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Camp Winning Spirit Community Day

First of all, I need to tell you how grateful I am to YMCA Camp Coniston for its continued efforts to make the world brighter, despite the drastic changes COVID-19 has brought to all of our lives. The decision to offer Community Days is a shining example of your commitment to your community as a whole, and I feel tremendously blessed to be a part of it.

It was such a joy to see families enjoying all the beauty that Coniston has to offer; whether on or in the water, or running across the lawn to make s’mores. I will never forget the absolute joy with which two friends from Camp Winning Spirit ran out across the lawn, dancing in the rain.

So please know, I deeply appreciate Coniston’s invitation to pediatric cancer families this summer. On behalf of all of us at the Childhood Cancer Lifeline, thank you.

— Sylvia Pelletier, President of Childhood Cancer Lifeline of NH

The sentiment is shared by many families as well. Below are their messages and photos of appreciation.

For families of pediatric cancer survivors, the pandemic has further complicated our efforts to keep our kiddos safe and healthy. For our family, this meant continuing to remain on lockdown, even as summer has brought chances for others to head out safely into the world again. We are so appreciative of Coniston’s Community Days as one of the only true “days of summer” we’ve been able to enjoy as a family this year. We all left the day feeling energized and relieved that we were able to have some summer fun as a family. Thank you, Coniston!

— The Pepin Family

We cannot say enough about your amazing Camp and staff. Even though this year looked different at Camp my kids looked forward to it for weeks and had a GREAT time. Camp Coniston is for us about lifelong memories and bonding with the special family of Childhood Cancer Lifeline. The counselors do everything to make it fun and you can tell they love the Camp and greeting us every year. A heartfelt “Thank You” from our family for helping our special kids feel like kids and forget if only for a short time the weight of their illnesses.

— The Anderson Family

It was refreshing to have a day of respite at Coniston in the midst of COVID-19. Beth really enjoyed the opportunity to connect with some friends in person. We appreciate all of the efforts that made the day possible. Seeing some familiar counselors was great too. During this time of “social distancing” the day was a bright reminder that we all are in this together.

— The Brooks Family

Thanks so much to everyone for this event. It really means a lot to us. This year was a pretty big deal for Bradley because it was the first time he could go in the lake (so the first time we could all go in the lake). He had his port the last two times so he couldn’t go in because of the risk of infection. This was also his first time at camp since he finished his two years of chemo so he did a lot more running around. He even fell asleep on the car ride home

— The Rainford Family

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July 2020 Community Update

It’s been almost two months since we announced the closing of Camp for the summer.

Those two months feel like years. Years of quarantine. Years until the end of school. Years of watching the world grapple with hatred, racism, and ultimately—love.

While our goal is always to work for others, it is difficult not to make these times personal—especially when it is easy to feel like all we have is ourselves.

So we have set about to intentionally bring a little light to what can feel like a very dark time.

A generous donor has enabled Camp to open this summer for Community Days at no charge. These days at Camp are open to essential workers, local families, and the community in which Coniston exists. We hope grandparents can feel safe to see their grandchildren for the first time in months. We hope families can be together and boost their mental well-being at the lake. We hope to share our beautiful facility with local day camps and perhaps help their programs with the 15 summer staff the grant enabled us to re-employ. Find more details here.

As you may have heard, the Coniston Community has banded together to make certain Camp is here in future summers. While there is still work to do on the fundraising front, another donor has stepped forward to encourage the Coniston Community to volunteer near their homes this summer. There, campers, alumni, families, and you can sponsor your favorite program area by volunteering close to home this summer. Your children can help a neighbor, your family can work in a soup kitchen, teens and college students can work to bring justice for others. Those hours will help color in a beautiful hand-drawn map of Camp and keep their program areas “on the map.”

I want to state that I am unequivocally committed to making Coniston an antiracist organization that is welcome and reflective of our larger community. To that end, we have begun to examine our training, culture, and traditions operationally. In addition, we have assembled a board committee to promote diversity, equity, and anti-racism at the organizational level.

On August 7, we will host Carolyn Finney, PhD, author of Black Faces, White Spaces: Reimagining the Relationship of African Americans to the Great Outdoors. This event will be open to community and board members and will be uploaded to the camp website so that all community members can watch and participate.

We are also preparing and grappling with opening Coniston’s five afterschool sites that serve over 200 families throughout the Upper Valley as we all prepare for what school schedules will bring this fall.

In conclusion, I look forward to the constructive changes 2021 will bring to our community. With over 800 applications already in, we can tell our families are as well. Our efforts at creating a small light during this time are reinforced by the fact that the first program to fill for next summer was a Service Trip. The concept that we can make a difference in the lives of others is one that lives in our community.

I look forward to a world where those lives help change the world in which we live.

With much love,

John

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Alumnus Helps Shape Community Days

With lockdown stretching on, it became apparent that there was a need to ease the anguish of isolation. Society was stressed. Indeed, we all were stressed. The psychological benefits of being outside and making connections are innumerable. People suffer from a lack of contact with others and from being confined to their homes.

