This letter from OSRUI Director Solly Kane was emailed to camper parents last Friday, March 20th.

Dear OSRUI Families,

Our camp is more than just a community. It is a year-round family that extends beyond the summer or a single season. Like any family, we celebrate our successes and triumphs with one another. The same is true when facing challenges. We take them on together! The evolving Coronavirus (COVID-19) situation is a challenge unlike any we have ever faced as a camp family and we are all in this together. We, the lay and professional leadership and staff of camp, are thinking about you. We hope that you, your immediate, and extended family are healthy and taking extra care of yourselves during these uncertain times.

We are here for you! If we can be help or support you in any way, please do not hesitate to reach out. We are here for you in any way we can help you and your children.

In times like these, with children and young adults out of schools and universities, distanced from their peers, and adjusting to the changes around them, camp serves as an anchor, a safe place they love that provides a sense of normalcy, balance, and comfort. Because we know that camp is not just a physical place but something we carry in our hearts, we are working hard to create virtual camp experiences that will provide joy, togetherness, comfort and lots of smiles!  Please check out what our team and other URJ programs have already been working on here: https://urjyouth.org/virtual-communities/

As we continue planning for another sensational summer at OSRUI, we are grateful for your support and partnership as we navigate this unprecedented and complex situation. We continue to assess the situation, consulting with experts, with a focus on health and safety, along with program and operational excellence. Our children, young adults, our staff, and our world need OSRUI and its enduring Jewish values more than ever. Because we know this to be true, we continue to pursue this goal. If we are faced with the worst-case scenario – that we cannot provide camp for your child’s summer session – we will offer you several options to mitigate your financial burdens, including full refunds. There will also be opportunities to secure your space for next summer and to support camp during these trying times.

This past Shabbat, we finished reading the Book of Exodus, including a proclamation we recite together in one voice:

“Hazak! Hazak! Ve’Nitchazek!”
“Be strong! Be strong! And together we will be strengthened!”

Although we may be in physical isolation right now, we stand together, in heart and soul, as a family. We strengthen one another and, in so doing, support each other to overcome this exceptional challenge. We are here to help strengthen each of you in any way we can – now and in the future. Please do not hesitate to reach out to us. We are here for you because that is what family does for one another.

L’shalom,

Solly
Solly Kane, Director