Rainbow Camp, the summer camp for 2SLGBTQ+ youth aged 12 to 17, announced Wednesday evening that it won’t operate this summer.
“While the spread of COVID-19 is beginning to slow down here in Ontario, these unprecedented times remain uncertain,” camp director Stephanie Voyer said in a social media post.
“After carefully monitoring this situation over the past months, we have made the extremely difficult decision to not run any summer camp programs this summer 2020.”
“This decision was not made lightly. Our team has spent countless hours communicating with other Canadian summer camps, not-for-profit organizations, and the Ontario Camps Association to determine the best course of action to keep our camp community healthy.”
”We are heartbroken that we will not be able to meet in-person this summer, however we are excited to use this time as an opportunity to expand our organization to include creative new initiatives to serve the community. Though Rainbow Camp as we know it will not happen this summer, we are actively planning alternative ways for us all to connect,” Voyer said.
This year’s camps were to have run July 5 to July 31 in Echo Bay.
Rainbow Camp is intended to provide a safe place for young people who are two-spirited, lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, queer questioning and allied youth, their siblings and children in queer families.
Emphasis is placed on creativity, individual choice, social justice and having fun.
