Canceling June Sessions 2020 – COVID-19

Email sent to registered Families May 18th, 2020

BR Families, 

We continue to try to stay positive about this summer, however without any guidance from the State of Michigan about requirements to open, it has become evident that we must cancel our June sessions. 

At this time, Mother-Daughter Retreats 1 & 2, Starter Camp, and Session 2 are cancelled. We hope to reschedule the Mother-Daughter Retreats for August or September; a separate email will be sent to those registered. Starter Session and Session 2 are cancelled, but may be rescheduled for later in the summer, if we are able to open.

Why did we make this decision and how does it affect the rest of the summer? 

Based on Michigan’s plan for Phased Reopening, summer camps cannot operate until the state is in Stage 5 Link to MI Safe Start Plan. Even then, it may not feel like the BR your camper has come to know and love. If we are able to open, we need to know that we can keep campers safe, without compromising the anticipated experience. We continue to work with many camps around the state and LARA, the states licencing agency, to ensure that we understand what will and will not be possible for this summer. Today the American Camping Association has released the full version of their Camp Operations Guide Summer 2020 which was developed by an independent expert panel. It is my understanding that the state will evaluate the information and develop their own requirements.  Unfortunately, we do not know when those requirements will be released. 

At this time, we also do not know what will happen in July and August. It seems likely that the rules will include something similar to restrictions on “pods/cohorts” of a 50 person maximum. Although different, this is something we can manage. BR with face coverings and social distancing, however, is not going to work. Camp is about community and friendship, not distance. Mr. and Mrs. D used to remind us each Opening Night of our Camp Motto: “Be Safe and Have Fun”; we need to make sure we can do both of those things. 

Please know that we understand your disappointment in the idea of a modified BR summer. We know the value of camp and impact it has on campers and staff, and because of that we continue to work towards programming that looks and feels like what you have come to expect from BR. For our family, Summer = BR. We don’t know any other way, so we will continue to try to make it possible for all of our families. 

The feedback and support from families has been full of positivity and support, and we could not be any more grateful for the BR community. We will be in touch with families whom these cancellations impact about how to manage the cancellation. We anticipate an update on July sessions by June 8th.