Our response to COVID-19 and our duty to the children of Project Avary:

Our year together looked quite different, yet it’s almost as if our time together was more precious than ever.

This year, there was no sleeping away tucked under the stars and no family-style mealtimes squeezed in tightly around large tables. There were more rules and safety precautions. But even still, with all the extra measures we had to take to ensure the health and safety of our youth and staff, there was something so precious about our time together this summer. Our kids needed us. They needed one another. And we're so grateful we were able to provide a respite full of love and community during this time of such unrest.

Through it all, we learned some valuable lessons:
• Wearing masks doesn't stop us from truly seeing one another or from connecting deeply.
• Physical distancing while creating an environment of belonging CAN and DID happen.
• Love and (safe) togetherness is the medicine we all need right now.
• Being together during this wild time is truly magic. We will never take it for granted again!

Since the beginning of the pandemic, we have worked tirelessly to ensure the health of our youth, staff, and local community and have consulted with a team of physicians and our HHS department to formulate a health policy for our outings. This includes daily health screenings and pre-screenings, smaller groups of kids and staff in each pod per outing (12 maximum for each), wearing masks at all times, except while in the water and while eating (during these times when masks are off, we enforce a strict 6-foot distant rule), staying distant from other groups, transportation- and food-safety measures, frequent hand washing and sanitizing of surfaces.