Dear Camp Families,
I hope you all are doing well in all aspects, physically, mentally, emotionally, and spiritually. What we are all doing right now is a very new and unusually hard thing. The current COVID-19 situation is fluid, changing daily, sometimes even hourly. It is testing our adaptability and our patience, and I imagine its testing yours as well.
This summer may not look like all the summers that have come before or hopefully many of the summers that will come after. What we do know is that camp plays a vital role in the lives of campers, their families, volunteers, staff and alumni – and so we are taking steps to determine how we can best serve our community this summer by looking at options as needed:
- • Adapting our schedule and plans
- • Revisiting our planned program
- • Evaluating how we can offer our programming in new and innovative ways,
- • Considering opportunities to serve our community in ways we have not previously considered
When and how do we re-open camp?
The answer to that question is complex and evolving daily. We all recognize that we must put the safety of our campers and staff first, and that we need expert scientific guidance to help drive the decision-making process.
This week we learned that the American Camp Association has had the opportunity to connect with the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) as they develop COVID-19 guidance for day and overnight camps for this summer. The CDC’s guidance will help state public health authorities and camp directors with their summer decisions, as well as utilize best practices in health management, community management, and camp operations. We expect to get these guidelines from CDC by the end of April and we expect to have the local State directions after that. We are evaluating and revising our practices to see how and when we can meet their guidelines and hope to let you know soon after the local and State government makes their decisions.
In the meantime, we are interested in your needs and how we can best serve you. Please complete the survey click here by the end of April or sooner if possible so that your voice is heard.
Thank you for your time and consideration. Stay safe and well until we meet again.
Peace,
Jill