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Tag: day camp

Celebration of Jewish camps

Celebration of Jewish camps

The bright, happy cover of The Scribe Summer Camps Issue, which was released last month by the Jewish Museum & Archives of British Columbia (JMABC), draws readers right in. The 95-page magazine-format journal is packed with colour photos of campers having a great time, doing some amazing things in the beautiful place we live, the Pacific Northwest.

image - The Scribe Summer Camps Issue coverThe issue features seven camps. In the order they are presented, they are overnight options Camp Miriam (Gabriola Island, BC), Camp Hatikvah (Okanagan Valley, BC), Camp Solomon Schechter (near Olympia, Wash.), Camp Kalsman (Arlington, Wash.) and Sephardic Adventure Camp (Cle Ulum, Wash.), and day options Camp Gan Israel (Vancouver) and the Jewish Community Centre of Greater Vancouver’s Camp Shalom. The basic structure of each profile is an overview of the camp and its history, then oral history segments from camp directors; all the overnight camp sections include interviews with former campers, as well.

Many Jewish Independent readers will recognize the names at least of most of the former attendees of the BC overnight camps: Bernie Simpson, Selina Robinson, Robert Krell, David Levi, Danya Rogen, Sam Gutman, Ted Zacks, Arthur Dodek, Stephen Glanzberg, Susan Fine and Kayla Cohen. And, from the Jewish Independent’s annual Camp Guides, many of the directors and staff might even be familiar: Leah Levi (Miriam), Liza Rozen-Delman (Hatikvah), Zach Duitch (Solomon Schechter), Rabbi Ilana Mills (Kalsman), Rabbi Dovid and Chaya Rosenfeld (Gan Israel) and Ben Horev (Camp Shalom).

The one camp that was new to the JI was a long-established one, Sephardic Adventure Camp, whose director is Rabbi Kenneth Pollack. It’s been around for decades and yet hadn’t crossed our radar. There are always things to learn!

In the interviews, people talk about how they became involved with their camp, how it is/was to work there, what makes/made their experience special. They are also asked why Jewish camps are important in their view, what they have learned, in what ways camp inspired them, and more.

Interviewees share some of their personal history, as well as answer more light-hearted queries, like “Your favourite food served at camp?” “Your favourite day at camp?” “If you were still attending camp, what activity would you want to excel at?” “If you weren’t working in the career you’re in, what would you be?”

As unique as all the camps are, there is overlap of such things as activities offered, lessons learned, inspirations gained, even though some camps are more ideological, some place more emphasis on Judaism and religious observance, others prioritize sports and outdoor life.

“Regardless of ideology or format,” writes Elana Wenner, the museum’s director of programming and development, in her introduction, “the camps are united in their intention to organically build community through immersive and engaging experiences.”

She observes: “Through the articles in this publication, three overarching themes emerge that serve to unite the experiences shared at all seven camps. They are: 1. The role of the personal camp experience as a grounding point for Jewish self-identity; 2. The influence of Jewish camp experience on personal values and ideals; and 3. The integral link between Jewish summer camp attendance and Jewish community involvement, both in childhood and later in life.”

While there is much data to support the personal and communal benefits of Jewish camp, there’s nothing like personal expressions to bring that message home.

“The personal stories shared by alumni and staff and supporters reveal how these camps forge deep, lasting connections that extend well beyond the summer months,” writes archivist Alysa Routtenberg in the journal’s concluding section. “These connections create a network of relationships that continue to enrich participants’ lives and bolster their sense of belonging.”

And Routtenberg underscores the need to preserve, as the JMABC does, these experiences through oral histories.

“By recording and sharing these stories,” she writes, “we ensure that the essence of Jewish summer camps is preserved for future generations, offering them a window into a cherished aspect of Jewish life.”

That includes the serious and the less serious of life. Reading about how Jewish summer camp allowed people to connect more deeply with their Jewish identity, learn valuable personal and professional lessons, make lifelong friends and more, is as interesting as discovering that anyone has a favourite camp food and what camp activity people would have wanted to excel at.

Carol Crenna was the managing editor and features writer for this edition of The Scribe; Sonia Bishop, graphic designer. Among the many people who donated their time and skills to getting the journal to publication were Heather Glassman Berkowitz, as copy editor, and Helen Aqua and Judith Gurfinkel, who chair the Scribe committee, were editorial consultants. Other volunteers acted as interviewers and transcribers. The journal committee is Aqua, Gurfinkel, Glassman Berkowitz, Gary Averbach, Debby Freiman, Daniella Givon (president of the JMABC board), Barb Schober and Ronnie Tessler.

