What does creating an experience of collective effervescence, a sociological concept coined by Émile Durkheim in 1912, look like for us as we prepare for the summer of 2024? How do we capture this unique moment of collaborating with youth to create experiences for them that will have a lifelong impact?
ACH Connections
Tri-States | ACA New England
Winnekota Leadership
Over the last few weeks members of our ACH CareTeam have been honored to collaborate with our friends and create connections while at ACA NY/NJ’s Tri State Conference, during our recent ACH book club featuring Dr. Lisa Miller’s, The Awakened Brain, ACA New England’s Camp Conference where we were recognized with their “Community Honor Recognition,” for outstanding contributions in support of camp experiences for all, and ACA’s Winnekota Leadership Summit in Wisconsin. At each location we connected with ACH Members, made new friends, and found ways to cultivate synchrony.
Bev McEntarfer and Tracey Gaslin
ACH Winnekota
CampWell ACA New England
Tracey Gaslin & Andy Lillenthal connect at Tri-States
Community Honor Recognition Award presented to ACH
The Awakened Brain
In Brene Brown’s book Braving the Wilderness, she articulates, “overcoming our sense of disconnection can happen when we find our common humanity.” Brown discusses collective effervescence among many other relevant ways for us to overcome the potential for loneliness as we seek to create real moments of connection this summer in her most recent, “Unlocking Us” podcast with Esther Perel on New AI – Artificial Intimacy.
We found the sentiments of her podcast to be timely as last week week with thanks to ACA New England, the Camp Susan Curtis Foundation, our CampWell Collaborator’s at ACA, and twenty other organizations (and forty leaders) across New England, we created a unique two day experience where collective effervescence was present for attendees.
CampWell SLC in Palm Springs (April 15-18) is already SOLD OUT and our anticipation continues to grow as we also prepare for our first CampWell Facilitator Training in Texas (April 16-19). Since many members have reached out about space, we felt the demand for an additional CampWell Training to happen before summer. And we are thankful to our friends at the Midwest Association of Independent Camps (MAIC) for being willing to pop up another CampWell MAIC training in Chicago (April 24-26, 2024).
Additional summer programs have chosen to join our collaborators at Tickit Health and Clemson University to elevate the voice of youth through the implementation of a unique pre and post screening that offers empathy to staff and participants. Our work here was bolstered this week when the National Academies for Science Engineering and Medicine (NASEM) released a report focused on the need to create additional support for youth to improve their experience and tend to their well-being. (Click here to view the full report)
We believe genuine connection plus necessary collaboration is significant for our well-being now and it will improve the care we provide to our staff and participants.
As we inch close to our Cultivating Synchrony Spring Summit, sponsored by our friends at CampDoc later this month, our intent is to create an experience where care is at the heart, collaboration informs our path, each community of practice will grow in knowledge, and healthier camp communities will feel more tangible for all this summer.
