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Program News Archives - Bethany Birches Camp

Archive for the ‘Program News’ Category

Covid-19 update

Greetings friends!

Summer camp is so close and the weather proves it!  The Pandemic is over in this country and the disease Covid-19 remains.  There are varying viewpoints and opinions on how to behave at this time so we wanted to lay out our basic expectations for the summer 2022 season, as of June 7, 2022.  This post may be updated in the coming weeks.

We desire safety for all participants including emotional, social, spiritual, and physical.  As such:

  • All campers coming to camp need to be healthy, without symptoms of illness.
  • If campers develop symptoms of illness while at camp, we will let them rest, rehydrate, and if no improvement, arrange for a pickup.  Camp is a hard place to rest, recuperate and recover.  A camper may return to camp after 24 hours illness free.
  • At this time we require proof of a Covid-19 negative test (at home rapid is fine) within 36 hours before coming to camp.  Details will be explained in the preparation packet you will receive.  If there is an update to this requirement, you will receive an email prior to your session start.
  • If your child or anyone in the household has had Covid within the 5 days before camp, please notify us by email (camp @ bethanybirches.org) so we can schedule a call with you.
  • We strongly encourage the required Vermont Department of Health vaccinations as well as becoming up to date with Covid-19 vaccination.

I hope your school year is wrapping up well.  Can’t wait to see you on the hill soon!

Brandon Bergey

Executive Director

Winter Camp Update (02/09/2021)

Dear Camper Parents,

I write to you with breaking news that is hard for me to share: we just learned that the Health Department made new policy and will not allow our resident camp program this winter.  This news is hours old at time of writing this post.

How did we get here?

  • I consulted with the Health Department in late November about our winter programming.  A representative from the department noted that our plans seemed in line with the guidance they have set forth and as safe as one can be right now.
  • I was instructed to follow the Governor’s orders, be aware of the law, and then make choices.  In mid December, after reviewing all the available guidance and executive order again, and finding solutions for how to eat and sleep safely, we decided to open registration for resident winter camp for 21 campers at a time with a mostly outdoor schedule.
  • A school nurse recently inquired (last week?) with the Health Department as to whether a child who attends Bethany Birches winter camp would need to quarantine before coming back to school.  Officials felt that section 8.2 of the WorkSafe guidance did not have a good enough answer.  As a state lawyer described it to me, he felt our overnight winter programs did not fit neatly into any of the ACCD guidance for Governor Scott’s executive order.  He noted that our plans seemed very creative and worthy of consideration and that we should submit a request to the Health Department.
  • They reviewed our request.  There was discussion between high ranking representatives from ACCD, Health Dept., and Bethany Birches.
  • Feb 9 in the late afternoon, I received notice that our resident camps were not allowed at the moment.  This was a policy the Health Dept. just created: no resident camps for February.

Needless to say, we are somewhat stunned at this updated policy/guidance.  Especially when our operating procedures seem safer than what I observe in many public places.  I try to remember how much stress some of our government officials are experiencing, and that gives me grace toward them.  More so than being stunned, I am sad and disheartened.  We were so excited to welcome your child to camp, and to stimulate hope and love and joy… and share some of this deep fluffy snow!

Given the timeline it was important to me that we get you this information immediately.

What’s next?

  • Money: tomorrow we will reach out about your preference.  You will have three options.  Roll your payment to summer camp, get a full refund, transfer your payment to a donation.
  • Winter Camp: we will consider whether we can offer any day programming this winter, or, open our facility to you so your family can come to ice skate, ski, tube, etc.
  • Summer Camp: it sounds like we may be invited to help craft guidance for resident programs in Vermont for summer 2021.  This is good news for BBC families because it means that we will have early awareness of the new rules and be able to best prepare for what is quite likely to be another strange year.  Registration for summer camp 2021 is open.  Many have already registered.  If you have not, you can find your session here.

Let me know of any questions, comments, and ideas. In the meantime give your kiddo a hug from me and the other camp staff.  We miss them and hope they are finding ways to thrive.

