MAY 20 • 2021 | 15
losses keep piling up, it’s heavy. I
kept thinking camp really has to
happen, especially after Becca’s
eighth-grade trip to Israel got
canceled.
”
Now more than ever, Rachel
Chynoweth, Becca’s friend, and
classmate, is looking forward to
spending the second half of her
summer at Camp Tamarack,
which did not open last year
due to the pandemic. Her mom,
Gail Chynoweth, a registered
nurse and member of Tamarack’s
medical committee, says despite
COVID, she is comfortable
sending her daughter to camp.
“Is the risk of COVID in the
back of my mind? Sure it is;
but I know they have a really
good plan for the summer,
”
Chynoweth says. “I’m confident
in the precautions they are put-
ting in place, which are similar
to what Hillel has been doing
this year.
”
NOT SO FAST
Not all parents are ready to send
their children to camp. Doron
Vergun, a Farmington Hills
mom, says her son won’t attend
day camp as planned because of
his age. He is 6, and she doesn’t
trust his ability to always cor-
rectly wear a mask, stay socially
distant or adequately wash his
hands. She also has concerns
about what the counselors will
do outside of camp to protect
themselves from COVID.
Vergun homeschools her
kindergartner and her 3-year-
old and has been since before
COVID. She believes that
because her children are used to
being home, it helps ease some
of the disappointment over not
going to camp and, she says, they
know that being at home is OK.
As an alternative to camp, she
is trying to find activities such
as tennis or karate where it’s
easier for participants to socially
distance.
“If you don’t have to do it,
why chance it,
” Vergun says. “I
work part-time from home, so
we don’t need camp, but I under-
stand everyone has a different
situation. For some, camp is nec-
essary because parents work or
they need it for their child’s men-
tal or physical well-being.
”
Rachel
Chynoweth
percent fewer campers this year.
Although it has the outdoor
space for more, the camp wants
to safely accommodate partici-
pants indoors during inclement
weather.
KEEPING KIDS SAFE
In terms of what else camps
are doing differently to operate
during a pandemic, day camps
will conduct daily health screen-
ings, keep campers in pods, elim-
inate out-of-camp trips, require
masks in certain situations and
perform additional sanitizing.
Overnight camps will do the
same, plus campers and staff are
being asked to quarantine before
camp and undergo COVID
testing before and during camp.
And, while the staff will continue
to have to time off, they will have
to stay onsite.
“Since we closed camp last
year on May 4, we’ve been work-
ing on opening for the summer
of 2021. We began meeting very
early on with our medical team
and started talking about our
dreams. What could we open?
What would it look like?” says
Lee Trepeck, CEO of Tamarack
Camps.
Willoway Day Camp was one
of the few camps to open last
summer and successfully offered
eight weeks of camp, according
to Lorraine Fisher, who co-owns
Willoway with her husband,
Arnie.
Fisher attributes the success
to several factors, including
parental compliance. Campers
received daily health screening
forms, had temperature checks
at home and before boarding the
buses, and the camp followed
CDC and state guidelines. Fisher
says there won’t be any changes
from how camp operated last
year unless new guidelines come
out. While the camp often has a
waiting list, this is the first year
that the list started as early as
April.
At Tamarack, there is a waiting
list for second session at Camp
Maas, and first session is prac-
tically filled. Camp Kennedy
is filled, and Camp Olmstead
has limited space, according to
Trepeck.
At the JCC Day Camps, the
number of newly enrolled camp-
ers is up from 2019. Comensky
attributes the increase to targeted
marketing strategies, but he said
that some returning families
are hesitant to enroll. Instead,
they are taking a wait-and-see
approach, with decisions being
based on any new government
guidelines and the number of
COVID cases. Comensky also
acknowledged that some are
reluctant to register based on
the misconception that the JCC
building closure, announced last
year, will affect the camp.
“
Although the building is not
open like it was in the past, we
continue to have a ton of pro-
gramming going on. The JCC is
still thriving in programming,
including camp,
” says Comensky,
adding that the camp also has
more financial aid available
because last year’s scholarship
money went unused.
Based on Trepeck’s conversa-
tions with parents, he found that
even for those who are nervous
about sending their children to
camp, that nervousness is bal-
anced by an eagerness to have
their kids back at camp.
“The campers, the staff, our
community, everyone’s had such
a tough year, and kids need
camp,
” Weinstock says. “They
need to come. They need to be
kids. They need to play outside
and be with other kids and be off
their electronics and just be able
to enjoy themselves.
”
Kids have fun at
JCC Day Camps
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