Notes from the Summer 2017 Advocate Retreat

This year has seen some big changes for our advocate community, so in June, we took a timeout for our annual summer advocate retreat. Our advocates dedicated two whole days to recharging and rejuvenating themselves and each other.

The first day of the retreat started out with current Radvocate Emmalee facilitating some team building exercises. Thanks to her incredibly thoughtful activities, we connected personally to each other in ways we weren’t expecting, and had some debates about our picks between dogs and cats, Macs and PCs, and other similarly controversial binaries. Soon though, we found ourselves knee-deep in intense values clarification conversations about Talkline-related topics. In the afternoon, we reflected on our activist and Talkline journeys, and had some productive discussion on how to continue building community for each other amid and despite all the changes we’re seeing in the world.

Throughout all the laughter, bonding, and discussion, we took time to ground ourselves in moments of gratitude. Advocates wrote down things they were thankful for on post-it notes based on some prompts, and then stuck them on ‘gratitude boards,’ which were added to as the day went on. By the end of the day, the boards had layers of notes of gratitude and accomplishment.

The first day of our retreat was also sprinkled with crafts and board game time. Current Radvocate Dhara organized this year’s craft activity, mug decorating. She made amazing stencils for everyone to use, including ones of cats, hedgehogs, and Disney’s Moana! Rising Radvocate Gina brought board games from her own personal collection for everyone to play, which made for lots of hilarious and fun moments.  

We ended the day with an emotional goodbye-for-now to Gina, and an equally emotional circle of affirmations, where each advocate voiced appreciation or affirmation for a specific person or the group as a whole. There wasn’t a dry eye by the end of the day!

I love advocate retreats because they remind me how necessary it is for us to spend time with each other intentionally outside our monthly meeting routines. Our advocates do incredible and difficult emotional work on the All-Options Talkline, and I’m reminded how important it is for the  advocates to have that space for themselves. As Talkline Manager, I’m honored that I get to plan and facilitate retreats where our advocates create spaces for each other that are intimate, loving, honest, and supportive. I’m so grateful to know each one of our Radvocates and know that they’re out in the world, supporting each caller and each other unconditionally.

– Rachel Ronquillo Gray, National Talkline Manager