It’s never too early to start talking about camp with your campers! Our campers historically come from a variety of backgrounds and life experiences. It is part of what makes Camp Carysbrook such a special experience. As a result of the pandemic and the events in our country and abroad, we recognize that campers and staff will be coming from an even greater range of experiences in what they are currently processing as a result of the world today.

Some campers may be back in school with pandemic precautions. Others may be in a hybrid model and are easing back into socialization with precautions. And some may still be in a full virtual or home school learning environment with little contact outside their family unit. We understand that this means that campers and staff will arrive at camp with a variety of emotions and expectations for the summer. We know that many campers will hope that camp is “normal” while others feel anxious about if camp is safe. In our Parent/Guardian Meeting dedicated to supporting our campers this past week, we gathered some pro tips with the following Q&A to share some things you can do starting now to make your camper feel at ease and manage expectations especially this year.

You said last year you would do everything to make camp happen and it didn’t. How do we know camp will happen this year?

Despite all our efforts and policies to open safely last summer, the virus was just so new and we did not have the data to prove the mitigation we planned on the advice of the American Camp Association. Now we know that camps who did not follow these mitigation strategies were not able to operate safely but 3000+ camps across the country operated successfully without community spread. The CDC published a study of four Maine camps and Colleen has had the opportunity to consult with one of the co-authors and medical director at two of those camps.

We have also gotten confirmation from the Deputy Secretary of Trade & Commerce from the Governor’s office that we will be permitted to open according to the guidelines the Governor will release in the coming months. When the Governor approves the guidelines it will be official and we will be in business. So while it is not all wrapped up with a bow yet, every indication points to getting that Executive Order in the coming months.

How can I organize my thoughts about what camp will look like this summer and get answers about my concerns and questions?

Camp Carysbrook Owner, Colleen Hagan Egl is hard at work with all levels of the government and health departments as well as our medical staff to make sure that camp can open and that operations will be safe for campers and staff. As soon as we have a firm idea of what will be required, Colleen and Erika will present a detailed plan for the protocols that will be essential this summer. What we can tell you right now is that we are collecting information and updating our policies and procedures to comply with potential guidelines and ACA recommended best practices. Once the guidelines are approved, the Governor will amend his Executive Order to permit overnight camps to operate.

You can check out the areas we are evaluating and see our proposed changes if they become necessary. Please note that this is a working document and not all policies may be required while some new ones may become necessary.

Campers may also find it helpful to use the daily schedule and identify activities they are excited about and times where they can “schedule in” their self-care and recharging routines. It may also help with any separation anxiety to know what those they have been living with in close quarters will be doing at those times as well. This could be a fun activity for all of you in preparing for camp.

If you still have questions, please contact Erika 540-382-1670 or erika@campcarysbrook.com

When I feel worried, anxious, overwhelmed at camp, I can…

• Talk to my counselor
• Talk to a friend
• Journal
• Read
• Breathe/meditate
• Craft/color/draw
• Rest on my bunk

Let your camper know that this summer we will be discussing all these ideas during the first day and night when each cabin makes their cabin code. The cabin code is a set of values unique to the cabin in that session and helps campers and staff identify what they need personally and as a cabin unit to feel at home at camp. Some ideas we have discussed with our Head Counselor, Samantha Schlesser, who manages cabin row, include offering the option to have the inside of the cabin a quiet zone during free time for those campers who need alone time to recharge and having the porch and within the free time boundaries outside be available for more extroverted socialization and activity.

We encourage campers to be honest about how they are feeling and be empowered to discuss their feelings in a constructive way knowing that while they may have different approaches to self-care and recharging, they are not alone. So please discuss how their pandemic experience could be different from other campers and give them language to advocate for what they need while at camp. These are life skills that will transcend this moment in time.

Discuss what activities and hobbies campers have been doing at home to cope with negative feelings and discuss which of those items are available at camp or could be packed. The wide variety of new hobbies is some of the lemonade or silver lining to this time and we want to encourage campers to continue those that suit the camp environment from drawing to reading to hiking.

Whatever helps your camper relax so they can enjoy all that Carysbrook has to offer is important to discuss with Erika. You can reach her to discuss any concerns not covered here or a strategy to best support your camper this summer at 540-382-1670, erika@campcarybrook or by scheduling a phone call using her Calendly scheduler.

If your camper, new or returning, has experienced any concerns referenced in Confidential Info section of the 2021 Camper Handbook, it really is critical that you connect with Erika so that we may ensure that we can provide the necessary accommodations for your camper to be successful and that our staff is equipped with a plan to facilitate that camp experience within the professional constraints of our programming. We have a lot of experience with a range of challenges confronting young women and at the same time, the staff at Camp Carysbrook does not specialize in serving those with special needs, including mental, emotional, social, and behavioral difficulties, so preparation within those constraints may be necessary prior to your camper’s arrival. When it comes to partnering with you to prepare for the summer ahead, there is no such thing as over-communication, so please share anything, big or small, that you think could be of any importance during your child’s time at camp!

