Hidden Valley 4-H Camp update: 75 years & counting

The following is the 11th in a series of Odessa File columns from Cornell Cooperative Extension of Schuyler County relating to ongoing CCE educational activities and offerings.

By Phil Cherry
Executive Director
Cornell Cooperative Extension of Schuyler County

Cornell Cooperative Extension of Schuyler County (CCE Schuyler) finished a revision to our Strategic Plan late last year and through that process developed a set of values that are important to the Board of Directors and staff. We made it an acronym, RISE, standing for Resilience, Innovation, Sustainability and Education. Little did we know at the time how important those four values were going to be as we headed into 2020. Today, those values are more important than ever as we all RISE to the challenge that is COVID-19.

CCE Schuyler’s offices are currently closed. We have shut down all our horticultural, nutrition, 4-H and youth programming where people would normally gather together. Staff are working remotely, continuing to provide services in agriculture and forestry work, parenting education, and energy assistance as we find our way through these difficult times. Check out our new Blog and website at www.cceschuyler.org for more information.

It’s now almost April and as the weather warms, my mind goes to our plans for summer camp at Hidden Valley 4-H camp -- one of the signature programs here at CCE Schuyler. At this time, we are planning to hold camp this summer as scheduled. We know this may change as time goes by, however July is still four months away and we are all hopeful this Coronavirus can be tamed here by summer -- allowing us to proceed as planned. We are very excited to announce we have hired a new camp manager and our staffing is coming along nicely, with many counselors anxious to come back. Our programming is being improved this year with the addition of culinary arts programming, music camp and backpacking, to name a few.

There is a lot of excitement over what will be our 75th anniversary of Hidden Valley here in 2020 -- an incredible achievement. Many of you attended camp here at Hidden Valley over the years and camp has a strong community following as a result. Please consider signing your child(ren) up for camp this summer. We have revised our refund policy to make sure that if we are unable to open camp, you will get your entire deposit back. Depending on what happens with our schools and whether they can reopen for the year, your kids might very well need a break from being homebound -- not to mention you parents!

You may be wondering about finances and affording the camp experience. Many of us are struggling with the loss of a job or income during this crisis and may not be able to afford sending a child or multiple children to camp. If the federal stimulus funds don’t help, please know that we have a scholarship program that may allow your child to attend camp at greatly reduced rates. Check out our camp Facebook page for information on how to apply for that program. Thanks to the many generous people who attended our Wines in the Valley fundraising last fall, we should be able to help dozens of children afford camp this year who otherwise would not have been able to afford it. Mark your calendars for Wines in the Valley this year, October 24, 2020!

We will get through these tough times if we support each other, practice our RISE values and use this time to expand our consciousness. CCE Schuyler has been helping people for over 100 years and we’re not going to let some nasty virus take us down. The same goes for Hidden Valley 4-H Camp. Sign your children up today, and in the meantime, please be safe, healthy, and happy. We will get through this.

Photo in text: Phil Cherry, CCE Schuyler Executive Director (Photo provided)

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For the first column in this series, click here.
For the second column in this series, click here.
For the third column in this series, click here.
For the fourth column in this series, click here.
For the fifth column in this series, click here.
For the sixth column in this series, click here.
For the seventh column in this series, click here.
For the eighth column in this series, click here.
For the ninth column in this series, click here.
For the 10th column in this series, click here.

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