Sincerely,

Brandon “Tuna” Bergey
Bethany Birches Camp
Executive Director

Work Day this Saturday (Oct 24, 2020)

We need your help to prep camp for the coming winter and summer! Here are some of the tasks:
– Clear ski trails
– Cut trees for firewood (have a chain saw?)
– Split and stack wood
– Light leaf work

We will also provide individually wrapped desserts – physical labor earns brownie points and brownies!

October 17th 9am-5pm
October 24th 11am – 3pm*
*This is an update. If you were planning to come earlier or stay later, please just let us know! camp@bethanybirches.org or FB messenger.

More info here: https://mailchi.mp/ecd318461232/fall-work-day-2

Camp In A Pandemic: Vol. 3

Dear Camp Friends,

We did it! 7 weeks of summer camp. 185 campers, 29 staff members, and checking with Rupert on exactly how many gallons of hand sanitizer, simple green, bleach, and other cleaning/sanitizing agents we’ve used.

When we started camp in July, I was surprised, and admittedly a little disheartened. Why did we have to be so strict? Will camp even be camp if we aren’t gathered close for fireside, or piled one too many around a picnic table for supper?  Will we be able to feel each other’s love and care even though we can’t see smiles through masks?

The answer is simple, and became clear as soon as campers started arriving. We didn’t bend rules so that we could offer the experience of camp to 185 young people this summer. So that they could reclaim some normalcy, and be with people who care about them, and learn about God in the middle of a global pandemic. While most camps closed or pivoted to virtual, we wanted to see if we could actually follow the guidance and actually avoid virus transmission.  Well it turns out you can take people from many different households, live together, and not infect each other!  All Covid-19 tests taken came back negative and all of the parents who responded to our post-camp surveys, stated their child was healthy or did not suspect their child of Covid-19.

But more importantly than no virus transmission, campers had powerful experiences and our mission was accelerated.  At the end of each week, campers have the opportunity to write “Dear Friend” letters to camp supporters. We got to read some of them and I wanted to share a few of them with you- in case you have wondered if camp was still “camp” this year. (spoiler – it was as good as ever)

See photo and video highlights from our summer here

For more details about our pandemic response, see our FAQ page here.

Kellyn “Benji” Boyden
Media and Communications Manager

 

P.S. We have a few volunteer opportunities including lawn mower, book keeper, wood cutters.  Are you interested in any of these?

Camp In A Pandemic: Vol 1

Dear Camp Friends,

It happened! The first week of camp in 2020! We ran our day camp program with campers ages 6-10. The weather was great, and in true Wet and Wild Wednesday fashion, there was a little bit of rain on Wednesday afternoon. We learned about all that God is: loving, gracious, forgiving, trustworthy, and faithful.
One question we’re getting a lot is, how’s it going?
The short answer: Better than expected.

Meals are being cooked over the fire. Silly songs are being sung. Campers are learning about God. The Slip n’ Slide is being conquered. The hill is being trekked. And…we’re wearing masks. We’re washing our hands and burning through hand sanitizer. We’re not playing gaga, and we are definitely not having a pig trough. We’re spending as much time outside as possible, while maintaining safe distance. One of the reasons we’re able to do camp this way is because most of camp exists outdoors (even the Pavi is considered an outdoor space with the garage doors open).

There is a palpable sense of joy though, between campers and staff alike. Camp is still camp, even though it looks different this year. God is still good. I think we have so much to learn from little children. They’ve taken a lot of this in stride; they wear their masks and maintain their bubbles (with some extra reminders during pond time) with a smile, and so much laughter!

We would love your continued prayers for the health and safety of our staff this summer. We have now had staff living on site for two weeks and things are going well.

To see photos from this week at camp, click here.
For more details about our pandemic response, see our FAQ page here.

We still have some spots open for camp this summer!
Get signed up here!  Register Now

Kellyn “Benji” Boyden
Media and Communications Manager

Find previous communications about summer 2020 here.

p.s. We could use new volunteers to mow the lawn. Please reply if you’re interested!

 

This was originally an email.  See the email here.

Registration Open!

Dear Camp Friends,

The moment has come!  We have done all we need to do to re-situate people and reopen registration.  Thanks for bearing with us!  So go ahead and grab your spot while you can.

I encourage you to register and pay as soon as possible for your best chance at reserving a session for your child.  Please select only one session for the summer per child.  If you select more than one session per camper, we will remove your child from all but one session of our choosing.