There is no easy way to say this. We fought a good fight. But leadership means knowing when it is time to recognize where we are and how to re-calibrate. With no path forward and a deficit of time, Camp Carysbrook has made the difficult decision to cancel our remaining 2020 session. In an effort to reach our campers directly, we made the attached video as we know that they will grieve the summer as much as we have.

We are dismayed at the lack of guidance or any time frame to permit overnight camps in Virginia to operate despite all of our collective efforts to show not only that we can operate safely outdoors this summer, but also how much Carysbrook is needed. It is especially heartbreaking when we know that it is spaces like summer camps where true community is fostered across both privilege and inequity.

It was our intention to stay flexible while we safely moved through the various phases; however, despite all the calls and emails, overnight summer camp operations have received neither guidance nor guarantee. Based on conversations we have had in recent days, it seems overnight camps are only beginning to be evaluated, and today it was announced that overnight camps will not be permitted to operate in Phase 3.

There is nothing sadder than a camp without a camper. This haven was created in 1923 for young women to explore the beauty of nature in the shade of Miss Kat’s bath, to forge closer bonds with people who are not like you as you tube down the Little River, to reflect on the moments of growth and opportunity by the campfire, and to be lulled to dream by the bullfrogs under a starry sky. We see footprints and heart prints left here from our previous summers, but we are incomplete without the campers and staff of the 97th summer.

We recognize that it is a privilege to come to camp and can only hope it is one all of us will now treasure even more after this fragile world made this summer impossible. We are so grateful to everyone who advocated on our behalf and supported us through this process. Although this will be a trying time emotionally and financially, we appreciate every act of kindness and generosity to help us come out on the other side. We plan to offer more opportunities to help Carysbrook survive, including an option to rent cabins this summer as a family or a mother-daughter retreat to rest and relax in the 24149 this summer starting July 3rd. More information and 2021 dates to follow.

Thank you for taking the time to complete the form to indicate how to process refunds as well. If you did not complete the form, we will automatically roll your tuition over to next year. Your generosity to camp will be paid forward in the continued care of our community as we preserve this space and expand its efficacy and its reach to provide a safe space for young women of all “economic, racial, geographic, religious, ethnic and social” backgrounds going forward.

Before we dig further into that work, we are going to take a moment and mourn what we have lost. A summer to remember when we needed it most. And once we have, we will pick ourselves back up modeling the courage and tenacity grown at Camp Carysbrook until we can be together again. Stay tuned.

Until then, Aloha…

It’s more than just an easy word for casual good-bye;
It’s brighter than a greeting and it’s sadder than a sigh;
It has the hurting poignancy, the pathos of a sob;
It’s sweeter than a youthful heart’s exquisite joyous throb;
It’s all the tender messages that words cannot convey;
It’s tears unshed, and longing for a loved one gone away;
It’s welcome to Carysbrook and it’s lingering farewell;
It’s all the dear and silent things that only a friend can tell;
It’s woven into friendship bracelets and our old camp songs;
It’s frailer than a spider-web and strong as our team bonds;
It’s fresh as dew on daisy blooms and older than the moon;
It’s in the little lullabys that campfire chorus croons;
It’s said a hundred different ways, in sadness and in joy;
Aloha means “I love you.” So, I say “Aloha Oe”

-adapted from “Aloha Oe” by Don Blanding

We have all been inundated with news and information over the past few days, and frankly with a lot of opinion-based rather than science-based information regarding COVID-19 and how the pandemic will impact camp. We continue to monitor all the information and sort through it with the guidance of our veteran medical panel and the American Camp Association (ACA).

On May 7th, the media reported that the White House had tabled the CDC guidelines that were being developed for a range of industries, including the camp industry. In the absence of federal guidelines, I consulted with the Environmental Health Manager at the Montgomery County Health Department. We discussed at length next steps, and he agreed with my time table on decision-making starting June 1 for the sessions starting June 21st.

While we have not received any guidance specific to summer camps from the office of the Governor, the Governor did announce today that overnight camps will not open in Phase 1 in Virginia. Phase 1, anticipated to begin May 15 could last 2-3 weeks but could last longer.

This is consistent with the information presented today at the ACA Town Hall. The ACA has been working with the CDC and the YMCA, as well as an independent consulting company, Environmental Health & Engineering Inc. (EHEINC) to develop a field guide consolidating information not only from the CDC, but also from the EPA and OSHA, with suggested practices for summer day and overnight camps. Among the topics covered are resources and best practices for:

• Opening Decision Support
•  Safety Actions
•  Monitoring & Preparing
•  Pandemic Surveillance

They have already released a “Suggested Camp Supplies and materials for 2020 Camp Season,” and we our working with our vendors to secure the recommended products and quantities. They will release Day and Overnight Camp Documents May 11 and suggested practices May 15. The full Field Guide will be available May 18, subject to review.

We continue to remain cautiously optimistic with the decision deadlines we put in place in our last message. While this summer certainly will look different from a “normal” summer, we will continue to partner with you to make this a summer to remember for your girls, who need the comfort of a space that manages risk but also feeds the soul with social connection, Vitamin D, and physical activity outdoors.