Badger Camp cancels 2020 season
Leah Sinclair (front), from Darlington, is among the 800-plus campers who experience Wisconsin Badger Camp each summer. She is pictured at a previous year’s camp with staffer Rachel Powers, from Ireland.
By Correne Martin
Wisconsin Badger Camp announced April 15 that it would not welcome back more than 800 campers this summer. With many of the typical campers having compromised immune systems, and some of the staff coming from overseas, the nonprofit camp’s board and Executive Director Brent Bowers felt it was the most responsible decision to cancel the 2020 season.
Even if the coronavirus pandemic had peaked prior to camp opening, Bowers said, it wouldn’t have been a good idea.
“I looked at every option before I even brought up the thought of canceling. ‘Do we delay or run at half-capacity?’” he wondered. “You just can’t plan for the unknown. The first time someone comes down with an illness, you’re shut down, so then you’d have all those expenses lost. Anything virtual, I’m afraid, would be a hurdle a lot of our campers wouldn’t be able to handle.”
Also, Bowers said the rural Prairie du Chien camp’s medical director did not know if he would get the OK to staff Badger Camp this summer. That left another uncertainty.
So, the decision to cancel was made.
Already hired staff was contacted, and the announcement went public.
“We usually have about 60-65 seasonal employees, and we had hired 75 percent of them by this time,” Bowers stated. Adding to those contacts, about 500 of the approximate 800 campers had registered already for 2020, leaving more phone calls and emails to campers’ families.
“A lot of them are choosing to keep their information on file for next season,” he noted. “We’ve had a couple of cases of the people donating their money back to Badger Camp. The parents I’ve spoken with have been very supportive. They understand that pulling people from all walks of life to live in dorms would have been a contact nightmare in this situation.”
Campers come to the Prairie du Chien area from primarily the Midwest, but also from eight other states like Tennessee, North Carolina, Indiana and California, for instance.
Leah Sinclair is one of those campers who absolutely loves the cabin accommodations at Wisconsin Badger Camp. She is 24 years old and has attended camp for at least 10 years. She started as a teen week camper but had moved into adult camp and was looking forward to, once again, “meeting all the new people” this summer.
Having visual impairments and cerebral palsy, Leah lives in assisted living in Stoughton, but now, due to COVID-19, she has moved back in with her parents, Lori Neumann and Jim Sinclair, in Darlington.
Not being able to live her usual, highly ambitious lifestyle right now has been difficult. She regularly rides horseback in Oregon (Wis.), and has done so since age 2. She also attends basic therapy, participates in adapted fitness at the University of Wisconsin, and more.
“I like the fishing at Badger Camp,” Leah shared, “and the arts and crafts.”
When she heard her favorite summer vacation was canceled, she said she was “kinda frustrated.”
“But I knew it was coming. It really didn’t catch me off guard,” she stated, having known about the many impacts of coronavirus.
Leah has made a great number of friends at camp, including Austin, the new program director. Through him, and his girlfriend, in fact, Leah became connected with Able Trek Tours, of Reedsburg, and is planning on going to Hawaii with her in February 2021. She’s still holding out hope that trip will not be canceled.
She’s also hopeful that Wisconsin Badger Camp will resume in 2021.
Her mom, Lori, feels the same. “It’s a great program. It’s beautiful out there and it’s so much fun for people. So many of the clients look forward to it from the day they leave camp until the next year,” she said. “The staff is wonderful too, and they try so hard to make sure everyone has the best time.”
Though closure of camp will keep people much healthier, “it’s going to leave a big hill to make up in terms of income,” Bowers pointed out. “We’ve applied for a number of emergency relief plans and got in on the first round of the Paycheck Protection Plan. We’re doing our best to keep our year-round employees busy.”
Badger Camp employs seven and a half full-timers, who are all currently working from home, except for Bowers who is on site most work hours and the program director who lives on site.
In this unexpected quiet time for the picturesque blufftop camp, some improvement projects will be completed on the 680 acres. Additionally, the board and staff are discussing a couple different fundraisers to help fill the void for loss of income this summer. The camp is also accepting donations, now more than ever, according to Bowers. For ways to give, visit badgercamp.org or call (608) 348-9689.
Wisconsin Badger Camp, established in 1966, has a $900,000 yearly budget. A little more than 50 percent of the campers receive campership aid.
