January 31st, 2021 Letter to the camp community
After long consideration and with a great deal of sadness and some trepidation about the future, we have decided that we will no longer be operating Journey’s End Farm Camp as a residential camp for children. As a family, it has been a privilege to share space with campers and counselors, to witness positive growth, and to be a part of treasured memories for the past 80 years. The memories will remain (and perhaps be enhanced!) over time. The bonds forged between campers and staff remain as indelible reminders of what can be achieved when we open ourselves up to build connections with people we hardly know.
January 13, 2021 Note to the camp community
We are in the midst of evaluating our options for this summer regarding camp and the Covid-19 situation. We are not accepting applications for campers or staff at this time. We will post an update here and send a message to camp families and staff when we have a clear idea of what we are doing - hopefully by the time February begins. These are difficult times for all of us, thank you for your patience and support.
Andy, Kristin & Lily
May 18, 2020 Letter to the camp community
Dear Campers, Staff, and Families,
As the days move closer to time for camp to open, this announcement may not come as a surprise. Despite our optimism and best efforts, Journey’s End Farm Camp will not be open this summer. We have held out hope, knowing that offering a cherished opportunity at camp might restore some light and happiness to children and young adults. And because Camp is what we do every summer.
When we wrote in March, we were anticipating specific ‘OK to open 2020’ or ‘cancel 2020’ directives for residential camps. In our April letter, we were asking ourselves whether opening camp would be in the best interests of campers and staff. We knew by then we would receive guidelines instead of directives. Continuing talks among ourselves and with other camp directors, we began to realize that the guidelines would so restrict the joy and spontaneity of interactions that camp would not feel like camp at all. As much as we yearn to see you all and to hear your voices and laughter filling the air, opening camp does not feel responsible, wise, safe, or nurturing.
Thank you for your patience as we considered our options. We understand that our decision may create new complications for you and your family, and we regret that we could not bring you happier news.
Finances (for parents and guardians): The three options from our April letter are restated below. Please send us your preference in an email. We’d love to talk with you, but your message will be saved more reliably in writing. We hope to process your request within 2 weeks of receiving your email. Please note that Journey’s End is not a non-profit and that any tuition donations would not be tax deductible. (Donations made to our scholarship fund are tax-deductible and always welcome, but those dollars are for campers only, not for operating costs.) Here are the three choices:
Receive a full refund of all deposits and payments, less a $50 administrative fee.
Apply tuition towards enrollment for summer 2021.
Donate tuition to support Journey’s End operations through this difficult year.
Please hold Journey’s End in the Light, and keep your memories of camp alive. We look forward to welcoming you back in 2021. Registrations for 2020 will be honored first, and we will send word in the fall about that process. As stated in our April letter, 12-year-olds who are currently registered for 2020 will be allowed to apply as 13-year-olds. We look forward to staying in touch, and we hope you’ll continue to check our Facebook or Instagram posts.
Sending you love and gratitude,
The Journey’s End Administrative Team
Andy, Kristin, Lily, Hannah, and Rosie
April 25, 2020 Letter to camp parents
Dear Journey’s End Farm Camp Parents,
We hope you and your family are managing to stay happy and healthy in these trying times. If your mood is up and down by the hour, you’re not alone, we’re right there with you. Thank you to all of you who are essential workers keeping us safe, and thank you to those of you who are staying home to mitigate the spread of COVID-19. We are aware that you are probably spending a lot more time with your child(ren) than usual. Many of you have reached out with hope that camp will be able to open this summer, for your child(ren)’s sake of course, but also for your own sanity! No doubt, a session of camp would do wonders for all of our emotional health. We wish that we could reassure you that it will be safe to open camp by June, but at this time, it is still very unclear whether or not we will be able to offer any in-person programming in 2020. We understand that it may feel heartbreaking to think about missing a year of camp, especially when kids have been starved for outdoor play with dear friends in loving, communal spaces. However, we strongly believe that re-opening communal spaces too early would be irresponsible and unsafe. And so the question remains, how soon is too soon?
