Summer 2020 Postponed; COVID 19 – FAQ’s

This page of our website contains specific questions and answers related to the 2020 summer postponement and the ongoing pandemic situation.  Please reach out to Iain directly if you still have questions after reviewing this content.

Can we get a refund for tuition paid?
Yes, full refunds will be paid to those families requesting them as our cash flow allows between now and next summer.

Tuition for 2021
We are more than happy to carry over money paid to the 2021 summer. As an incentive and sign of our gratitude, we will also add 5% to that amount to be applied to your 2021 tuition.

Partial plan
If you would like to receive some money back and apply some to 2021 we can happily accommodate that.  Iain will reach out to set up special arrangements.

Deadlines
We’d ask you to make a decision by the end of June regarding your tuition preference.

2021 Registration
We’ll automatically enroll those campers that asked to have tuition rolled over. This will save their space right away. We’ll let everyone else know when our 2021 registration is open for other families.

My camper is older, a CIT this summer. That’s a big deal; what options do you have for them?
Correct, the CIT summer is so important and involves a transition into a different role at their summer home. From the glory of Olympic leadership to the hard work spent with younger campers and cabins, the summer opens up the eyes to the next stage of camp life. As a result, we’re happy to have your child return next summer as a CIT and not take a gap year between 2021 and their JC summer in 2022.

What were the primary reasons for cancelling Camp?
State health guidelines for WV include cloth masks for all participants, social distancing at many aspects of camp and other guidelines that would be prohibitive to a typical camp experience.  In addition, numerous conversations with camp parents with legal and medical backgrounds, as well as our camp nurses on the medical frontline, clearly made us feel that running camp this summer could be an irresponsible action.

The uncertainty surrounding every aspect of life these days was also a huge factor. Committing to running camp could have been instantly undermined by a positive case of the Coronavirus in our community, or by changing state legislation. Having to change plans mid-stream would have been extremely disruptive to families, staff, vendors and all other aspects of our summer camp life.

Am I right in thinking Pocahontas County, WV has had very few cases?
Correct. Thankfully our summer home has been largely spared with cases and deaths related to COVID-19. Our presence however could change all of that. Our local hospital in Marlinton, WV also has limited testing and treatment capacity.

Would camp have been that much different if it had gone ahead?
Based on recommendations from the American Camping Association and the CDC, along with local health guidelines, there were simply too many precautions needed to make camp feel like camp. Social distancing is almost impossible, classic camp traditions would not be able to take place and our staff would have been required to stay in camp for the entire summer.
Our health center staff would also face tremendous pressure each and every day after spending the last few months on the frontline battling with COVID-19 virus.

Will you be offering a Family Camp instead?
In order to allow families or staff members to visit camp in the coming weeks we plan to offer a couple of low-key opportunities that would work for all concerned.  We’ll share more details in the coming days and weeks.  If you plan to visit the WV area and want to visit camp too email Iain for further guidance.     

Resources
This video was recently shared with us and is a great reminder of how we, as parents, can be there for our children.

In addition, here is a PDF with notes related to grieving for summer that Dr. Chris Thurber recently sent out.

Finally, please do not hesitate to reach out if you or your child has a particular question or request.  A huge part of this process is sharing and communicating how we are feeling.  We are all available to you to help in any way at all.