Frost Valley Life Newsletter: Fall 2020 - Emergency Edition

SAVING FROST VALLEY FOR GENERATIONS TO COME

Frost Valley Life Emergency Edition | FALL 2020 FROST VALLEY YMCA

| www.frostvalley.org

| 845-985-2291

OUR MISSION Frost Valley YMCA is a values-driven organization that fosters youth development, healthy living, and social responsibility through outdoor educational and recreational programs for all.

OUR VALUES Caring • Community • Diversity • Honesty • Inclusiveness • Respect • Responsibility • Stewardship

THE MAJESTY OF FROST VALLEY Please enjoy this video from our community of alumni and our CEO Jerry Huncosky, taking you on a virtual tour of the many iconic sites throughout camp. Be sure to watch to the end to hear an update from Jerry: http://bit.ly/FVmajesty

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THE STATE OF FROST VALLEY A MESSAGE FROM OUR CEO

My Friends, Thank you for opening this emergency edition of Frost Valley Life. This very special online-only version of our semi-annual newsletter has been crafted to alert you and every stakeholder to the greatest challenges faced by Frost Valley in our history stretching back over 135 years. Not even an economic depression and two world wars produced such dire consequences. The absence of campers, schoolchildren, and nearly all weekend visitors has led to a massive reduction in the revenue that supports the programs, activities, and operations of our beloved camp.

Jerry Huncosky Chief Executive Officer, Frost Valley YMCA

Since the start of this national crisis, one which has affected us all, visits to Frost Valley YMCA have dropped more than 99%. Frost Valley’s school trips program, which normally welcomes 14,000 children from over 200 schools in the tri-state region for overnight visits, is suspended indefinitely. For the first time in the history of our venerable camp, nearly 4,000 summer campers, from Brooklyn to Sacramento to Japan, were denied the quintessential experience they hold so dear.

More than 20,000 other visitors from community-based organizations and from families just like yours have been forced by circumstances to forgo their muchanticipated visits to Frost Valley.

While all is far from lost, we can’t ensure Frost Valley’s survival without your help. And we are so grateful to those who have already risen to the occasion.

We have been saying we would “Rise and Thrive,” and many members of the Frost Valley family took that as a call to action! Charitable giving to Frost Valley has risen by more than 100% since the call for help first went out in March.

However, the school year ahead looks grim, and we still don’t know what the regulations for summer camp will be in 2021.

I encourage you to review the details presented in this emergency edition, where we have shared several heartwarming narratives reflecting why Frost Valley must be preserved. You will also find visual graphics that demonstrate with startling clarity the extraordinary drop in the numbers we serve; from welcoming tens-ofthousands of visitors, to welcoming just a few dozen. I urge you to consider ways that you can assist in the effort to rescue Frost Valley from the economic fallout caused by the pandemic.

Thank you for your enduring loyalty and support.

Sincerely, Jerry Huncosky, CEO P.S. You can easily join the rescue effort online by making a gift at www.frostvalley.org/donate or contacting us at development@frostvalley.org

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BOUNDLESS POTENTIAL After School

Group & Family

School Trips

Day Camp

PARTICIPANT TOTALS

Overnight Camp

SUMMER 2019

5,209

FALL 2019

8,195

WINTER 2019-20 0

14,862 3,750

7,500

11,250

15,000

$6.8MM

SUMMER ‘19

$1.8MM

$1.8MM

FALL ‘19

WINTER ‘19-20

MARC

Frost V closes state reg

The above timeline is also a graph that represents the tens of thousands of individuals served when Frost Valley is able to operate at our full capacity. Sadly, it also shows - on the right - how much was lost by our need to close in March. Early on, we made a commitment to continue carrying out our mission to the best of our ability throughout the crisis, and as you can see, although the numbers were smaller, we found new ways to serve. We continue down this path, reimagining our operations during a period of ongoing uncertainty.

