Dear BB Camp Community,
It is with great sadness that we share that BB Overnight Camp is canceling our 2020 summer sessions. Over the course of the last many weeks, we were engaged in a process with our Board and committees to examine and discuss various scenarios at every angle. We worked tirelessly with the Governor’s Office to assist in providing resources for guidelines to open up Oregon’s overnight camps, so that we could maintain the option to choose what would be best for our community. We immersed ourselves and meticulously monitored COVID-19 data and information from local, state, federal, and national agencies. Based on the health and well-being of our campers as our top priority, we had hoped to be able to make the best decision for BB Camp. And, the Board was on the brink of a decision. You have been incredibly patient, as we took the necessary time to consider all that was in front of us. We appreciate you, our BB Camp community, for sticking with us through this very challenging time.
However, we just received the following from the Governor’s Office:
“After much consideration, and in consultation with the Oregon Health Authority and local public health officials, our office will not be allowing overnight camps to operate this summer. We are seeing increased cases in migrant housing and other settings involving overnight programming and, when it comes to Oregon’s children, we can’t take the risk of opening overnight summer camps.”
As you can imagine, we, like you, are heartbroken beyond words. Not to share a summer with our campers and staff on beautiful Devil’s Lake is unfathomable. We share in your disappointment and are deeply saddened to not have the opportunity to discover, play, and enjoy a magical summer at BB Camp! Please take a moment with your children to express sadness together; listen, embrace the loss, find meaning in rituals, and savor the gratitude of the lessons of camp, which will continue through the summer and into the future.
Over the course of the next few days, our camp staff will be reaching out to every camper family to connect and answer questions. You can also expect to receive follow up communication regarding camper accounts.
Rest assured; we will find ways to gather virtually and in-person with social distancing so that we can be together as an overnight camp community in the months ahead. Additionally, we are currently examining how to best run our BB Day Camp programs in Portland and Lincoln City. Thank you for your continued patience. We anticipate rolling out details for our programs very soon….
Although, we will not gather and build friendships for life during our 99th summer at BB Camp, it’s important to remember the ruach (spirit) of BB Camp lives within each of us, and our beautiful site will eagerly await our arrival for summer 2021!
Stay healthy; Stay safe; and Stay strong. Zay Gezund (Be Healthy!)!
Warmly,
Jordana Levenick Michelle Koplan
President, Board of Directors Executive Director
