by Adam Delezenne
This is the time of year when everything starts to move very quickly. It feels like we’re at the top of a roller coaster, about to take the big plunge down into the summer. Every year that I’ve worked in camping, it feels like we could use an extra month, maybe just a week or two. And every year, it works out. Here are a couple of areas that have been coming together in the past few weeks:
This Summer’s Program
2022 has been a year with a lot of transition at Camp Westminster. Our focus this summer is for everyone, campers and staff, to have a great time at camp. We are not trying to reinvent the program; in many ways, this summer will look and feel like a Camp Westminster summer as it has come to be known in the last couple of years.
TC and I have been working on ways to breathe new life into classic parts of the program like Morning Watch (an all-camp morning devotion) and Vespers (evening worship service). We turned many of the specialty camps into “Focus Activities” so that they could be available to more campers each week. We are also adding a canoe trip element to the summer so that all of our campers get to experience an age-appropriate “expedition.”
It is exciting to see these ideas come to life in concrete plans and schedules! Capacity is limited this year but we still have space most weeks, don’t let your week at camp slip away.
Summer Staff
A big part of the year working is the team we have brought together to make it happen. Hiring has been a challenge for the whole industry, but I am really pleased with the team TC and I have brought together for this summer. We have a good mix of new and returning staff, some who are younger and some older. Each brings their own unique contribution to camp.
We have the right people on the team, but there still may be room for a few more. We are paying summer staff more than in any year previously, and we have shortened the summer schedule, in part, to make it easier for staff to commit to the whole summer. Visit our summer employment page for more information on who we are looking for and what positions we still need.
We are also looking for a camp nurse or health officer for a few more weeks of the summer. This is an excellent role for someone with medical experience, and a nursing license is not necessary. Please get in touch with us if you are interested.
COVID-19 Policy update
We created our initial policy in February when cases were really high, revised it during the April reprieve, and finalized it as cases were starting to rebuild in early May. We have struggled through questions of what our goal should be, which measures are “common sense,” and exactly how much we require of families.
I feel pretty good about the policy that we have finalized. I believe that it balances reasonable precautions and, as much as possible, offers campers a break from pandemic precautions. Yet, camp is a great place to learn what it means to take care of those around us; our policy gives us a chance to do that as well.
We have spelled out the precautions we will take during the summer program based on the CDC’s new community levels in the most recent revision. You can read our full policy here.
Camperships
We announced earlier in the Spring that we are giving away more camperships this year than ever before, $15,000. We have gotten a lot of applications, and so far, we have awarded almost $6,000. This means we still have a lot of funds to help families who cannot afford the total cost of camp!
If this is something that could help you afford a week of camp, please don’t hesitate to fill out an application.
Town Hall, Friday at 7 pm
Finally, we are holding a town hall when TC and I will be live on zoom to talk about all this and take your questions. Find out more and join us on Friday!
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