Dear Stone Mountain Adventures Families:
We hope that this email finds you and your family well. As we all try to cope with our new realities of this COVID-19 pandemic, including social distancing and family isolation, we are dreaming of being back here in Central Pennsylvania at Stone Mountain Adventures with your kids for camp this summer.
It feels like with the 24-hour news cycle and the constant barrage of changes, cancellations and warning there is more unknown and than known. I imagine that, like us, for you and your family this has created ever changing emotions (including anxiety) with more questions than answers. In these uncertain times we hope that Stone Mountain Adventures can remain a spark of hope for campers as we move through these next few challenging weeks and/or months.
The purpose of this email is to connect and to provide you with what we hope will be some peace of mind, and even a little optimism, regarding some important questions and issues related to the upcoming Stone Mountain Adventures Summer of 2020.
Is Camp Still "ON" for the Summer?
In a word, YES. With Day 1 of Stone Mountain Adventures Summer 2020 still over three months away, we are all excitedly planning for an epic camp season ahead! This planning includes hiring staff, renting vans and reserving campsites, and reserving white water rafting dates.
Our absolute number one priority is and always will be the health and safety of our campers and staff. Since my parents Pam and Biff founded Stone Mountain Adventures in 1983, we have been bringing campers and staff together from around the country and around the world. We are working hard to understand this complicated situation and this new ever-evolving reality that is COVID-19. Please know that every decision we make moving forward will be based on the health and safety of your camper.
We feel that the summer of 2020, if permitted to proceed, has the potential to be the most important camp season in our children's lives. Not since 9/11 have our children been exposed to such stress and an increased level of anxiety. Never have positive face to face social interactions been so important and needed.
Will There Be Changes at Camp this Summer?
Yes, there will be change at Stone Mountain Adventures this summer but at this point we're not sure what that will look like. Every summer at Stone Mountain Adventures we work to create a positive, inclusive camp community based on camaraderie, fellowship, and fun. These qualities are the backbone that keeps campers and staff returning summer after summer. We plan to use our combined creativity and decades of youth professional experience to design a summer camp program to that end. Those changes may be modifications to how we serve food and how often we wash hands and sanitize surfaces or they may be more drastic and include a partial online program. Now more than ever campers need camp and Stone Mountain Adventures will deliver.
What About Tuition Refunds
To date, not one enrolled Stone Mountain Adventures family has cancelled because of fears related to the pandemic. We are encouraged by the collective hopefulness of our summer camp community. Many of our colleagues are reporting similar numbers. Having said all of that, we respect whatever decision you feel is best for your family and we will continue to honor our cancellation policy found here: https://www.sma-summers.com/dates-and-prices We hope you stay with us.