CURRENT COVID RESPONSE INFO
“Grace and peace to you from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ.”
~ 2 Corinthians 5:2
DEAR CAMP FAMILIES, COUNSELORS, AND STAFF
By the grace of God- WE WILL BE HAVING SUMMER CAMP IN 2021!!!
God’s mercies and progress in the fight against COVID-19 have allowed California to loosen restrictions. Our medical staff and camp directors are confident we can safely have Youth Camp and Teen Camp this summer. Based on guidance from the CDC, requirements of the State and County, and the recommendations of our medical team, we wanted to share some of our proposed plans for making camp a safe, spiritual, and fun experience. We deeply appreciate your grace and understanding as we have been doing our best to navigate evolving public health guidance to achieve the best outcome for the most people.
Camp will look different this year. Estimating how many campers we will be allowed has been a big challenge. We are currently limited to 50% of the camp’s capacity. We are praying that as things improve, we may be able to increase to 75% or beyond. We encourage you to discuss with other parents and your youth ministry leadership how to optimize the spaces available to those campers who want to go. We are trying to maximize the number of kids that can safely attend.
As much as we are endeavoring to keep Covid out of camp, we cannot guarantee that result. To minimize the risk, before coming to camp, each camper will need to provide a negative RT-PCR or NAAT Covid test result (rapid tests will not be accepted) 3 days before camp and will need to quarantine between the time they take the test and arrive at camp. For teens, this means they should not socialize with others outside their household over the 4th of July weekend.
We will have a protocol in place to isolate anyone with symptoms and monitor anyone who may have been exposed. Anyone who is suspected of having the COVID-19 virus will be sent home. If your child may be traveling outside California within 14 days of coming to camp, please contact your ministry leader and/or the camp nurse for more information. It is possible this could keep your child from being able to attend camp. If your child is planning important events 1-2 weeks after camp (summer school, band camp, football practice, etc.), please be aware that their attendance at camp may mean they will have to choose between camp and these events.
We plan to have familiar safety protocols in place (face covering, indoor distancing restrictions, etc.) and will be constantly reviewing and updating them as we get closer to camp. We will do our best to provide a fun, safe, spiritual camp and can’t wait to see you this summer! Our prayer is that this will be the best and most memorable camp yet.
COUNSELORS & STAFF
Because counselors will be sleeping in cabins with kids and spending large amounts of time in close proximity to them, our medical team and staff have decided it is in the best interest of the campers, their families, and other adults in the camp that they be vaccinated. Therefore, we are currently only accepting counselors who will be fully vaccinated before arriving at camp. This means you will need to receive your final vaccination shot 14 days before you will arrive.
Being a counselor is a volunteer position and we know that not everyone may be comfortable with this. We encourage everyone 16 and over to speak to their doctor about the benefits and risks of vaccination for them and we appreciate their desire to serve, but unvaccinated adults won’t be able to be counselors this year unless things change.
For Staff, we are currently strongly recommending that staff, musicians, guest speakers, etc. for teen and youth camp be vaccinated. However, it is not required if their role does not require extensive contact with others. Anyone who is not fully vaccinated will need to test negative 3 days before camp and quarantine from others outside your household between taking the test and arriving at coming to camp. There will be additional restrictions for unvaccinated staff which could affect eating and sleeping arrangements. Thank you for your willingness to serve and for working with us to provide a safe environment for our campers.
