February 1, 2021 Update 

Greetings from Camp Lincoln and Camp Lake Hubert…

As you know, we made the very difficult decision not to open our camps during the Summer of 2020. While we missed having the campers and staff members on the shores of Lake Hubert, for us, it was the right decision to make. Since then, we have turned our attention and efforts towards assuring that we can host our campers and staff for the Summer of 2021.

Camp is Prepared

I am quite proud of the camp industry. From the early days of Covid-19 and every day since, the American Camp Association has engaged with world class health and logistic advisors to ensure that camps have the tools and the knowledge to operate safely. Our leadership team has participated in numerous planning discussions and task forces to be prepared for Summer 2021. We are confident that we can operate camp safely and at the high standards our families deserve.

I would also like to thank you, our camp families, for being so supportive during these unprecedented times. Your caring comments and outpouring of support allowed us to get through a quiet summer and the many months since.

Camp in 2021

Normally, during this season, we would be starting the rush towards Opening Day, but we are still working to answer the question that all of us have, “What will camp look like in 2021?”

Unfortunately, there remains too much uncertainty about what the environment will look like in June of 2021. Right now, our focus is on planning for many different scenarios. This includes assuming many of the restrictions that we currently live with will continue, like cohorts/pods, enhanced sanitization requirements, masks, maximizing time outdoors and social distancing. We believe by preparing contingency plans for many environments, the camps can adjust their policies and approaches to provide what is most important to all of us — the best possible camp experience for everyone in attendance.

To do so, we are reviewing all aspects of our program offerings, the guidance from medical, national, and state organizations, and the vaccine situation. Examples of some of the guidance we are monitoring closely include the Minnesota Department of Health’s COVID-19 Prevention Guidance for Overnight Youth Camps, The American Camp Association’s Field Guide for Camps, and the CDC’s Suggestions for Youth and Summer Camps Guide. We have also been in discussions with several camp directors that successfully ran residential camps in 2020, such as Camp Fernwood, Camp Winnebago, and the North Star Camp.

Based on this review, along with the information and knowledge gained this past fall, we are creating our very own Roadmap to Opening Camp Lincoln and Camp Lake Hubert with COVID-19. We anticipate posting this document this spring and encourage you to review it with your camper(s) at that time.

Parent Information

To ensure the best possible camp experience for everyone at Lincoln and Hubert, our Parent Information Packet will be different this year. You will receive it in four parts.

• Travel Information will be sent next week.

• We highly recommend that you use Travel One this summer, as they are best equipped to work through cancelled flights, re-routings, schedule changes, etc. They can also seat our campers near each other on the plane, thus reducing the number of people your camper(s) will be exposed to during travel to and from camp. An online form will be included in the Travel Information Packet for requesting air travel.

• The Roadmap to Opening Camp Lincoln and Camp Lake Hubert with COVID-19 will be posted this spring.

• All Camp Health Forms will be sent out in mid-March, which should allow families time to make appointments with physicians before the summer arrives.

• The remaining Parent Information Packet will be sent in early April.

In closing, we cannot thank you enough for sticking with Lincoln and Hubert and for entrusting us with your camper(s). All of us here in the Camp Winter Office want to do what we love best, which is creating a summer experience that helps our campers and staff members develop their best selves. We know that Summer 2021 will be different, but we are determined more than ever to run a summer program that will keep everyone at camp safe and sound while making sure to adhere to the high standards our families have come to expect during our long history. Similarly, please know that our core elements will remain at the center of what we do every day: community, excellence, fun, quality relationships, and personal growth and development. We look forward to seeing you this summer at camp and to hearing from you soon!

SUMMER 2020 

Dear Camp Lincoln and Camp Lake Hubert Alumni, Campers, Parents, and Staff Members,

The time has come, and this really hurts.

We are, with great reluctance, but with clear conscious and conviction, writing to let you know that we have decided to cancel the 2020 Camp Lincoln and Camp Lake Hubert Summer Season.  Like us, many of our campers, parents, and staff members have held onto the anticipation of camp to help them get through the past several months, and this news pains us deeply. We are so, so sorry to take away yet another opportunity from you all during these unprecedented times.  Please know that here in the office, all of us have worked tirelessly since this pandemic first appeared to find a way forward.  Through the ups and down of this spring, your calls, letters, and text messages of encouragement and expressions of hope for camp kept us highly motivated and optimistic.  Thank you to all that reached out to us. It is your very inspiring words that make this decision all the more painful.