As a reminder, we are only taking those living in-state (VT) at this time.  If you live out of state, and would like an exception, please let us know and we can review your situation.

If the session you want for your child is full, I encourage you to sign up and get on the waitlist.  As we know, the pandemic is causing ongoing changes and that is one of the main reasons I encourage you to claim your spot on the waiting list.  Surely some spots will open up.  You will need to make a $50 deposit to get on the wait list and we can refund that $50 if your child does not end up being able to attend camp.

Get signed up here!  Register Now

Check out the pandemic response FAQ page here.  Feel free to ask any questions not answered there.

I pray that you and your family are finding peace and joy, even in these strange times.

Brandon “Tuna” Bergey
Executive Director

Find previous communications about summer 2020 here.

p.s. while some details on what summer camp will look and feel like are in the FAQ page, more are coming shortly!

Updated Summer 2020 Schedule Announced

I write this with reserved excitement.  It is exciting to offer resident camp in the context of the pandemic.  It is also going to be a special challenge for all involved.  Our primary goals are to create a distanced, safe, outdoor oriented program with special considerations for the Covid-19 crisis and to give children and teens an outlet for some of the things that have been missing in their lives lately.

Here are the sessions we know we are able to offer considering the many changes that needed to be made:

We are working daily to make the modifications necessary and get needed supplies.  We will do our best to keep a FAQ page up to date and add more detail as we create it.  Please feel free to call the office with questions – 802-672-5220.  Here is the page for your reference: https://www.bethanybirches.org/summer-2020-faq

If you are currently enrolled and want your child to come to Launch Day Camp A, July 6-10, please reply by this coming Sunday, June 14.  For all other sessions, please reply by Wednesday, June 17.  If you are not currently enrolled, we expect to reopen registration after June 17.

Thanks for joining us in this adventure so far.  I invite you to pray one of the prayers I have been praying lately – God, I thank you for (fill in anything you are thankful for).  God, also, I need help with (fill in anything you need help with).  Thankfulness and acknowledgment of our challenges and needs go hand in hand.

Brandon “Tuna” Bergey
Executive Director

Camp to start July 6 – Coronavirus update 3

Dear Camp Friends,

We know a lot more than we did last week!  Governor’s restart team gave the go ahead one week ago and our board of directors gave the go ahead on Wednesday night of this past week.  Working with our camp doctor and leadership team, we continue to create a modified way of doing camp that minimizes opportunities for virus transmission and utilizes guidance from the VT Health Department, CDC, and American Camp Association.

We are almost finished with our updated schedule.  We will not run all of our scheduled programs and plan to announce that by Wednesday of this coming week.  The first week of camp will be July 6 and will be Launch day camp for ages 6-10.

We know we will have at least four weeks of residential camp and probably two weeks of day camp.  After we share our updated schedule we will be emailing each family currently signed up and work to get you into whichever of the new programs you would like.  The way that process will work is fairly simple:

Respond to a future email indicating preference of session (we will give a deadline).

Pay your balance (by a deadline).

Review the materials we will send and prepare your camper for the modified experience (we will get this to you before the decision and payment deadlines). Noteworthy modifications relate to some new activities and some missing favorites, occasional required face covering for all (like during drop off, bathhouse, and meal prep. times), lots of hand-washing, assigned sleeping spaces etc.  We believe while it will feel quite different, campers will enjoy what we are preparing.

We plan to limit a camper to one session for the summer. Our goal is to serve as many different campers as possible given the reduced capacity (planning for 36 campers at a time so we can best follow guidance and requirements).  Until we help each enrolled family get into new sessions, we will keep registration closed.  After the decision deadline for current enrollees we will open registration back up until all spots are filled.

I am praying a part of Isaiah 40 for each of you.  It’s a prayer that I needed very much this week.  Starting at v. 28: “Have you not known?  Have you not heard?  The Lord is the everlasting God, the Creator of the ends of the earth.  He does not faint or grow weary; his understanding is unsearchable.  He gives power to the faint, and to those who have no might God increases strength… they who wait for the Lord shall renew their strength; they shall mount up with wings like eagles; they shall run and not be weary; they shall walk and not faint.”  Bless you.

Brandon “Tuna” Bergey
Executive Director

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