The Coronavirus Diary
We're informally polling people in the industry to find out how they're coping with Coronavirus, the resources they're sharing, and advice for other camps. Comments are arranged by date to track the progression of events. Please feel free to contribute your own at editor@northstarubs.com. To read the note from our publisher, click here.
March 18
If you're not familiar with Playworks, we're a national non-profit focused on making sure that every kid gets the opportunity and benefits of safe and healthy play, in school and out, every day. We normally operate in over 1,000 elementary schools across the country, but as of this week, every one of our schools is closed due to COVID-19.
We're all working at home, some are sheltering in place, and I wanted to share a great article from Playworks Founder, Jill Vialet “Meet Your New Coworkers: Your Kids.”
We'll also be launching some Virtual Recess resources to support our school partners.
Please watch for additional information through our website and social media channels, as we ask our communities to stand in unity with us to support our children and schools further.
Deborah Brodheim
Director of Development
Playworks New York/New Jersey
March 18
In December 2016, my daughter, then 11, suffered a brain hemorrhage, a medical event known as an AVM. For two months, she was first in an ICU, then a rehabilitation center as she slowly during month number three regained her ability to talk, walk, eat and do all of the things that come natural to all those healthy children that surrounded her every day at school. Little by little she worked her way back to being able to do just about all of the things that she had done for all of her younger years. Two weeks ago, my daughter performed one of the lead roles in her high school's production of the musical Grease. She has made a remarkable recovery and I marvel every day at what she has accomplished. Just a minutes ago, in the midst of all of the difficulties and hardships being thrown at us by this current worldwide health scare, my daughter and I completed our third "daily walk," a routine that she and i vowed to do together while her school is closed and while she is away from her regular school day routine. We have talked about many things together during these first walks including her love of camp life which as you can imagine, is very gratifying for me her dad and the camp director. I am looking forward to our walks together as we navigate this new and concern-filled place in time. As my daughter grows older, I know that she will remember the days when school was cancelled due to this worldwide health crisis. I hope that she will also remember sharing a few moments with her father on our walks throughout our neighborhood.
It's important to remember to look for the positive in life.
Jesse Scherer
Camp Eagle Hill Director
March 18
I have a son who battled leukemia for 7 years (he’s doing well now, after a stem cell transplant 2 years ago) and your words are very wise and true. Most people have not had major disruptions in their lives and this is putting them in a state of unbalance and uncertainty—like we experienced. Our job, as those in the know, is to do exactly what you did below—provide a calmness for people, enabling them to sort through their thoughts. It’s not easy—but humans are terrific in the way we get used to “new normals” relatively quickly!
Andy Pritikin
Owner/Director, Liberty Lake
American Camp Association, NY/NJ
April 9
|I am the director/owner of a one-week basketball program. This was to be our 60th season, as we are the oldest continuing basketball camp in the country. We have cancelled this year unfortunately and thought it might help for you to know. Traditional camps can hold on, they can cut back weeks and have some flexibility. So I guess I just want to try and help the decision-making process for those that need to say “yes” or “no” to move forward. How long can you wait as parents decide whether it’s safe or not? So for us , we just couldn’t bet on the outcome. This plus 35 to 50 players coming from Europe , who for sure can’t come made us make our decision to forgo our program for 2020.
Steve Curley
Red Auerbach Int. Basketball School