MOOSIC, Pa. — It has been a tradition for years and years for scouts from Northeastern Pennsylvania and beyond: summer camp.
Last year, those camps were canceled because of the pandemic.
“That’s the first time that’s ever happened in the history of the Boy Scouts of America, certainly in our council, that’s for sure," said Dave Srebro of Boy Scouts of America, Northeastern Pennsylvania Council.
This year, those camps are back, and hundreds of campers will be going.
Leaders say the health crisis has made things more difficult for sure, and there will be changes, but they are excited to get back out there.
“It's nice to have a piece of normalcy; camp really for everyone is always like coming home if you can have a home away from home no matter what changes. Always feels like you’re coming home," said Girl Scout counselor Holly Legate.
The scout leaders said they have been busy planning these camps and adjusting to changes they’ll have to make for months now: something they added they will continue to do right up until those campers arrive this summer.
“We’ve been planning vigorously with a lot of our subcommittees and board to make sure we have everything in place to run the camps safely," said Srebro.
“At this point, we don’t really know what camp looks like. I think at this point, all of the girls and all of the counselors don’t really care as long as we get there!” laughed Legate.
Because of COVID-19 restrictions, some of the camps are in need of more adult volunteers for this summer.