Dear Encampment Supporter,
We are writing today to ask for your help with a core part of the EFC’s mission. Each summer, we bring together young people (ages 15–18) of different ethnic, religious, gender orientation, geographic, and economic backgrounds for a living experience of participatory democracy and skills building. Your support is the reason that we are able to bring young people from different backgrounds together from across the country and beyond who want to work toward creating a more just world.
This year, we have been flooded with applications from young people who are eager to participate in our summer program. They want to either get started or get more skills and community support for their current activism. They understand, as we do, that the time to get involved is now. We asked two EFC alums, separated by 50 years’ time, to comment about why it’s so important to help sponsor Encampers:
“I support the Encampment financially because I recognize that it’s the diversity of the group that makes it as successful and as powerful as it has been over the years. It’s critical that people support the Encampment if you want to have a diverse body of young people live together for the summer and take on some of life’s most challenging questions.” — Peter Neufeld, 1966 alum, co-founder of the Innocence Project
“[Participating in the Encampment] would not have been a possibility for me without a sponsorship. When I think about whose voices need to be uplifted, whose confidence needs to be uplifted, and who we need solutions from, I see the need for sponsorship funding. Young people want to contribute to the solutions.“ — Belinda Hernandez, 2015+ alum, legal advocate in an immigration rights nonprofit
To have the diversity that makes the Encampment the transformative experience it is, no young person who is accepted to the program is turned away because their family cannot afford the fee. Families pay according to their income. Many of the families of the young people cannot afford the full or partial program fee, so our sponsorship fund fills that gap.
We asked both alums: Why is the Encampment important now?
“That summer at the Encampment was one of the single most defining experiences of my youth. It was the first time in my life that that I lived in a situation where there was a significant number of people from disparate parts of the country who had very different life experiences than I had. We need more people to go through the Encampment experience who can perhaps become leaders of a movement to challenge what’s going on right now and move us in a much healthier direction.” — Peter
“I’ve worked at several nonprofits, volunteering and paid, and the Encampment is unique in the intergenerational skill-sharing, resource sharing, wisdom-sharing. The EFC values youth voices. I think about the young people who are currently detained by ICE. The disregard for young people is very alarming to me. The Encampment is a whole organization that is committed to young people on so many levels: the summer program, year-long opportunities such as the InterGen Café, being part of the board or on a committee. These are all ways that the Encampment embodies that respect for young people and the desire as a collective to come up with solutions with everybody’s voice.” — Belinda
2026 is the 80th year since the Encampment’s founding by people who were committed to giving young people the experience and tools to strengthen democracy. Our founders saw the need for critical thinking in the face of fascism. They provided opportunities in the host community for Encampers to discover a variety of ways that people address community issues. More than that, like Peter and Belinda, they saw the EFC’s diverse community as a way of experiencing democracy in action. They encouraged Encampers to figure out ways to govern their time together. It was not easy and it was often messy, but it was a government of the people, for the people, and by the people. All of the people — no matter their family’s income.
That is what we continue to do each summer and during the year with our virtual community gatherings — InterGen Cafés: We bring people of all ages and different backgrounds together to talk about the issues that affect our lives and look for solutions together. You are invited to a special gathering in the fall to celebrate our anniversary — check your email for updates.
Right now, our efforts are focused on the crucial need to fund every Encamper for the summer program. You can help by donating today — any amount gets us closer to our sponsorship campaign goal of $45,000.
In Community,
The Encampment Team
Support diverse youth leadership development. All donations are welcome! Click to DONATE ONLINE or send your gift to The Encampment, P.O. Box 1210, Aptos, CA 95001-1210. Our Federal EIN is 30-0694938.
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