The CCRC Board had the opportunity to hold its annual summer meeting up at camp this past weekend. What a truly wonderful reminder of how special and impactful this Agency is on all of the communities we serve! Our board focuses on long-range strategic planning and high-level initiatives to support our year-round camping and retreating work. Everyone who volunteers their time to the CCRC Board and Committee service does so out of recognition of the meaningful impact that camping and immersive Jewish activities have on individuals – both campers and staff. But being on campus brings it home in ways that a description of what is happening can never do.
The energy, the palpable joy, the happy noise, the smiling faces – all of your senses are stimulated, and your internal batteries are filled to overflowing. To see and feel the immediate and direct connection between the work of the CCRC Board that day and all of the activities going on around us was incredibly special.
A personal highlight was the meaningful discussions we held with the CITs. These future leaders of CCRC and all of the communities they come from were truly inspiring. They had just received their cabin and specialty assignments and were excited about the weeks ahead. These 49 young women and men, many of whom have grown up at camp, shared their personal “mission statements”. These statements drove home the fact that they see CCRC as their second home and the place where they can most be their true selves. Walking away from that visit, my Board colleagues and I could not help but feel our work is holy and impactful. The future is incredibly bright.
Brad Stillman
Capital Camps & Retreat Center, Board Chair