April 2020 Update

Posted on by Osayande Kokayi

Greetings Winnarainbow Families!

I‘m reaching out today with news about our continued planning for this summer. Our #1 top priority remains the health and safety of our community – which includes physical, mental, emotional and relational health. Our Board met last week and reviewed all of the information we have been gathering regarding Camp opening this summer.

On 4/16/20 a document was released jointly by FEMA and the CDC entitled “Work for America”. It outlines a Framework for Reopening America, providing guidance to state, local, tribal and territorial governments. In this document it is stated that “The first priority is to reopen community settings where children are cared for, including K-12 schools, daycares and locally attended summer camps.”

Our Board has approved moving forward with the following plans IF and WHEN camps are given permission to open and we meet all of the criteria for providing a well-managed environment.

We are planning to be open up in Laytonville July and August! Here are details:

For all Families
  1. The Pay In Full date has been moved from May 1st to June 1st. IF YOU SIGNED UP FOR THIS OPTION WE HAVE AUTOMATICALLY CHANGED THE PAYMENT DATE FOR YOU. This is to give us all more time to figure out what the summer is going to look like.
  2. Remember! Individualized No Interest Time Payment Plans are available to you. Contact our office: arainbow@mcn.org
  3. We have decided to shorten our season to sessions C1, C2, D and E. We will be contacting all of you who are registered for A and B via phone by May 1st to see about switching to a session of your choice.
  4. Yatiel is working with our local and state Public Health Departments to ensure we are taking all precautionary measures to offer a healthy environment.
  5. The year-round staff are looking at the ways our Winnarainbow program could change to enhance camper and staff safety while still letting kids be kids in the woods, under the sun and with their community.
  6. One of our top priorities is to be transparent with you about our plans. We’ll use the Mobile App, email and social media for us all to stay connected – now and when we’re up at Camp.
For Teen Leadership Applicants
  1. We have decided to shorten our season to sessions C1, C2, D and E.
  2. This week we will contact all of the families who listed A/B as their first choice and ask for a new 1st and 2nd choice.
  3. For you to know, we received more applicants than we are able to accept into the Leadership Program. On May 4th we will begin sending out emails notifying you of acceptance or if we are recommending that you have a 15 year old oldest camper year. Since every email is individualized this process will take a few days.
  4. The Pay In Full date has been moved to June 1st to give us all more time to see where the world and Northern CA is at.
  5. Yatiel is working with our local and state Public Health Departments to ensure we are taking all precautionary measures to offer a healthy environment.
  6. The year-round staff are looking at the ways our Winnarainbow program could change to enhance camper and staff safety while still letting kids be kids in the woods, under the sun and with their community. This will include Teen Leader Training, CPR/First Aid Requirement, etc.
  7. One of our top priorities is to be transparent with you about our plans. We’ll use the Mobile App, email and social media for us all to stay connected – now and when we’re up at Camp.
For Scholarship Applicants

Our fundraising efforts have been severely affected by this Pandemic. We are about to engage in a Spring Fundraising Campaign and are going to rely on the generosity of our donors. We WILL be stretching out money as much as possible this year to offer as much as we can.

  1. We have decided to shorten our season to sessions C1, C2, D and E.
  2. This week we will begin to screen the completed scholarship applications. This process will take at least two weeks. We will begin notifying you if we are able to offer your family a scholarship mid-May. We will then work with you to get your camper(s) registered.
  3. Yatiel is working with our local and state Public Health Departments to ensure we are taking all precautionary measures to offer a healthy environment.
  4. The year-round staff are looking at the ways our Winnarainbow program could change to enhance camper and staff safety while still letting kids be kids in the woods, under the sun and with their community. This will include Teen Leader Training, CPR/First Aid Requirement, etc.
  5. One of our top priorities is to be transparent with you about our plans. We’ll use the Mobile App, email and social media for us all to stay connected – now and when we’re up at Camp.

Of course all of this is based on the guidance from the CDC, FEMA, our Governor and the CA Department of Public Health has for us as Summer Camps.

There is still a lot up in the air but this is where we are at right now. My staff and I are getting busy on plans for the summer and remain poised to respond to the needs of our Camp Families.

More to come!

Yatiel and the year-round staff