{"id":19847,"date":"2020-05-22T17:45:58","date_gmt":"2020-05-22T17:45:58","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/ayf.com\/?p=19847"},"modified":"2020-05-22T17:45:58","modified_gmt":"2020-05-22T17:45:58","slug":"our-community-rises","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/ayf.com\/our-community-rises\/","title":{"rendered":"Our Community Rises to the Challenge"},"content":{"rendered":"

by Catherine Klene<\/strong><\/p>\n

Summer 2020 will undoubtedly be different than years past, but <\/span>president<\/span>\u00a0Anna Kay Vorsteg\u00a0<\/span>s<\/span>hare<\/span>d <\/span>that<\/span>\u00a0the AYF community has already exceeded her expectations.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cThis pandemic has issued a very real test of our values and priorities<\/span>,<\/span> and we passed,\u201d Anna Kay said. \u201cWe collectively passed so beautifully.\u201d\u00a0 <\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

In April,<\/span> Anna Kay made the<\/a><\/span>\u00a0<\/span>difficult<\/span>\u00a0announcement\u00a0<\/span>that summer 2020 could not proceed as planned due to the coronavirus pandemic<\/span>, but\u00a0<\/span>even\u00a0<\/span>she was not<\/span>\u00a0prepared for the deluge of goodwill from the wider Founder Friends community.\u00a0<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201c<\/span>It\u2019s so emotional for me, and I was aware that we were send<\/span>ing<\/span> out news to thousands who shared that same emotion,\u201d Anna Kay said. <\/span>\u201cHistorically, when\u00a0<\/span>I\u2019ve<\/span>\u00a0sent hard news<\/span>\u00a0of a much smaller scale,\u00a0<\/span>I<\/span>\u2019ve<\/span>\u00a0receive<\/span>d<\/span> some mad or sad reactions. I expected some negativity. I was bracing for it. But the night the announcement went out, my phone lit up with <\/span>texts and calls<\/span>\u00a0of support and a willingness to help.\u201d\u00a0<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

That outpouring of\u00a0<\/span>kindness<\/span>\u00a0was just the beginning.<\/span>\u00a0Th<\/span>e AYF was flooded\u00a0<\/span>with\u00a0<\/span>messages of\u00a0<\/span>understanding and a desire to best support the\u00a0<\/span>organization<\/span>\u00a0during this unprecedented time.\u00a0<\/span>\u00a0<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cEveryone\u00a0<\/span>recognized our shared loss.\u00a0<\/span>There\u2019s<\/span>\u00a0something special about that. They\u00a0<\/span>understand<\/span>\u00a0that\u00a0<\/span>this\u00a0<\/span>isn\u2019t<\/span> a business relationship. It\u2019s so much more than that,\u201d Anna Kay said. \u201cI\u2019m so touched by the messages <\/span>that showed<\/span>\u00a0they cared not just\u00a0<\/span>for<\/span>\u00a0the fiscal state that we were in, but the emotional state<\/span>,<\/span>\u00a0as well.\u201d\u00a0<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Shortly after the announcement, t<\/span>he AYF hosted\u00a0<\/span>virtual Town Halls for parents,\u00a0<\/span>campers<\/span>\u00a0and seasonal staff to help\u00a0<\/span>process<\/span>\u00a0the news.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cThe people who blew me away were some of the campers I spoke with who\u2019ve worked toward these culminating experiences for years. This is their Voyageur year or their Odyssey year.\u201d Anna Kay said. \u201cI\u2019m sure a part of them is so deeply upset<\/span>, but the fact that they could keep that disappointment from coming at us is remarkable. The maturity required for that is so impressive.\u201d <\/span>\u00a0<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Anna Kay said her focus has<\/span>\u00a0now<\/span>\u00a0shifted to the broader world<\/span>\u00a0<\/span>and\u00a0<\/span>how campers, summer staff, and National Leadership Conference attendees can <\/span>support<\/span>\u00a0their own communities.\u00a0<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201c<\/span>This is an<\/span> invitation to be our best and apply it in a sincere way at a needy time,\u201d Anna Kay said. \u201cFor example, i<\/span>nstead of coming to the AYF this summer,\u00a0<\/span>maybe\u00a0<\/span>we challenge our teenagers to bring the AYF into a household that desperately<\/span>\u00a0<\/span>needs childcare<\/span>, when it is safe to do so<\/span>. They could bring routine and schedule to a family and introduce the AYF mission. Imagine 1,000 households with AYF enkindled spirits as their<\/span>\u00a0childcare this summer.\u201d\u00a0<\/span>\u00a0<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

As AYF transitions to virtual summer programming, Anna Kay <\/span>encouraged all Founder Friends to lean on each other and reach out for support during what will a difficult summer for many.\u00a0\u00a0<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cIn times of trouble and times of challenge, just like all those trips we lead, part of why we can accomplish those remarkable things is we are do<\/span>ing<\/span>\u00a0it with others<\/span>,<\/span>\u201d\u00a0<\/span>she<\/span>\u00a0said. \u201cWe won\u2019t let the physical distances between us keep us from community this summer.\u201d<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

by Catherine Klene Summer 2020 will undoubtedly be different than years past, but president\u00a0Anna Kay Vorsteg\u00a0shared that\u00a0the AYF community has already exceeded her expectations.\u00a0 \u201cThis pandemic has issued a very real test of our values and priorities, and we passed,\u201d Anna Kay said. \u201cWe collectively passed so beautifully.\u201d\u00a0 \u00a0 In April, Anna Kay made the\u00a0difficult\u00a0announcement\u00a0that summer 2020 could not proceed … <\/p>\n

Read More<\/a><\/div>\n","protected":false},"author":6,"featured_media":19887,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_active":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_note":"","_monsterinsights_sitenote_category":0,"footnotes":""},"categories":[65],"tags":[87,92,88,70,59,85,89,90],"class_list":["post-19847","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-general-updates","tag-founder-friends","tag-invincible-summer","tag-living-the-mission","tag-merrowvista","tag-miniwanca","tag-updates","tag-virtual-programs","tag-virtual-summer"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\nOur Community Rises to the Challenge - American Youth Foundation<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"\u201cWe won\u2019t let the physical distances between us keep us from community this summer.\u201d\u00a0\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/ayf.com\/our-community-rises\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Our Community Rises to the Challenge - 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