Hello Circle Pines Center Community,

I wanted to reach out to you all to introduce myself! My name is Tegwyn John, and I am the brand new Summer Camp Director. Here’s a selfie I took while looking for morels in Washtenaw County a couple weeks ago, so you can put a face to the name.

Obviously, I am new to CPC Summer Camp! I first came to CPC about 8 years ago when I attended a springtime Water Protector Camp Out, and I’ve been in touch with Gerardo through that community ever since. In my hometown of Ann Arbor I am involved in environmental justice organizing, community arts, and conservation work. I was excited to find out that CPC Summer Camp was looking for a director, and I am very happy to join the team. Co-operatives are near and dear to my heart, and I believe deeply in the mission of Circle Pines to teach peace, social justice, and environmental stewardship. I am looking forward to working hard to ensure a successful and enjoyable summer camp for everyone — campers, staff, and volunteers.

That being said, I have a lot to learn! This is a place steeped in tradition and meaning for people who have long relationships with camp and with each other. I believe that the experience and knowledge held by the alumni body of CPC Summer Camp, the broader membership and any subscriber enthusiastic about getting good results are part of the incomparably valuable and supportive resources available to put on a successful summer camp this year.

I’m requesting and inviting ALL OF YOU share your expertise with me and the rest of Summer Camp this year. My contact information is below – I await your correspondence!

As always, we would love for you to apply to volunteer with us for a week or two (or more…) and even join the team as a staff member if you can! I cannot say how happy I would be to deepen this experience by wading past the beginner’s section at the edge of this beautiful far and near community into the deeper end of the CPC member-volunteer waters. Afterall, a co-op is just a bunch of people doing something together and I’m here to learn how you do it so we can do it together.

We are still hiring for the summer — counselors, kitchen staff, nurse, lifeguards, and more! You can find more information on this job listing, and apply on the Circle Pines Center website.

We are also recruiting volunteers! Volunteers are very important members of the Summer Camp team, and can enrich the experience of campers and staff alike. If you want to contribute to Summer Camp, but can’t stay the whole 7 weeks, please consider joining us as a volunteer for a week or two. Fill out the volunteer form here!

And of course, you can still register for camp! We have space available in all of our sessions, for campers of all ages. Remember that adults can sign on as volunteers while their children attend camp, for the whole family enjoy summer at Circle Pines Center together. Registration can be found here.

Finally, if none of those opportunities make sense for you this year, but you still want to support Summer Camp, you can always make a contribution to the scholarship fund. It’s been wonderful to see behind the scenes how many campers are supported by the CPC community to spend some time in the woods who otherwise would not be able to do so. I would like to offer a HUGE thanks to everyone who has donated so far to make this possible.

Looking forward to meeting many of you this summer. Come say hi!

In Cooperation,
Tegwyn John
summercamp@circlepinescenter.org