COVID-19 | Latest Updates

*** UPDATE AS OF May 24, 2020 ****

2020 SUMMER CAMPS | CANCELLED DUE TO COVID-19

To all our families,

First, I want to start off by thanking you all for your continued support, patience, and understanding during this difficult time. I’ve always said we’ve had the greatest families at our camp and this was even more evident during this extraordinary time.

After much thoughtful consideration, and given the uncertainty of current conditions with regards to COVID-19, we have come to the difficult decision that we will be cancelling all summer camps for 2020. The health and well-being of our camp community continues to be our highest priority.

These past few weeks have been extremely difficult and a rollercoaster of emotions. With this final decision, it is a strong understatement to tell you how disappointed I am.

• I am disappointed for all the kids that look forward to these camps all year.  This summer, they won’t have a chance to get passionate about a new hobby that they can use to express themselves creatively in the digital world.

• I am disappointed that all the staff that we have grown to love like family will lose their summer work opportunity and will not have a chance to bond with their coworkers or put a smile on their campers’ faces.

• I am disappointed that the parents and families we have gotten to know over the years, will not have our support to carry them through these difficult weeks of working and juggling home schooling. I have seen this firsthand and I know it’s tough!

I am truly saddened by this decision, but I am confident that it is the right decision for our camp as a whole.

Registration Fees  We will be issuing refunds for all summer camp registrations as described below:

We do have to be open and honest with our customers that this pandemic has put us in a very difficult financial position. From the moment camp ends at the end of August, we are planning for the following year in the form of program development, software development and overall improvements to make your camp experience even better the following summer. Other than the salaries for camp instructors, the majority of our expenses are actually incurred throughout the year in the form of salaries, rent, accounting, insurance, advertising, software and more. The vast majority of our revenue however, is earned in the summer months.

This pandemic has changed the situation overnight and has had a detrimental effect on our school. The impact is not only a loss of a full year’s revenue, but an additional loss in the amounts we have already invested for 2020. It puts us in an extremely difficult position because we have been proactively spending throughout the year, lost the opportunity to earn 80% of our revenue, and are now facing having to wait a full year before we have a chance to earn income again.  We had to temporarily layoff all of our admin staff, freeze all expenses, and even with these drastic measures, we are short.

Regardless of our position, we put our families first and are committed to offer refunds to all of our customers.

• We are overwhelmed with the generosity of our families.  So many have offered to donate a portion of their registration fee. If you have appreciated your time at GTA Photography over the years and are willing to make a donation this would help us tremendously and go towards covering our losses for 2020. We realize these are difficult times for many of us, so if you are not in a position to donate, we understand! *Please note that donations are not tax deductible, as we are a for-profit organization.

Refund Process: For all those already registered, please refer to your emails for registration fee refund instructions. 

To Our Campers:  I want to close with a message to our campers:

We will truly miss you this summer!  We are so sorry that we won’t get to see both the familiar and new faces to our camp.  Some of you may have been new to us just last year, and some of you have been coming for years and taken all our programs.  We have had numerous emails from campers reaching out, asking what will happen this year. Your passion is infectious and you are the reason we continued to develop more programs year after year.

I wish we had a different answer for you.  I wish we could tell you there was some magical way we could make it all happen, but unfortunately despite our best efforts, it’s just not possible.  Stay positive this summer as we get through this difficult time. Stay connected with your friends and family, and know that physical distancing does not mean disconnecting from the people we love.

Thank you for all your enthusiasm in making our camping community so unique and wonderful.  You will all be missed and in our hearts this summer!

Ana Belic
President / Executive Camp Director

ADULT CLASSES: All adult classes have been moved to online classes until further notice.

*** UPDATED AS OF May 3, 2020 ****

SUMMER CAMPS: We were hopeful to hear more updates from our local governments this past week,  unfortunately we did not get any additional guidance on what summer 2020 will look like for summer camps.  In the meantime, GTA Photography is working hard and getting closer to a final plan for 2020. Please note that there are many factors influencing our decisions and we are working hard to balance all of these.

