Camps
Here’s how these camps ran successfully
amid the COVID-19 pandemic
BY JESS MICHAELS
NEW YORK FAMILY
Last spring, COVID-19 changed everything.
Children were home navigating
distance learning while parents were
juggling working from home while assisting
their kids with schoolwork. No one knew
what the summer would be like and if camps
would be able to operate but what became
abundantly clear is that children were feeling
anxious and lonely and needed camp more
than ever before to socialize with other
children, take a break from screens and participate
in activities outside of their homes.
With guidance from the American Camp
Association, CDC, medical professionals and
state and local Department of Health offi ces,
camps where states were able to operate
adjusted their programs to put numerous
health and safety protocols in place to mitigate
the risk of COIVD-19 at camp.
Here’s how one of those camps ran
successfully and how they now have a
blueprint for running safely in a pandemic.
The Decision to Open
Unfortunately, for many camps, the decision
to not operate was made by the Governor
of the state the camps resided in. For
others who could open, there were many
factors to consider. Andy Lilienthal, Owner
and Director of Camp Winnebago, an allboys
overnight camp in Maine, initially had
a discussion about health and risk with his
wife Laura, who is also a pediatrician and
the camp’s medical director. They knew
that children were suffering emotionally
last spring and felt a mission towards being
a key to children’s development.
Communication
With so much uncertainty at the time,
communication with parents was imperative
and was key to many camps’ success
last summer. “Winnebago sent out numerous
communications to parents and
hosted a series of Zoom calls with families
in the spring. We encouraged open
and frank conversation, letting parents
know we were going to be transparent in
our plans,” Lilienthal said. “Over these
Zoom calls, parents were able to digest
information, ask questions, gauge where
we were at and make decisions for themselves
on whether or not to send their
child to camp.”
Multi-Layered Plan
Camp Winnebago’s plan included: a
testing regiment for both campers and
FILE PHOTO
staff; daily health checks; small cohorts
and opening them to larger cohorts and
then eventually the whole camp once it was
deemed that everyone at camp was COVID
free; increased hand sanitizing and hand
washing as well as increased disinfecting of
equipment and facilities; outdoor activities;
masks when near other cohorts or inside;
and many more protocols to keep camp
a healthy environment. Duffy said they
looked at camp from A-Z, from top to
bottom to see what changes needed to be
implemented in order to create a COVID
safe environment.
Summer 2021
The good news is camps will be open
for summer 2021 and camps have already
proven they can run safe, healthy programs
amid a pandemic.
Schneps Media April 15, 2021 13