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During Alumni Camp 2019, Brown Ledge Directors Abby Lovshin-Smith and Kim McManus hosted a “State of Camp” session in the Clubhouse, where they gave an overview and answered questions on the current state of Brown Ledge Camp. Hearing your positive feedback on that State of Camp session, we’re doing it again – via video!

In response to the questions submitted earlier this month, this State of Camp 2020 address includes updates on:

• Physical Maintenance
  • Many thanks to the volunteers who helped us maintain the property and security of camp this summer!
  • We’re excited to announce that we are building a new health center, which started construction in fall of 2019. Although we paused construction last spring amidst decisions not to run camp in 2020, we hope to have our new health center fully finished and ready for our Summer 2021 season.
• Diversity, Equity, & Justice
  • As we explore ways to build diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) practices—especially through a lens of racial justice—into all parts of how we run Brown Ledge Camp, we are so thankful that members of our community have stepped forward and formed a DEI committee, including: Marjorie Isaacs, Peregrine Heard, Clarion Heard, Hunter McCorkel, Alison Mixon, Jenny Aguiar, Myra Johnson, Alex Meltzer, and Dart Schmaltz.
• Staffing
  • Our wholehearted thanks to outgoing staff members Brittany Carter, Maria Moore, and Kim McManus.
  • A warm welcome to “new” staff members Kylie Mullins and Kate Pastore.
• Finances
  • We continue with our major cost cutting analysis, including downsizing from our winter office and restructuring our staff.
  • We received and utilized a Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) loan to support our year-round staff and our summer BLConnections staff. We also received a low interest Economic Injury Disaster Loan (EIDL) to help support us, and we are applying for additional relief grants from the State of Vermont.
  • We remain extremely grateful to the generosity of the Brown Ledge alumni community for all of your donations to ensure Brown Ledge weathers this next year!
• Enrollment
  • Enrollment is underway! Enrollment for summer 2021 officially opened for returning BLC families on September 15, 2020, and will open for new families next week on October 1, 2020. All families can access registration forms online at ​brownledge.org/enroll.
  • As we prepare for updated COVID-safe operating guidelines from the State of Vermont, we are initially capping enrollment at 75% of our usual capacity. We encourage all families to register campers as soon as possible to ensure their spot for Summer 2021.
  • If you are a new family interested in learning more about Brown Ledge Camp, we invite you to request more information. If you have specific questions about enrollment, please reach out to Kylie Mullins, Enrollment Coordinator, at [email protected].
• Healthy & Safety
  • We plan to run our Summer 2021 programming as close to normal as possible, with the health and safety of our campers and staff as our top priority in making all decisions.
  • We’re gathering data on best practices from other camps that ran safely this past summer.
  • We’re planning as if there will not yet be a vaccine, and that we will need to take proper disinfecting, distancing, and personal protective equipment (PPE) precautions.
  • We expect the COVID-19-safe operating guidelines from the Center for Disease Control (CDC), the American Camping Association (ACA), and the State of Vermont to continue to evolve, and we will adapt and update you as we go.