Dear Scouting family,

First and foremost, we hope this email finds you and your family well. It goes without saying that we are living through unprecedented and concerning times.

As always, your safety and the safety of all our members, volunteers, and employees is the Hawk Mountain Council’s top priority. As such, we have taken a careful and informed approach in evaluating whether to offer our resident summer camp and day camps this year. Since the spread of COVID-19, we have continued to monitor the situation, consult with health experts, government officials, and other camping professionals.

It is with a heavy heart that after a thorough review, the Hawk Mountain Council Executive Committee has decided to suspend all resident camp and day camp programs at Hawk Mountain Scout Reservation for the 2020 summer season. We know camp is an important part of every Scout’s summer, and this decision was not made lightly.

Based on guidance from the Centers for Disease Control, the PA Department of Health, and others related to COVID-19, it was felt that mass gatherings at camp would simply create too much risk to the safety of our Scouts, leaders, and employees (as well as their families at home once they leave camp) to operate resident summer camp programs responsibly.
We will be working directly with all units who registered for the 2020 season to process refunds.

Our council volunteers and staff are saddened that we are not able to serve you at Hawk Mountain Scout Reservation this summer. This is an extraordinarily challenging time; unlike anything we have experienced. Our hope is we will all emerge from this challenging moment stronger than before.

If you are looking for Scout programming throughout the summer, the Hawk Mountain Council will be providing some alternative opportunities. Stay tuned for more details to come. We are hopeful that when we enter the Covid-19 green phase, we will be able to offer a menu of programs at camp for all ages while still social distancing and following state guidelines. We are most importantly looking forward to the time that we can again offer the full range of outdoor programming our Scouts want and are waiting for.

If you would like to talk about our upcoming efforts and get updates please contact Michele.bement@scouting.org.

We hope all our Scouting families are staying healthy and remaining positive in our current environment and will join us in the future for great summer camp experiences at HMSR.

You can reach us at (610) 926-3406 or by email at jim.milham@scouting.org.

Yours in Scouting,

Jerry Blecker, Council President
Matt Hensinger, Council Commissioner
Jim Milham, Scout Executive