In an announcement via social media on Tuesday, June 24, Rose Lake Youth Camp announced that they will be cancelling their scheduled summer camps this year due to low number of staff available.

“Our choice to not have camp was based on not having enough qualified employees,” one of the Rose Lake Camp board members said. “Over the past four to five years, it has become increasingly difficult to find qualified staff willing to work from Sunday to Friday and stay the night supervising our campers.”

The camp said they were lacking lifeguards, counselors, and a health officer. These positions require applicants to be 18 and older as well as CPR certification according to licensing by the state of Michigan.

Following the decision, the board will be evaluating the future of the camp.

“We are not planning any other events this year. We plan on having some type of camp in 2025, however, we believe it will look very different.”

The camp will be looking for additional board members as well as local community groups to support the camp. When asked about the impact of the decision, they said it will impact the camp community both financially and emotionally.

“We will be impacted slight financially, as any grants that we have applied for will not be realized this year,” the board member said. “From an emotional standpoint, it has impacted the board, our campers, and the community. Current and past boards work tirelessly to ensure camp can open and be successful. We are hopeful we will be able to come up with a program for the summer of 2025, realizing it needs to be quite different than years gone by.”

All campers and registered attendees will be refunded. With any questions, contact info@roselakeyouthcamp.org.