HUNTINGTON BEACH, Calif. — For 13-year-old Jocelynn Morgan, it's officially summer. When the arts and crafts bin is on the table, and she's among campers at the Boys and Girls Club of Huntington Valley's summer day camp, there's no question about it.
"Usually I'm here every day, all day," she said.
But this year, she'll be the first to admit it, things at summer camp are different.
“Now we can’t really go to whatever room we want," Morgan said. "We have to rotate with our group, and we’re not all together, which is different.”
It's a word the club knows very well after operating amid a global pandemic for the last 16 weeks.
The Huntington Valley chapter is one of 14 different Boys and Girls Clubs operating in Orange County — serving more than 90,000 youth. The CEO of the club, Tanya Hoxie, said each has done their best to adapt to ever-changing guidelines to best serve the children.
“It has been a journey to make sure the kids are safe," Hoxie said. "We’re flying the airplane as we build it and that’s what it feels like.”
Day camps are often a lifeline for working parents and families, the goal has been to keep the spirit of the club alive, even with new protocols in place, Hoxie said.
As soon as children arrive, their temperatures are checked at the doors, capacity is capped at 40 percent, and the children are placed in small groups in rooms where social distancing is a new reality.
“We say keep an elephant between you, two zebras, whatever the child needs to think about," Hoxie said.
Despite the changes, each club — whether operating in-person or online — provides an invaluable function.
“Even if they’re not next to each other shoulder to shoulder, they’re in the same room, doing the same activities and it helps kids feel a sense of normalcy they haven’t felt for a long time," Hoxie said. “To be part of a program and feel good about themselves or get enrichment, is so valuable.”
For more information on their local chapters, visit their website.