This is especially well illustrated in the launch of our new Outdoor and Virtual Learning Center (see more on page 10), which we have designed to serve 50 local schoolchildren. Through philanthropic support of kind and caring individuals like you, we are hopeful that we will welcome back our campers - who will need Frost Valley more than ever - for summer 2021. To support this effort, visit www.frostvalley.org/donate Frost Valley Life | 3 | www.frostvalley.org

INTERRUPTED BY CRISIS Build Strong @Home

Day Camp

Group & Family

PARTICIPANT TOTALS

Lodging Rentals

SPRING 2020

0

SUMMER 2020

828

FALL 2020

115

0

3,750

7,500

SPRING 2020

JULY - AUGUST

12

BUILD STRONG @HOME SERVED

177

FAMILIES RECEIVED WEEKLY MEAL DELIVERIES

CAMPERS THROUGH VIRTUAL PROGRAMS

JULY - SEPTEMBER

512

11,250

AUGUST 25-30

240 FAMILY CAMP GUESTS SERVED

JULY - SEPTEMBER

191

INDIVIDUALS SERVED BY THE LODGING RENTAL PROGRAM

CHILDREN SERVED BY DAY CAMP PROGRAMS

$129,000

CH 14

SPRING ‘20

SUMMER ‘20

Valley due to gulations

Frost Valley was projected to have our strongest summer in history; however, all overnight programs were cancelled due to the pandemic.

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15,000

SEPTEMBER OUR NEW OUTDOOR & VIRTUAL LEARNING CENTER IS PROJECTED TO SERVE

50

SCHOOL CHILDREN ATTENDING VIRTUAL SCHOOL PROGRAMS

$26,000

FALL ‘20

THE STORIES THAT NEED TO CONTINUE

These stories express what’s at stake if Frost Valley is unable to survive this pandemic. And these are just a handful of the tens of thousands of stories of people who have come to Frost Valley to unlock their potential, find lifelong friends, learn new skills, and bring our signature core values back into their own communities to make the world a better place. Our society cannot afford to lose a place like Frost Valley. Children and families need these experiences more than ever. With your help, we can ensure that Frost Valley is here to serve individuals for generations to come.

ADAPTING & EVOLVING TO MAKE FAMILY CAMP 2020 A SUCCESS COMMITMENT TO OUR MISSION, DESPITE OBSTACLES

For nearly 70 years, Frost Valley’s Summer Family Camp has been a treasured end-of-season tradition for generations of families. This year, the pandemic came close to threatening our ability to offer family camp. We were unsure if our Family Camp loyalists would be interested in a program that lacked some of the most important pieces – hugging fellow family campers after a year apart, visiting one another’s tables in the dining hall, and sitting close around the campfire in the cool late summer evenings. So, we sent out a survey to see what the family campers thought about a modified experience.

And the response we received was resounding! One message said, “If you’re allowed to host us, we’ll be there,” and another said, “Our family needs Frost Valley now more than ever.”

Thus, family camp was on! Although meals had to be delivered to lodges, which meant fewer choices and no dining hall fanfare, and programs were few and far between (literally), our family campers made the most of what will surely be a week they will never forget.

Family camper Adrian wrote us to say, “I just want to say thanks again to the whole FV team. We really had such a blast at this year’s Family Camp despite the modifications, and we are looking forward to the next time we can gather in the mess hall or stand next to one another and make candles.”

The support from our donors ensures Frost Valley’s ability to continue to adapt, evolve, and innovate despite the challenges the world may present us. No matter the obstacles, we’re here to serve children and families and provide the experiences we know they need – now more than ever.

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THE STORIES THAT NEED TO CONTINUE

AN UNPRECEDENTED SEASON OF CARE

ESSENTIAL HEALTHCARE WORKERS FIND REPRIEVE IN THE VALLEY

This past August, Frost Valley was honored to welcome more than a dozen essential healthcare workers from Montefiore Medical Center in the Bronx, along with their extended families, for several days of relaxation and recharging. This very special event was a celebration of their extraordinary professional contributions in an unprecedented season of care, during the COVID-19 crisis at a hospital on the front line of the city’s worst public health crisis in a century.

Montefiore is, of course, best known to Frost Valley campers, families and alums for the work of our Trustee, Dr. Frederick Kaskel, and his decades-long leadership of our renowned program for the care of campers with kidney challenges, all of whom eagerly participate in camp activities during typical summers at Frost Valley.

During this year’s thoroughly atypical summer, even carefully crafted visits by kidney campers and their families were deemed high-risk during the COVID era.

