Love Never Ends

To my Family and Friends,

I hope you are well and staying healthy.

With my Bat Mitzvah approaching, I wanted to reach out about a cause that has personal meaning to my family and me.

It has been four years since Alexa Weiss, family friend to us and special friend to so many in this community, passed away after strongly battling pediatric brain cancer. Following her passing, my brother, Zach, and friend, Dylan Katz, organized a basketball fundraiser in Alexa’s memory in honor of their Bar Mitzvahs.

Alexa’s birthday is coming up along with my becoming a Bat Mitzvah. In memory of Alexa,and in continuation of my family’s dedication to honoring her memory, I’m hoping you will join me in donating to a cause that is close to the Weiss family’s heart.

Alexa, like me, was a huge lover of overnight summer camp. We believe she would have wanted to share all the good things about overnight camp with a child who would financially be unable to attend camp without our help.

This year, I have chosen Camp Ojibwa to be the recipient of donations received in honor of my Bat Mitzvah and in Alexa’s memory. Alexa’s brother Noah, and my brother, Zach, have always had a deep love for all things Ojibwa. Alexa and I shared a lot of time together as part of the “little sisters club,” watching as our older brothers participated in camp and sports. Then, as we got older, we were able to join in the fun. I can think of no better way of upholding Alexa’s words that “Love Never Ends” than by dedicating my Bat Mitzvah to her.

Please consider joining me in sending a child to camp this year in Alexa’s memory.

https://www.loveneverends.net/

I appreciate all of the love you can give.

Noa Chalmers

Dear Camp Ojibwa Families

For more than 92 years, Camp Ojibwa’s mission has been to help turn boys into men and to teach them strength and perseverance. We live that mission every single day, and will continue to do so for years to come.

The COVID-19 pandemic presented a significant challenge for Ojibwa. From the very beginning, we believed we could overcome the hurdles that the pandemic would set in our path, and open Ojibwa for our boys this summer. We developed a comprehensive plan with protocols and procedures based on guidance from the American Camping Association and the CDC. Our Plan was thoroughly reviewed and vetted by our internal leadership team of Camp alumni and by medical professionals across multiple disciplines throughout the country. We were, and remain, convinced that we had the expertise, the training, and the ability to execute the plan this summer. As we have said in numerous writings over the past three months, our goal was to make Camp Ojibwa the safest place on Earth in the summer of 2020. Therefore, in the true Ojibwa spirit, we fought “with all our strength and might” for Camp Ojibwa. We believed that we could conquer all obstacles and barriers, and overcome all health-related issues. We stayed in the game as long as possible and refused to give up, including conversations held in the past 48 hours with Government officials

Ultimately, however, we were defeated by the State of Wisconsin and the Vilas County Health Department. As we compiled all of the data, reviewed the current trends of Wisconsin’s cases, and analyzed the local healthcare system, we determined that we could not proceed with our regular camp operation and programming this summer. It was particularly significant that the Vilas County Health Department advised us that it would be unable to provide us with any support this summer, and may shut us down should we have any positive COVID cases. As you know, most of our brother and sister camps are located in counties in Wisconsin other than Vilas. Ojibwa is one of the few of our peer overnight camps located in Vilas County and subject to the stringent regulations issued by that County. Nevertheless, we respect the County’s position, and we will accept and abide by its determination. We therefore have no choice but to cancel the 2020 camp season.

This unthinkable outcome came as a blow to all of us. We are grieving the loss of this summer alongside all of you. The two of us, as Directors and as parents of campers and staff, know personally how significantly this impacts the lives of our campers, staff, and families. We are deeply hurt, but we are not down. We learn at Camp that we must always be resilient, and must never give up. We did everything humanly possible to open Camp. We did it for Ojibwa because, as we sing in our fight song, “we love her truly and for her we’ll always fight.”

During the past three months, we received an outpouring of support and encouragement from our camper families, staff, and the entire Ojibwa community. The letters, emails, texts, calls, and video messages demonstrate your passion and commitment to Ojibwa, and reaffirms what makes Ojibwa so special. We are grateful for all of you, and take great pride in being a part of the lives of our campers and staff. The two of us are here for all of you in any way that you need. Do not hesitate to reach out at any time. We are together, we are PureBWA.

We will send follow-ups to you about tuition refunds, and our great plans for the summer of 2021, as soon as possible. Until then, please click here to watch this video and join us in appreciating the true spirit of Camp Ojibwa. Here’s to Camp Ojibwa,

Joel and Joey