We will have more information to share with our summer camp families in the next couple weeks.  Please be patient, as we work through these details to ensure the best, safest, result for everyone involved at GTA Photography!

ADULT CLASSES: All adult classes have been moved to online classes until further notice. 

*** UPDATED AS OF April 24, 2020 ****

SUMMER CAMPS: The 2020 summer camps schedule is currently under review and we will act accordingly based on the guidance we are receiving from government and local health authorities. We will have more information to share with our summer camp families next week.

ADULT CLASSES: All adult classes have been moved to online classes until further notice. 

*** UPDATED AS OF MARCH 31, 2020 ****

To all of our students / staff / community members, 

Amidst the evolving global spread of Coronavirus (COVID-19), GTA Photography staff have been actively monitoring the situation and have been receiving and reviewing updates from Ontario Public Health and the federal and provincial health ministries. 

Current Situation:
ADULT CLASSES: At this time we have made the decision to cancel all “in-person Adult Classes” until April 30, 2020, and will move some of our classes to online. 
Some of the classes will be moved and some will not, depending on the program material. Please stay tuned for an email regarding your particular class and the status update on whether it is postponed or moved online. 

MARCH BREAK CAMPS: All March Break programs have been cancelled.

SUMMER CAMPS: Will Camp Run This Summer?
We really hope that it does.  It is still too early to tell at this time, but we are positive and continue to hold hope that we will be able to run our summer camp programs. With 11 weeks until camp starts, it is far too early to make any determinations about changing our camp schedule.

At this point in time, and until further notice, we feel that we have enough reasons to continue to plan for a summer together at camp.  We are continuing to check updates from our local ministries, public health agencies, and the Ontario & American Camps Associations. 

If we are permitted to proceed, and we feel that it is safe, we will do everything we can to make this summer the best experience for our campers.  In so many ways, kids will need camp now more than ever and we hope that we will be able to help. With high levels of stress, anxiety, lack of social connections and outdoor time; this will be the time that our campers need us most.  As long as it is safe to do so, we carry on with our plans. 

We Are Preparing For All Possible Outcomes
We will make every effort to adjust and are preparing for all possible outcomes:
If we need to start late or run a short season, adapt programs and field trips or even adjust the number of campers we can have at camp at any given time.
If public authorities permit us to hold camp at a time when regular life has resumed, but the virus is not fully contained, we will exhaust all efforts and resources to implement the very best medical practices to keep our campers safe.  

Registration Changes
For all the reasons above, we will not be making any changes to camp registrations at this point in time.  We hope to have a decision between May 1, 2020 and June 1, 2020 and will update you on the status of summer camp 2020 at that time.

Our standard cancellation policies are listed here, however we will be re-evaluating these policies in light of COVID-19, as the situation changes and hope to have an update on May 1, 2020.

Stay Safe
We truly wish all our families the best over the next few weeks. We know this is an extremely difficult time for a lot of families. Please stay safe and self isolate. We wish you nothing but good health from all of us at GTA Photography! 

Thank you all for the support.  We are so fortunate to have the best camp community out there! 

Ana Belic
President / Executive Camp Director

To all of our students / staff / community members, 

Amidst the evolving global spread of Coronavirus (COVID-19), GTA Photography staff have been actively monitoring the situation and have been receiving and reviewing updates from Ontario Public Health and the federal and provincial health ministries. 

Current Situation: 

ADULT CLASSES: At this time we have made the decision to cancel all “in-person Adult Classes” until April 30, 2020, and will move some of our classes to online. 
Some of the classes will be moved and some will not, depending on the program material.
Please stay tuned for an email regarding your particular class and the status update on whether it is postponed or moved online. 

MARCH BREAK CAMPS: All March Break programs have been cancelled.

SUMMER CAMPS: All summer camps will continue to run as per usual.

Please note that the situation is continually changing, and we will update you as new information becomes available. 
Our apologies for this inconvenience, but the health and wellbeing of our students, staff, and community remains our top priority.

If you have any further questions, please feel free to reach out to Jay at 416-546-9089 or info@gtaphotographyclasses.com
Thank you for your cooperation and please stay safe over the next few weeks!

Ana Belic

President / Executive Camp Director