Dr. Maya Doyle, a vital coordinator of Frost Valley’s kidney program, and her colleagues in Social Work and Child Life at the Children’s Hospital of Montefiore, stepped in to help. They chose to honor essential healthcare workers associated with the children’s kidney program and other pediatric programs at the Children’s Hospital with a stay at Frost Valley, to celebrate their extraordinary efforts during the most challenging days of the pandemic.

Throughout their visit to Frost Valley, every Montefiore family participated in self-led activities, including hiking, outdoor grilling, fishing, sports, and more. Each were provided with accommodations at lodges and cabins selected to provide the families with comfort and privacy, giving them the opportunity to unwind and reconnect.

Here are reactions from two of our Montefiore visitors: “Such a relief in such difficult times in the world.

Thank you so much for the experience. It rained both days we were there but my family still had a fantastic time playing by the lake, racing each other, listening to the rain and being close with one another. Thank you, I will never forget this beautiful gift.”

“Thank you for letting us visit Frost Valley last week. It was AMAZING! The view was spectacular. We did not miss social media at all! The kids did not want to leave the camp, they wanted to stay and play and explore more. We told them we’ll come back soon.

Thank you again.”

This program was also initiated by the Montefiore team to help in the effort to rescue Frost Valley from the worst financial crisis in our history.

Frost Valley is deeply grateful to Dr. Kaskel for underwriting this special summer 2020 program, one which aids Frost Valley in our unyielding commitment to our mission and core values.

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THE STORIES THAT NEED TO CONTINUE IN THEIR OWN WORDS

SUMMER CAMPERS REFLECT ABOUT CAMP AND A WORLD WITHOUT FROST VALLEY Upon the announcement that camp had been cancelled, messages came flooding in from families and campers alike, all saying more or less the same thing: “We understand the decision had to be made, but we will miss Frost Valley.” Recognizing that we had to find new ways to support our campers, we asked them to reflect on camp and answer a few questions with video responses in their own words.

We were so touched to receive the following responses, and we know you will be too:

“Every single kid should be able to go to Frost Valley because you can get so many new experiences and have just so much fun there. Instead of wasting your whole summer playing video games and watching videos, you can make friends; you can meet people that you feel like are family.”

“The world would be missing out on so many important friendships right now. It’s such a beautiful and wonderful place and I could not imagine my life without it.”

“I believe that every person should have a chance to go to Frost Valley because everyone there is just so nice and inclusive and just makes you feel very welcome.”

“Something I’ve learned from camp is to open up to others as individuals, because there’s multiple things that I’ve experienced as a person that’s helped make me into the person I am today.”

To watch the full video of all the responses, please visit: http://bit.ly/fvcampervideo

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THE STORIES THAT NEED TO CONTINUE

LIMITED-RUN DAY CAMP

SUPPORTING LOCAL FAMILIES IN THEIR TIME OF NEED

Although we had decided to cancel overnight camp, we also knew that childcare options – which are always limited in our area – were essentially non-existent as a result of the pandemic.

With families being called back to the workplace by July and almost nowhere for their children to go, it was obvious we had an opportunity to support their needs. Hence, we opened a “Limited-Run Day Camp.”

Within days of announcing it the program was nearly full to capacity. On opening day, August 3, parents pulled up for their children’s temperature checks and health screenings. The limited group size of less than 10 children per “pod,” and the restrictions put on some of the activities available didn’t dampen the much-needed outdoor fun.

As camper parent Linda told us, “My son was beginning to show signs of anxiety and depression. After having to finish fifth grade on zoom, missing out on spring sports, and then becoming increasingly uncertain about the school year ahead – and forget any socializing – he just wasn’t himself anymore. Coming to day camp for five weeks finally gave him something to look forward to each day. He got to just be a kid and forget about the weight of the world for a little while. I’m not sure where his mental state would be if it weren’t for day camp this summer.”

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OUR ALUMNI RISE TO THE RESCUE

A MESSAGE FROM BILL BAKER, ALUMNUS & TRUSTEE

Every alum knows what makes Frost Valley so special – the values-based programs, transformational experiences, and the people who make up our community of campers, guests, students, and staff.

