We talked to our Executive Vice President of Family, Stacy Litteral about what the Bay Club is doing this summer to make a difference for our kiddos, after an…interesting few months. As the busy daily activities were canceled, and the original summer plans were postponed—life as a working parent, and as a normally active child have not been easy. But Bay Club is here to help.
For the past couple of months, our children’s lives have been turned upside down. I mean—let’s be honest, it has been turned upside down for all of us. But for our children, it has been particularly rough. Uncertainty, a new routine, lack of social interaction, and lack of physical activity are just some of the realities our youth are dealing with. And, as a parent to two children, ages 8 and 13, I am asking myself daily: “What can I do to help them through this time but also ensure their safety?”
Last week my kids completed the school year. And as of this morning, they are officially on summer break. As a set of full-time working parents, my husband and I depend on the childcare aspect of camp—as do many Americans, and knew that this summer was going to be a difficult one without the thing they look forward to most: Camp. Camp is a time for time with friends, fun, being outside, swimming, group games, popsicles, field trips, and more. During March and April, it was uncertain as to whether we would be back at camp this summer. We didn’t know what would be allowed and what would be safe. In May, we heard that camp is an allowed activity starting in June. I breathed a sigh of relief that my children will have an opportunity to return to some normalcy and they literally jumped for joy. And as a working mom, I jumped with them.
I’m thrilled to have been able to lead the charge behind the new Kids and Sports Camp concept at The Bay Club. We have taken the best of camps—sports, swimming, arts & crafts, games, and friendships and turned it into a program design that will bring kids together for an unforgettable summer.
The Bay Club has been honored to serve families and children across California through the tradition of Summer Camps for more than two decades. In these unprecedented times, we know that this summer will present our communities and families with new challenges, and the Bay Club wants to be a solution and provide families with a safe structured environment for children ages 3 through 17.
We believe that providing children with the opportunity to exercise, expand their skills, and build friendships can be enormously beneficial to our children’s physical and emotional wellbeing, especially after more than two months without normal school and athletic activities.
In designing our camp protocols, our number one priority has been protecting the health and safety of every camper and every counselor. It is important that we all take precautions to stay healthy— and with this goal in mind, the Bay Club has developed its camp protocols to reflect the most current best-practices and recommendations of the CDC as well as local county health officials and guidelines.
Stable Pods and Counselors:
Bay Club Camps are being offered in one to four-week sessions with campers enrolling in a stable group of children, with the same consistent counselors for the entire camp session. New campers will not be added to the “POD” once a session has started, and campers are not to attend any other camp while they attend their Bay Club Camp session. Counselors have been thoroughly trained on all of our new safety and sanitization protocols.
Customize your Camp Experience:
Our “Pod” approach, with stable cohorts of up to twelve campers, provide parents and neighbors within a community to bring together their own group of twelve children, irrespective of age, Sports teams can also sign up within a Pod, provided that they align with the twelve camper maximum (or select multiple PODs to accommodate larger teams).
I am amazed at the commitment of our teams to make camps an amazing and one-of-a-kind experience and safe for our participants. The Bay Club community is strong and will make it through this time together. We are beyond excited to be kicking off Summer Camps this week to serve our members and their families. We are also welcoming guests into camps, so your children can bring their friends. This is a first step in getting our kids back to the happy-go-lucky and active young people we knew them to be a couple of months ago. My kids are signed up and ready to go!
For more information on how to join the fun, please visit www.bayclubcamps.com or contact us directly at camp@bayclubs.com. We look forward to welcoming your kids in a fun, and most importantly safe environment this summer!