20 | FEBRUARY 4 • 2021
A
fter camping in the
summer of 2020 was
canceled, JCC Day
Camps will be returning this year
under new COVID restrictions.
Camp will be divided into
pods of 8-12 campers with at
least two staff members in each
pod, socially distanced from
other pods for the entire camp
day. Masks will be worn by
campers and staff except during
meals and swimming, and phys-
ical distancing within the pods
will take place as best as possible.
Campers and staff members will
complete health screenings every
morning.
JCC Day Camps are following
American Camp Association
standards and recommendations
as well as adhering to Michigan
Department of Licensing and
Regulatory Affairs guidelines.
Randy Comensky, senior
director of JCC Day Camps,
believes camp won’t look too dif-
ferent than previous years.
“Campers are going to be
swimming and going to arts
and crafts; they’re going to have
dance and all the different activi-
ties to participate in,
” Comensky
said. “So other than specific
COVID parameters, I think our
camp is going to look very simi-
lar to how it has in the past.
”
One big change JCC Day
Camps will see in 2021 is none
of the usual field trips or off-site
specialty camps.
JCC will instead be improvis-
ing, with specialty camps, in a
sense, coming to the JCC.
“We’ve hired staff internally, so
we have a cooking instructor, an
art instructor, a creativity [com-
puter science] instructor and a
sports instructor,
” Comensky
said. “Those instructors are
going to be with kids every
day, specifically working within
pods.
”
“We looked at what was suc-
cessful in the past and what our
campers really enjoyed and try
to modify our program in such
a way that we could build those
programs into our
existing facility,
”
Comensky said.
Nearly all the
camps, except for
some special needs
programs, are going
to be held outdoors,
with covered out-
door areas available.
After a summer away,
Comensky is excited to get back
into the thick of things, even if it
looks a little different.
“I’ve been in camping for
almost 30 years and last year was
the first summer I had off,
” he
said.
“It was hard. I think for our
families, staff and for everybody
camp to some degree is a release,
and for them to get back to camp
and have fun and be able to see
their friends, even if it’s still in a
COVID state, I think it’s exciting
for everybody.
”
Fun and normalcy are the goals,
despite COVID restrictions.
DANNY SCHWARTZ STAFF WRITER
JCC Day Camps
Plan for Summer
CAMP GUIDE
Randy
Comensky
ADVENTURE • FRIENDSHIP • INDEPENDENCE
MEMORIES • CONFIDENCE
A camp experience can bring so many rewards. If you want those
great moments for your children, but you aren’t quite sure how you
can stretch your budget, call or click to see if an INTEREST-FREE
loan from HEBREW FREE LOAN can help you say YES to your
children’s summer plans.
NOT SURE THE CAMP
OF YOUR CHOICE IS AN
AFFORDABLE OPTION?
CAN HELP PUT
HEBREW FREE LOAN
S
WITHIN YOUR REACH
www.hfldetroit.org • 248.723.8184
6735 Telegraph Road, Suite 300 • Bloomfield Hills, Michigan 48301