What some alums may not know is that the fallout from the current public health crisis is placing unprecedented financial pressure on Frost Valley. Because most revenue is generated through registration fees, the absence of summer campers, educational school field trips, and year-round retreats is raising alarm bells. Since the start of the crisis in March, Frost Valley has lost more than $10.1 million in revenue and furloughed at least two-thirds of the staff.

COVID-era outreach to Frost Valley’s generous stakeholders, including alums, has produced approximately $3.1M in gifts, leaving approximately $1.1M still to be raised. Frost Valley is grateful for every penny received. As long as this pandemic continues, the need for generous support will remain.

The good news is that our family of alums are responsive, engaged, and stepping up in unique and creative ways. In response to the alumni efforts underway, Frost Valley has launched a very special Alumni to the Rescue! virtual fundraising page to serve as a portal for alumni outreach to personal and professional networks. You may create your own Alums to the Rescue! fundraising page here. Here’s what several of our alumni are already doing:

• SIMPSONS ILLUSTRATION CHALLENGE

KC Johnson, who has worked in animation for the Simpsons for 17 years, will illustrate Frost Valley supporters as part of a generous and creative fundraising initiative.

• VIRTUAL TRIVIA NIGHTS WITH ALEX DRAPER

Join other fellow alumni once a month on Zoom for a challenging yet fun game of trivia in support of Frost Valley’s survival.

• VIRTUAL RUN FOR FROST VALLEY

Staff alumna Megan Lawrence-Reba has graciously volunteered to coordinate efforts for a virtual run in support of Frost Valley to take place wherever YOU prefer to run (treadmills count!) the weekend of November 7-8, 2020. If you’re interested in joining, fill out the interest form here: www.bit.ly/FVvirtualrun

• NOW IT’S YOUR TURN!

Alumna and longtime Frost Valley supporter Sue Geller has put out the call to action for other creative initiatives like these. We invite you to support one of these efforts, or if you have a special talent or idea, develop your own.

Learn more about how you can get involved here: www.frostvalley.org/alumni-to-the-rescue Thank you for all of your enduring support. We know that together, we will rise and thrive!

SAVE THE DATE!

VIRTUAL RUN FOR FROST VALLEY November 7-8, 2020

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STAYING COMMITTED TO OUR MISSION, ESPECIALLY NOW During this time of social distancing and gathering-size restrictions, we knew Frost Valley had to find a way to continue to carry out our mission to serve all. Below are just two of several ways we have adapted and used our existing resources to serve children and families in new and surprising ways.

FINDING A NEW PURPOSE FOR FARM PRODUCE While Farm Camp normally begins in June, our greenhouse keeps our staff busy in the spring and yields an impressive bounty that normally serves our campers and staff. We had already commenced preparing for the 2020 Farm Camp season when the COVID-19 pandemic struck.

Naturally, however, our intrepid staff forged ahead, pivoting their production to crops that could be sold at market and donated to local non-profits. In doing so, the staff were able to raise $10,000 from sales at local farm markets and wholesale outlets - and to donate 591 pounds (a $3,343 value) of produce to community members in need throughout Ulster and Sullivan Counties. We are grateful for our farm staff, all of whom took Frost Valley’s mission and core values into consideration at every opportunity and continued to think of others in these difficult times.

SERVING OUR COMMUNITY’S SCHOOLCHILDREN We understand the many challenges and concerns families have about the 2020-21 school year. In a region where nearly 20% of the local students do not have high-speed internet access, the prospect of online schooling presents a dire challenge. As a leader in youth development for over 100 years, Frost Valley YMCA is especially well prepared to address this challenge. And with a strong commitment to serve, our experienced professional staff - utilizing our 5,000-acre property and numerous buildings for very significant social distancing - offers local students an opportunity to complete their online education at Frost Valley’s new “Outdoor & Virtual Learning Center” (OVLC) and round out the day with our signature outdoor programming.

Learn more at www.frostvalley.org/ovlc

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THE WORLD CANNOT LOSE FROST VALLEY YMCA Our challenges do not define our future – YOU DO! Help us continue to serve those who need Frost Valley the most. Thank you for helping to ensure Frost Valley remains a place FOR ALL.

To make a donation, visit http://donate.frostvalley.org

FROST VALLEY YMCA 2000 Frost Valley Road, Claryville, NY 12725 TEL (845) 985-2291 EMAIL info@frostvalley.org WEB www.frostvalley.org