Earlier in the spring, Coniston received correspondence from Howie Kalfus, a Sanders’ Era alumnus and former camper Parent. He visited our 1600-acre property with his family to see his parents in late April. It was the first time these Grandparents had been out of there house in a month and a half. His powerful letter to Camp is on our blog and told us of how his reunion reminded him that no matter where he gathered, because they were together, that place became home.

Coincidentally, at the same time Coniston staff had been separately musing over the concept of running a program where families would drop by camp and participate in activities while maintaining social distance. This would enable multiple generations to see each other safely, perhaps for the first time in the summer.

Our plan was simple. During July and August a community program would be run on-site. Sign up for the program would occur on the new Coniston website. A small staff of fifteen additional staff would be rehired to run activities like swimming and sailing, hiking and field games, and even arts and crafts.

On July 12, we launched Community Days with a group of fifty two nurses and family members. They spent the day at Camp rediscovering a sense of normalcy, joy, and connection. It felt incredibly important for something so straightforward. Through a generous gift from the Brown Foundation Coniston did this free of charge all summer for local families. By the time it all ended, almost 3500 visits were made to Camp without a single report of COVID-19!

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Coniston Community Fundraisers

The Coniston Community has stepped up in a BIG way and hundreds of campers and alumni got involved in very unique ways to ensure the future of Coniston.

CONISTON BRACELETS
1st-year staff members, John Shelley and Ellie Wilson jumped into action when they heard Camp needed help by creating a fundraiser. These entrepreneurs sold homemade friendship bracelets and more importantly found a way of keeping the spirit of Camp alive during these times.

CONISTON TRIVIA NIGHT!
On June 25, 2020 over 150 CIT groups across the country from the late 90’s through the 2010’s gathered for a special trivia night fundraiser to help support Camp during the COVID-19 pandemic. Thanks to the generosity of so many, thousands of dollars were raised.

More than just a financial boost, the night was an opportunity for old friends to reconnect, laugh, and reminisce about summers on the lake. Congratulations to the 2001/2002 CIT team who took home the big win to have the donations to Camp made in their honor!

CONISTON HATS
After spending five summers at Coniston, Kiley MacLeod knew that she wanted to help the place that has given her so much. She created a fundraiser to sell custom embroidered hats.

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George Floyd and BLM

To Our Coniston Community: 

Black lives matter. We apologize for not speaking up sooner to say this and make sure you all know that we are paying attention and that we as an organization unequivocally believe in the cause of racial justice, stand with the Black community, and condemn racism.

We didn’t release a statement earlier both because we were afraid to say the wrong thing and because we weren’t sure if we had anything valuable to add to this conversation. We also did not want to make an empty statement that isn’t backed up by concrete actions Camp is taking to become a more inclusive and actively anti-racist organization. 

However, we realized last week that the wrong thing to say is nothing at all. We want you, our Coniston community, to know we are paying attention, we are listening, we are having conversations, and we are actively working on those concrete steps. We understand the importance of taking action and we hope you understand that it will take time to figure out how to translate the values each of us on staff and on our board holds individually into actions that an entire organization takes — including steps to make sure that we are truly living our anti-racist values and teaching them to campers during camp sessions when we are once again open. 

Camp has always worked hard to teach and live the values of respect, honesty, inclusivity, responsibility, and caring. But we acknowledge that we need to and must go further and we’re deeply committed to doing that. We also acknowledge that, despite our good intentions, Camp has not always felt welcoming to every community member. 

As a predominantly white organization, we have a special responsibility to our community to teach and model anti-racist behavior. History teaches us that movements for change are most successful when privileged communities use their voices to advocate on behalf of marginalized communities. And our hearts tell us that it is the right thing to do. 

John Tilley, John McNair, Nicole Berthiaume 
June 10, 2020

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Community Collaborates to Keep Outdoors Safe

The outdoors provides many people a breath of fresh air and a place to clear their mind and get some exercise during state’s stay at home orders and reopening plans. Getting out to enjoy the local bike trail or take a local hike is an activity that many have taken up to help provide structure or relaxation. Outdoor recreation has been increasingly sought after giving everyone the ability to exercise, clear their head or just take in some beauty while maintaining proper distancing measures. However, hiking mountains or exploring rivers does come with some risks. 

With access to the outdoors there are many people and puppies (Yes, we said dogs!) behind the scenes that ensure the safety of those venturing to explore their backyards and communities. This past weekend, New England K9 Search and Rescue came to Coniston’s property to practice and train. At Coniston, these air-scent trained rescue dogs are able to practice land and water rescue scenarios to hone their skills and remain trained and ready to execute. This collaboration helps ensure the safety of many people exploring their local areas and allows New England K9 Search and Rescue an ideal free space to constantly train and keep people safe. Even during quarantine these volunteers help keep New Englanders exploring the outdoors safe in case of emergency.

New England K9 Search and Rescue aims to provide, without cost, trained search and rescue personnel and K9s to the law enforcement agencies of Vermont and New Hampshire to assist in their efforts to locate lost and missing persons. They offer assistance to the Upper Valley Wilderness Response team and have been helping the local area since its founding in 1981.

From Coniston, we would like to say thank you to the New England K9 Search and Rescue for volunteering your time to keep New England safe. We are very thankful we are able to collaborate with New England K9 in order to ensure a safer and better community.