We continue to have weekly meetings with our assistant directors in which we plan for camp as best we can, brainstorm contingency plans, and review the latest information and recommendations from the CDC, PA Department of Health, American Camp Association, and our insurance company. We have been in contact with other camps in the region regarding how they are handling the situation. As you are aware, information continues to change daily, and camps have not yet received any direct or definitive instruction as to how or if we will be able to open this summer. Many camps are considering opening late or moving to online programming, and some have canceled completely. While we do not believe it’s possible to recreate the JE experience online, nor do we wish to try(!), we are planning to post some fun content and activity ideas for your children. Check our out our new Instagram, Facebook page and our blog (same content across platforms). It won’t be like camp, but hopefully will bring some joy and levity from our bubble to yours.
In order to open camp, we would need to receive clear guidance from government health agencies regarding how residential summer camps should operate, and must feel confident that those guidelines can be applied to our program. We would also need to have sufficient camper enrollment and staff who are willing to work with revised programming and protocols in line with the new guidelines. We must determine that opening camp is a responsible and wise thing to do for ourselves, the program, and the health and safety of our campers, staff, and the surrounding community. If we do not feel like we can responsibly or safely open camp while keeping high standards for health and safety and maintaining integrity in our programming, we will not open camp this summer. We plan to let you know our decision by May 21st. At that point, if the situation still feels unsettled, we may consider the viability of opening camp later and having a shorter season. Sessions would remain two weeks long and campers in earlier sessions would have the option to switch to a later session. In the case that we are not able to have camp, 12 year olds who are enrolled as of this writing will have the option of coming to camp in 2021.
We have extended our cancellation policy for 2020. Should you choose to cancel your child’s enrollment anytime before your child’s scheduled session, we will refund all payments except a $50 administrative fee. This extended policy will hold even if we are able to open camp. We did not send April invoices and will not be sending invoices again until further notice. If you are on a payment plan and have paid some but not all of your camper’s tuition, you may suspend payments until more clarity is reached. If camp is unable to open this summer, we will provide you with the following options:
Receive a full refund of all deposits and payments, less a $50 administrative fee.
Apply tuition towards enrollment for summer 2021.
Donate tuition to support Journey’s End operations through this difficult year.
We are proud that Journey’s End has been offering children a place to be their true authentic selves every summer since 1939. We are honored that you trust us to care for your children, and we will continue to work toward solutions that balance the need for personal growth and freedom and the health and safety of our community as a whole. If you have any questions, or just want to talk, we’re here for you. Please don’t hesitate to contact us by email: camp@journeysendfarm.org or call the office: 570-689-3911.
With hope,
The Journey’s End Administrative Team
Andy, Kristin, Lily, Hannah, and Rosie
March 22, 2020 Letter to the camp community
Dear Journey's End Family and Friends,
We write to you as we've finished making this year's maple syrup, the pickerel frogs have begun to sing, and the crocuses are blooming despite a chillier forecast for the next few days. March is a month where these things always meet, giving us glimpses of the abundance to come while reminding us with snow, frozen ground, and mud that we can't put away our mittens just yet.
Like the rest of the world, we are worriedly anticipating COVID-19 and how it will affect our community, friends, and family. We are also concerned about what this means for the 2020 camp season. As of now, we are still moving forward with hiring staff and making sure everything is in place in hopes that camp will be fully operational this summer. However, the health and safety of our campers and staff is always our highest priority. There is no way of knowing if there will be definitive directives as to whether or not summer camps across the country should operate, or if we will need to assess the situation and come to our own decision. Camp is still a long ways off, and while we understand that the uncertainly is uncomfortable, in all likelihood we are far from making an official decision. Thank you for your patience and please take comfort in knowing that we are all in this together. We are saddened at the thought of our campers not spending time with the animals, in the woods, and playing with each other - singing songs, building shop projects, and growing in so many important ways.
We are keeping up to date with directives and information on national, state, and county levels, as well as briefings and guidance from our camp insurance company. When we have a further update, we will be in touch again.
Until then, whilst adhering to any local instructions you are receiving, we encourage you to get outside and experience whatever piece of the natural world you can. If you can start a garden somewhere, so much the better! And we hope that in difficult times like these, the essential elements of what we cultivate at Journey's End stay alive and well within your hearts. Get outside if you can, pursue those creative projects you never have time for, and do what you can to support others.
Sending our Love out to you,
Andy, Lily, Kristin, Rosie, Hannah, and The Animals