As extremely difficult a decision this is, we know that in our hearts, it is the right decision to make for our two camps.  Our year-round leadership team have spent the past months working through numerous plans to operate camp while keeping our campers and staff members safe.  After weeks of lacking information and changing guidance, these last few days have brought us enough clarity to feel that it is time to close our camps for 2020.  The American Camp Association released their Field Guide for Operating Camps under the Covid-19 Environment this past Monday.  Our camp directors, with the help of a number of our summer leadership team members, have been pouring over these recommendations nonstop since their posting.  While reading each one and considering how to manage the change to how camp operates, we felt like “We got this!”. However, when we took a step back and considered what camp would look like, it was quite sobering to us all.  Each change, taken on its own, was fine.  However, when putting them together, camp, for us, would no longer be the camp we have enjoyed since 1909.

Too much of camp as we know it, would not be able to happen under the guidelines.  It is strongly suggested that cabin groups only interact with their own members – no mixing with other campers, including siblings.  Activities, free time, meals, everything would be done by cabin groups.  This would mean no activity choices for campers, group campfires, division activities or special days like Color Wars.  Time spent in activities would be reduced in order to give the necessary time for cleaning and disinfection protocols.   Meals would be eaten in shifts, with a handful of campers at each table.  Too, there would be no beats or singing camp songs throughout the summer.  It is so hard for us to imagine camp without the sound of campers singing Blue Sky or dancing along to The Alligator Song. These things and so much more would be affected.  Making any one of the changes that would be required, and camp would be fine.  Making all of these changes collectively, and camp would no longer be recognizable.

Many of the strengths that have made Camp Lincoln and Camp Lake Hubert great in the past, now have become complicating factors.  One of our proudest hallmarks is the vast diversity of our campers and staff members.  We love that our campers and staff members come from over 45 states and 13 countries.  This diversity becomes problematic in a Covid-19 World.  Similarly, travel is a serious issue, as is the mixing of so many communities experiencing different levels of infection rates and social restrictions.  Our leadership team and doctors average over 35 plus years of experience working at Camp Lincoln and Camp Lake Hubert.  Normally this level of experience is a bragging point.  Under Covid-19, it unfortunately puts the leadership of the camps in a high-risk group.  It is important to consider the ramifications of running the camps if members of this team were to become ill this summer.

Please know that we have held on, waiting for some degree of certainty as to how to safely and effectively run camp this summer.  We have researched, planned, and debated along the way, dissecting each nugget of information that has come along the way.  We felt that we owed it to our campers and camp families to try our best to make this summer happen.  We know how much the camp experience means to you.  More than in any prior years I can recall, camp has been a light at the end of the tunnel of isolation and social distancing.  In talking with the other directors, we all feel like we have failed you and are so sorry that we do not see a safe pathway forward to make camp happen this summer.  Unfortunately, this is the right decision for Camp Lincoln and Camp Lake Hubert.

This news will be profoundly disappointing to your child.  As parents, you no doubt have a lump in your throat when thinking about breaking this news to your camper there at home.  The cancellation of camp is one more disappointment in a line of disappointments in 2020. Here is a link to Dr. Tina Payne Bryson’s short video with suggestions on how to talk with your camper about this loss of camp (Click HERE). Our leadership team, and my family, are heartbroken over this conclusion.  However, we are all 100% dedicated to pivoting to planning and preparing for 2021.  Rest assured, there will be campers on Lake Hubert next summer and with 12 months to prepare, we believe 2021 will be one of our best yet!

As soon as our final decision was made, we wanted to reach out to you right away so that you could start planning.   More information will be coming shortly as we sort through the process of closing for the summer.  In the coming week, we will be calling our camp families to discuss the cancellation of the 2020 Season, check on how you are doing, talk through the refund options, and let you know of our plans for 2021.

From the bottom of our hearts, we want to thank you for your support and patience as we worked through the new reality this pandemic has evolved into this year. We will get through this together and will be back next summer. Take care and be well.

Regretfully,

Ruggs, André, and Stacey

COVID-19 CAMP UPDATE 

May 5, 2020 Camp Update Letter To Families

COVID-19 FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS