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Belwood News & Alerts
A WARM WELCOME
December 9th, 2020
The Board of Directors and Members of Belwood Lodge and Camp would like to introduce Madeleine Rawling (Maddie) as our new Camp Director starting 2021. Our selection was made after a most thorough and lengthy search where Maddie rose to the top of a pool of highly qualified candidates. Maddie will tap a wealth of experience in working with children, youth and adults with disabilities, in recreational and Camp settings. She also brings experience and an advanced degree in management that will help us run that part of the camp that you don’t see every day.
We congratulate Maddie and encourage you to introduce yourself as soon as we can all get back together at Belwood.
AN UPCOMING
FAREWELL
August 14th, 2020
With a mixture of regret - for the Belwood community, and applause - for James, the Board of Directors of Belwood must announce that James Lortie, our Director, has decided to expand his horizons beyond Belwood, apply his diverse skill set to other ventures and search out new challenges. James is leaving Belwood. We must first thank James for his leadership in change and steady tiller for these past several years. We must also recognize that he has earned the right to apply, and the world will profit from the application of his talents to the wider world. We wish James the best and insist that he remember that he has a home at Belwood. The greatest thing that you can do is make a positive impression on someone else, especially the impressionable. James has done this several times over ... and we thank him for it. Good luck James, let us know how you are doing.
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With gratitude,
The Belwood Community.
COVID-19
CAMP
CLOSURE
June 24th, 2020
Due to the ongoing public health threat of COVID-19, all overnight summer camps have been ordered closed for the entire summer.
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For more information, please visit: https://www.ontario.ca/laws/regulation/200263/v6
VIRTUAL CAMP BEGINS
June 1st, 2020
Our virtual camp has officially begun! If you have not yet registered for Virtual Camp, you can do so on our Virtual Camp Page. We hope to see you at the live events and hope you enjoy our special pre-recorded content!
BREAKING
GROUND
HAS
LAUNCHED
June 15th, 2020
Our Breaking Ground Initiative has officially launched! Our big septic upgrade project is quickly approaching and we need your help to get it done. For more information about how you can help, head on over to our Support Us page.
COVID-19
UPDATE
April 14th, 2020
It is with great sadness that, due to the COVID-19 virus, Belwood Lodge and Camp will be closed for the summer of 2020. This decision was made by the Board of Directors out of concern for the safety of our campers, lodgers and staff and upon the advice of our Health Committee. Our decision is consistent with advice of the Ontario Camps Association (OCA).
For further information regarding refunds, keeping in touch, etc please refer to your e-mail, as well as the letter mailed out to the addresses we have on file for each participant.
The decision to close is heartbreaking for all of us. We know how much camp means to our campers, lodgers and their families and staff. Camp has been running continuously since 1946 and this is the very last thing your Board wanted to see happen. But the health and safety of our Belwood community is our most critical responsibility. It would, quite simply, be irresponsible to open this June.
We are planning a Virtual Camp (you can now join in by clicking here!): If campers and lodgers cannot come to camp this summer, we hope to bring a little piece of camp to them. We aim to host camp activities and provide resources throughout the spring and summer for lodgers through virtual platforms such as Zoom, Facebook, and Google Classroom. This will give our lodgers the opportunity to participate in classic Camp Belwood activities such as talent shows, arts and crafts, sing-songs, movie nights, dances, and book club, as well as a chance to connect with their friends and see their counsellors too. We will provide updates on this initiative in the coming weeks.
We hope that you and your family are staying safe through this challenging time. We miss you all and we make this decision thinking about everyone and their safety – we are our own family at Belwood and it’s important that we take this time to stay home so we can come home to Belwood as soon as possible