Dear Members of the Purchase Day Camp Family,
I hope everyone in your home is safe and healthy and persevering. I feel the greatest challenge throughout all of this is the unknown. It is hard to keep moving forward without knowing where the finish line is.
We are closing out eight (8) weeks of quarantine today. That is the equivalent of the entire camp season. If we look back on that time, I think we should all be proud of our kids, our spouses and ourselves for what we have accomplished. Never in my life would I have thought I would stay inside my house for two weeks straight, let alone eight.
Governor Cuomo announced last week that he is closing schools for the remainder of the year. He also gave a broad strokes outline of a phased reopening of businesses including camps. Although it does not directly impact us, Connecticut has announced that they will permit camps to open on June 29
th
. If, as Governor Cuomo has said is his goal, the tri-state area reopens in concert, that is good news for us. I am hopeful that he will make a specific announcement about camps by May 15
th
.
With all that said, based on my understanding of his phased reopening plan, the earliest we could open would be June 29
th
. Therefore, our Little Sprouts Mini-Camp Program will not be held this summer. That program was for children younger than kindergarten age and was scheduled to run from June 8
th
to June 26
th
.
As we develop plans to mitigate Coronavirus at camp, we are looking at all parts of our programs. The safety and health of our campers and staff will be our main priority. Should camp open as we hope, we will be increasing our normal cleaning procedures.
We are hopeful that the Department of Health will allow us to open our pools for camp. During the summer, in addition to camp, we also have our pool membership program during non-camp time. Many camp families take advantage of our summer pool program. Certainly, we will not be permitted to open on Memorial Day as has been the norm. With that thought in mind, coupled with our efforts to clean and sanitize our facility daily, we have decided that we will not offer the pool membership program during non-camp time. The pools, if allowed to open, will be used for the camp program only.
I know this will be a disappointment for many families. I am disappointed too. I started working at the pools as a lifeguard in 1978 and have never missed a summer. Clearly, this year is a first in many ways, not all of them good and I apologize for the inconvenience.
I will continue to update you as I get more guidance from New York State. For now, please take care of yourself, take care of your family and take care of your friends.
Warm Regards,
Jim
