Hooray! We did it! Our hard work collaborating with the Virginia Department of Health and the Governor’s office has paid off and the Governor announced official Guidelines for Virginia Overnight Summer Camps in the Third Amended Executive Order #72 today with operations permitted as of May 1, 2021! Bring on summer 2021!

As we begin to come to terms with the fact that COVID will continue to play a role in our lives for the foreseeable future, we are excited to put our carefully thought out plans for camp into action and get back to camp. We have been putting together plans to ensure safety according to anticipated guidelines while delivering the Carysbrook experience to our campers and staff. Parents and caregivers, you will see that we have thought through every aspect of camp and have plans in place to make it as safe as possible. What we feel is just as important, however, is that our campers will likely not even realize the amount of thought that has gone into these protocols. And that’s the way it ought to be!

Our staff are already hard at work to put these procedures at the core of activities with a heaping spoonful of fun on top so that’s what campers see! There is already so much campers do not see behind the scenes to make camp happen and this will be no different. And frankly, we believe this is an opportunity to add even more fun to our programming. We are really listening to the feedback we have gotten on what could be better and trading up for creative new twists like at opening campfire and changeover! We will be taking our cues from camps who operated last year with these policies in place, and look forward to the outcomes they reported, including an increase in camper satisfaction, less homesickness, and stronger friendships. So we encourage you to read our Covid Response Plan and use it as a guide to answer your campers’ questions rather than read it front to back for them. We’re confident there is an audience for reading it start to finish but the campers deserve better! These girls have had to think about far too many things over this year and what they really want to know is…

Can I go to activities I want to like I have before? Yes!

Can I see my friends from other cabins? Yes!

There will be some things that are different like wearing masks just like you do at home when you go out of your house or are around people outside of your household. I mean you can do this at home all summer like you have been all year or we can do it together at camp! Amirite???

Will we have trips? Yes!

Will we have campfire? Yes!

Staff may need to plan seating in the van and make sure we have the place to ourselves when we get to our destination, but there will be trips! We will make use of the amazing amount of space we have in the stunning 24149 to be sure we are safe, but we will have campfire!

Is your camper so curious they stumped you? Fear not! It’s okay to say “Hmmmm, that’s a good question, let’s ask!”

 

Erika and her incredible staff will be hosting Zoom calls in the month ahead to answer camper questions and help you guide your campers through what’s new and what hasn’t changed in essence. (Check our online calendar for dates!) I mean if we can put on a mask and enjoy the natural space between us and have camp, wouldn’t we do that?  It’s been far too long that we have been separated entirely. We know how to be safe and have fun. We have been doing it for 97 years. Let’s do it for 98!!! See you there!

Colleen & Erika

Colleen Hagan Egl, Owner
Erika Schlichter, Director