsay, Camp Manager, have been doing everything needed to see that the girls who cannot actually come to camp physically have something LIKE camp come to them, at their homes. On two Saturdays, I got to help deliver the goods, which — I was happy to see — included watermelons.

Each time I met her at the L.L. Bean parking lot, Jamie was full of optimism and good cheer. She knows that there will be many reasons why many girls won’t be able to take part fully in the unprecedented, totally unconventional camp program this summer. But she, and Lindsay, are doing their very best to provide an array of positive opportunities, week after week.

To be valiant, in these times, is to summon just what we need, as a whole society.

What word in your lexicon is going through a big change this summer? And where are you seeing valor? I’d love to hear.