Summer 2021 Camping Season Cancelled

Hello KEC Family,

Planning for summer camp has been harder than ever in light of fluctuating COVID-19 projections and government regulations. Many summer camps in Alberta are still waiting to find out under which relaunch phases overnight and day camps will be permitted to open. What we can be certain of, however, is that if any summer programs operate, they will have to do so with reduced numbers, social distancing, and other regulations on activities and cohorting. Based on the information we have at this time, Kasota East Camp is choosing not to offer a summer 2021 camps program. This decision comes down to the following concerns:

• We are not confident that we will be able to plan for staffing, training, and programming that fulfils our dedication to camper health and safety. There are too many variables involved, and we have a limited staffing and supply budget.
• While we would have to operate with reduced camper numbers, the number of staff needed would not change. This would make our summer program unsustainable unless we increased camper fees. 

This is a heartbreaking decision to make for a second year in a row, but we are confident that protecting the health and safety of campers is the right choice. In spite of not operating a summer camps program, we plan to make the most of this summer. 

It’s hard to anticipate what might change in June or July when the only crystal ball we have is an upcycled fishbowl from a campfire skit back in ‘96, but here is what we are plotting:

• Offering site rental opportunities as long as they fall within Alberta Health regulations at that time. We will provide more information about this in late May/early June.
• Putting HUGE energy into spreading awareness and fundraising for Project Pavilion. See our website for updates!
• Engaging volunteers and donors in making site improvements to set us up for an incredible Summer 2022. We will announce these opportunities as they arise.
• Offering a junior leaders program for youth aged 13-16. Participants will attend online sessions that cover Counselor-in-Training topics and receive a certificate of participation. We will provide more information about this in June.

We are also hopeful that as more folks get vaccinated and COVID-19 numbers fall, we will have opportunities to facilitate small socially-distanced volunteer and fundraising activities on site. We have some neat ideas in our back pockets, but we’ll save those until we know what is possible.