DES MOINES, Iowa — The YMCA will be holding a summer camp this year that will begin in late June. The executive director of Des Moines YMCA summer camps, Alex Kretzinger, said the organization believes it’s their duty to provide a service kids have been missing since the COVID-19 outbreak.
“We’re trying to balance the need for the camp experience especially for kids who are at home that haven’t had an opportunity to interact with friends, haven’t had that classroom camaraderie that they get,” Kretzinger said. “So they’ve been missing that interaction which is so vital as those developmental ages. And that’s where camp, kind of excels at, is that social development, that time outdoors.”
The CDC is currently working with the American Camp Association on specific camp guidelines, while Iowa YMCAs have been communicating with their headquarters on the safest way to operate this summer.
Some safety measures include:
- Temperature screenings for children, parents and staff
- COVID-19 questionnaires
- COVID-19 testing if available
- Summer groups will go from 10 to 8 campers, with two counselors to meet social distancing guidelines
- Staff members who choose to take trips out of town are required to quarantine for 14 days before returning to work
Typically the Des Moines YMCAs have around 250 students enrolled in overnight camp and a little over 5,000 students participating at a summer day camp.
Kretzinger said the YMCA currently has 500 kids registered for summer camp which is less than their usual enrollment.
“We’ve got a good number of kids who are still planning on coming out. Summer would be a little smaller but that would fit within what our goals are for social distancing anyways,” Kretzinger said.
Kretzinger said there is a chance the YMCA will decide not to hold summer camp if COVID-19 cases progress across the country.
