Camp & Covid FAQ

Yes! We miss you! And we are planning to open in Summer 2021! We are committed to doing whatever is necessary to open safely.

The safety of your children is the most important thing. We are working with our medical advisory board and public health experts to make a plan for camp that is prudent, positive and without unnecessary risks. We value and love your children as our own. While there are still many details we are working out for the summer, we will keep you informed every step of the way.

Four overnight camps in Maine that opened successfully, without a Covid outbreak, in Summer 2020 were featured in a CDC report, outlining successful strategies camps can employ to open safely. We are learning from these camps about what worked and what didn’t so we can mirror these best practices.

Eden Village’s medical advisory board is a group of doctor-parents who are guiding us through the process, and we are grateful for their counsel. We are relying heavily on this group in addition to guidance from the Centers for Disease Control, the American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP), the American Camping Association (ACA), the Foundation for Jewish Camp (FJC), JCamp 180, UJA, and the New York State Department of Health. The ACA is currently at work on a comprehensive guide that evaluates all camps that opened in 2020 and summarizes their best practices.

We are offering full refunds for all families who cancel by March 15, 2021 or 30 days after your child’s bunk fills, whichever comes first.

Yes. We are offering two sessions in 2021 instead of three: a five-week session (July Session) followed by a three-week session (August Session). More information is available on our Dates & Rates page. There will not be a two-week session this summer.

We are offering an embedded, three-week session within the five-week session for rising third, fourth and fifth graders only. This July Embedded Session is designed for younger siblings of five-week campers.

For safety reasons, we want to minimize the number of transitions we have – and that means focusing on fewer opening days. Two sessions, with an embedded shorter session just for younger campers allows us to offer more flexibility with fewer opportunities for new people to enter camp.

Not this year. However, we are implementing more ways for you to stay connected with your camper, including CampStamps. This service enables parents and kids to communicate quickly via emailed letters to and from camp. Parents can email their child and camp will print it out for same-day delivery. Campers can hand-write a letter on stationary pre-printed with a barcode that camp will scan and email back to parents.

Please let us know if you want to talk with a family with campers who have come for longer sessions in the past!

Previous caps on financial aid for the five-week session are being lifted this year and all financial aid will be entirely need based. We know the financial effects of Covid have been far reaching, and we want to do everything possible to make the longer session possible for your child.

One thing that’s not changing is the cost of camp. We don’t want any families to feel pressure to sign up for camp by a certain deadline. Instead of offering targeted discounts for early enrollment, keeping prices steady at 2020 rates for everyone allows us to provide discounts for all families no matter when you feel ready to sign up for camp.

Yes! The sibling discount and pay-in-full discount will be calculated by our Registrar when we’re processing your payment. You can still also Refer-a-Friend and earn $250 for every new family who you send our way and enrolls!

For rising 10th and 11th graders, we have reimagined our teen programs as well. We have made the difficult and sad decision to cancel our Food and Farm Road Trip for 2021. In its place, we have created two exciting new programs. 

During the 5 week July Session, we will be offering our new Malchut program, a brand new, teen-centered, freedom-oriented, community-based program to take the magic of the Road Trip right back to where it all started– at camp! Malchut campers will be cooking communal farm-to-table meals daily, exploring new teen-only chugim, stepping into leadership roles, enjoying extended free time, and building a vibrant Jewish community together.  Malchut isn’t just another summer at camp. Malchut will feel like a teen camp within a camp and will be executed like a “best-of” culmination program tailored specially to the goals and needs of 10th and 11th graders. 

During the 3 week August Session, we will offer an Adirondack back-country camping and canoe trip. This rigorous program will be only 2 weeks long and will not return to camp after their trip is completed. There will be more information to follow about this amazing, rugged new experience in the backcountry. 

Precise details and protocols will be shared as summer gets closer and as we learn more about the current best practices. Please be flexible and patient; we will share what we know as soon as we know it. Our plan may include implementing a combination of pre-camp and in-camp quarantine, testing, and cohort separation. We ask that families be prepared to work with us to do what is necessary to open camp safely.

It’s unknown if there will be a widely available, effective vaccine by next summer. With our medical advisory council, we will make a decision on the vaccine, if and when it becomes available, and data is released regarding its use in children and adults.

And we’re here to answer them! Please give us a call at 845-809-0080, email us at welcome@edenvillagecamp.org, or use this link to schedule a convenient time to chat with one of our directors.