SILOAM SPRINGS -- Kids returned to New Life Ranch in Colcord, Okla., for summer camp June 7, although camp looks different this year as students spend their time in smaller groups with safety precautions in place.
Meanwhile, Camp Siloam, a Baptist church camp in Siloam Springs, and Camp Acacia, a camp for children with diverse abilities in Gentry, have both announced they'll be closed this summer.
New Life Ranch's 11 board members, which includes two physicians as well as professionals from other fields, made the decision to move forward with summer camp, according to Tom Graney, executive director.
"We are excited about camp happening and taking every reasonable step we can to be a safe environment for campers so they can still have a great camp experience," he said.
The Christian camp is following safety guidelines from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and the American Camp Association, where Graney serves as a board member.
Unlike Arkansas, Oklahoma Gov. Kevin Stitt and the Oklahoma State Health Department didn't issue any additional directives for summer camps, Graney said.
New Life Ranch usually hosts retreats and school groups in the spring but it has been closed to guests since mid-March, he said. Oklahoma moved into phase 3 of opening June 1, which allowed for staff training to begin, he said.
Camp staff recently completed a 14-day "shelter-at-camp" staff training, where daily symptom monitoring and temperature checks took place, Graney said.
While numbers are down from previous years, the camp is expecting to host around 3,600 kids this summer at its Flint Valley location in Colcord and the Frontier Cove location in Adair, Okla., Graney said. The campers will operate in cohorts, or cabin groups, and rotate through activities and meals with a small group of other students led by counselors who will stay with the cohort throughout the day, he said.
There will be no large gatherings, including meals or chapel services, and equipment and spaces will be disinfected between cohorts of campers, Graney said. In addition, cohorts will not be able to interact with each other and the normal Friday night testimony service will not be open to parents and Saturday morning pick-up celebration will not occur, the camp website states.
The camp is also changing its cleaning protocols and the number of times a day everything will be cleaned is increasing, Graney said. Many of camp activities take place outdoors in the sun, which evidence shows also makes viruses less contagious, he said.
"It's our passion to have camp and to be the place to accomplish the mission of New Life Ranch in the lives of our campers," Graney said. "We started 62 years ago for the purpose of summer camp, it's in our DNA, and if at all possible and the safest way possible, if we could run camp, we wanted to."
Board of trustees members for Camp Siloam made the decision May 29 to follow the recommendation of camp staff and cancel summer camp for 2020, according to director Jason Wilkie.
Gov. Asa Hutchinson and the Arkansas Department of Health issued a health directive with guidelines for overnight camps May 21.
"When we looked at (the guidelines), we decided it was going to be very difficult for us and after a lengthy strategic planning session and looking at Jesus' ministry at Camp Siloam in light of the directive, our leadership came to the conclusion that we could not safely host summer camp under this directive," Wilkie said.
"We understand why the directive is so restrictive," he said. "Camp is a congregate situation, and those situations have been where the virus has been highly active in recent months. When you add to that the additional complexity of camper population turning over every week, the possibility of an outbreak is great."
Once camp staff had a clear picture of what camp would look like under the new requirements, they surveyed 161 church leaders and campers who already signed up for this summer, Wilkie said. The majority of church leaders said they wouldn't be willing to bring a group to camp this summer, he said.
Many people answering the survey said camp wouldn't even be fun under directives such as wearing a mask in 90 degree heat and remaining in groups of 10, trying not to high five or hug, Wilkie said.
"It just didn't sound like camp, or at least Camp Siloam," he said.
For the past two summers, Camp Siloam has hosted 5,800 campers and this year the camp was expecting more than 6,000 campers, Wilkie said. The church camp, which has been in operation for 97 years, hosts groups of students from across Arkansas as well as some surrounding states, he said.
Unlike New Life Ranch, which hosts individual students who stay in a cabin, Camp Siloam is a church camp, Wilkie said. Children stay under the supervision of their local youth group leaders and participate in larger group activities led by camp staff so separating campers into smaller groups or cohorts like New Life Ranch wasn't really an option for their facility, Wilkie said.
When the directives lift, the camp plans to open for retreats and other groups, Wilkie said.
Wilkie said Camp Siloam generates most if its revenue in June and July. He estimated the camp will need to raise about $1 million from donors to keep staff employed and buildings running so it can continue its ministry and gear up for next summer. Camp Siloam will be initiating a fundraising campaign and officials have faith the resources will be provided to keep the ministry going, he said.
Wilkie is also concerned about the impact closing the camp will have on the economy. Typically, the church camp hires 85 college students each summer. The summer staff members live at the camp but are free to go on the weekend, when they often patronize local businesses, Wilkie said. Campers bring their families to Siloam Springs, who also make a local economic impact by stopping at Walmart to pick up supplies or by purchasing gas or dining at area restaurants while they are in town, Wilkie said.
Wilkie encouraged children who are disappointed about not being able to come to camp to spend as much time outside and have as much fun as possible this summer.
"I understand your disappointment," Wilkie said. "I am really sad you are not able to come to Camp Siloam, but I would say that we are doing the best we can to make sure we are going to be around for another 100 years."
Camp Acacia, which opened in 2019 to serve kids with diverse abilities, made the decision in April to close for the summer, according to director Rachel Smith.
The facility hosted 183 campers during its first season, mostly from the Northwest Arkansas area, Smith said. Because many of the campers have lots of needs, the camp only hosts small groups at a given time and has a high staff to camper ratio, employing 55 summer staff members, she said.
Sixty-eight percent of campers are in a high-risk population for contracting covid-19, with conditions such as asthma, heart problems or diabetes, Smith said. After speaking with the camp's board, the Arkansas Health Department and service providers, camp leaders decided there was no way to safely provide a meaningful camp experience this year, she said.
Even though Smith is deeply disappointed, she said she feels confident and comfortable they made the right decision to put safety first.
The camp has gone on to provide online activities such as book clubs and game nights to keep campers engaged, she said.