The Gift of the Letter

In today’s digital world, we seldom take the time to write a hand-written letter instead of sending off a quick email or text message. Summers at ALC give us the gift of rediscovering the beauty of the hand-written letter as ALC Campers communicate with family and friends through letters during the summer. What a gift it is to slow down and share our thoughts, to take the time to describe something that h

as happened at camp, and to express our emotions in the written word. While they are not in camp with us, our parents, friends, and family also have this gift, as they respond to our letters, share stories of their own adventures, and inquire about what is happening at ALC.

We encourage our families to save their campers’ letters, as they will become cherished treasures in the years ahead. These treasures will contain quips about summer adventures, feelings about moments of challenge and friendship, the joy of summer days filled with independence, growth, and new opportunities, and perhaps even gratitude for the gift of the ALC experience.

Sometimes, campers dare to reveal their emotions about a hard day or moment in their letters. As parents, we receive these letters a few days later, and can have our own emotional response - is my camper okay? Is she still sad or frustrated? Because we are at camp 24 hours a day for 3.5 or 7 weeks, there is enough time in each day to work through the challenges. So, by the time the letter arrives at home, the camper has likely found resolution and moved on to something else - that’s the good news! As a parent, it’s hard to wonder what that resolution has been! In those moments, we hope our parents will pick up the phone and check in with ALC’s leadership team. We are always happy to give you an update on how things are going!

Fortunately, those letters are usually in the minority. Most of the time, campers are so excited to share tales about life at ALC - which activities they love, what they have learned, stories about silly moments with their friends, life in the tent, etc. Enjoy the letters, and be sure to write back and ask questions so you’ll hear even more about her adventures at ALC!

And please, keep all of those letters. They are priceless gifts and mementos of her ALC summers.