The Camp and other issues of The Scribe can be purchased from the museum and archives for $20. Call 604-257-5199 or email [email protected]. 

Format ImagePosted on May 30, 2025May 29, 2025Author Cynthia RamsayCategories BooksTags Camp Gan Israel, Camp Hatikvah, Camp Kalsman, Camp Miriam, Camp Shalom, Camp Solomon Schechter, day camp, Jewish Museum and Archives of BC, Jewish summer camp, JMABC, overnight camp, Sephardic Adventure Camp
Fun and safety during pandemic

Fun and safety during pandemic

In these uncertain times, JCC Camp Shalom set out to continue to be a constant source of fun and a safe environment for the whole community. For the second year, the exceptional circumstances of the COVID-19 pandemic demanded that the camp’s plans be reevaluated and adapted, as it partnered with King David High School to move the majority of its operations to the school’s building for last summer.

Camp Shalom is an inclusive Jewish day camp serving children, youth and teens from ages 3 to 18 years old, year-round, during school breaks and professional development days. Since the inception of the Inclusive Summer Camp Experience program in 2009, more and more children with diverse needs have attended Camp Shalom and participated in group activities, including overnight camping trips.

The number of children with diverse needs who attend Camp Shalom has grown from a handful to more than a dozen per summer – and the range of assistance provided for families has grown as well. Families are able to access more camp sessions and the camp can now support a wider range of ages and needs. Huge improvements have been made in accommodating campers in a true inclusion model and in providing opportunities for more Jewish programming beyond the summer, including Sunday Hebrew schools for those who did not have access to them prior to their experience with Camp Shalom.

photo - Camp Shalom offers an inclusive setting for all ages, abilities
(photo from JCC Camp Shalom)

Thanks to the contributions of the Diamond Foundation and the Snider Foundation, Camp Shalom is able to support more campers and staff with diverse needs by providing special training sessions, mentorship programs and one-on-one support for those campers who need it. Campers who were part of the first inclusive camp experiences are now teenagers and young adults who are still connected to Camp Shalom, and some are now camp staff. This past year’s biggest achievements included engaging about two dozen children, youth and teens with diverse needs and successfully integrating them into the general camp program alongside 120 to 150 other campers in the camp’s preschool, school-age and teen programs.

JCC Camp Shalom likes to think of all youth as being in transition. It pays special attention to campers transitioning from childhood into teenagehood and those teens who are about to become counselors. Work experience is a huge milestone as they enter high school. At camp, they go from being campers to participating in the teen programs, to joining the staff team.

Regardless of their developmental stage and/or maturity level, and taking into consideration their diverse needs, these teens need more support and adaptations than any other group with which the camp works. Careful planning and consideration of their needs has resulted in a successful program that provides them with social and organizational education that will benefit them in the future, as they look for employment, as well as in other areas of their lives.

JCC Camp Shalom is the largest summer Jewish day camp for youth in Vancouver, but its responsibility continues, as the engagement with youth extends beyond summer camp to throughout the year. As teens develop, Camp Shalom recognizes their need for adults with whom they can connect, that they can trust and who can be positive role models. Staff from the summer teen camp programs are educated and qualified to sustain positive and appropriate relationships with youth as they age. The inclusion model of camp programming allows campers with diverse needs to have an unforgettable Jewish experience at Camp Shalom.

For more information about the Inclusive Summer Camp Experience or Camp Shalom’s teen programs, contact Ben Horev, camp director, at 604-813-4236 or [email protected].

– Courtesy JCC Camp Shalom

Format ImagePosted on January 14, 2022January 13, 2022Author JCC Camp ShalomCategories LocalTags Alliance for Jewish Renewal, Camp Shalom, COVID, day camp, inclusion, JCC, Jewish camp, Judaism, kids, pandemic
Creative thinking and doing

Creative thinking and doing

Digivations is again offering its LEGO+Arts Imaginerium camp at the Jewish Community Centre of Greater Vancouver and elsewhere this summer. (photo from digivations.com)

Some kids will be spending the summer hanging out with crawly critters, walking a highwire, creating video games or dusting for fingerprints.

Day camps – no longer the stuff of just arts and crafts or swimming lessons – today offer youth an endless array of quirky skill sets, intersecting fun with new learning experiences.

Bugs without Borders in Toronto, as one example, gives kids aged 5 to 12 a chance to interact with flying and buzzing creatures, including exotic insects and reptiles. They’ll learn all about what the bugs eat, how they live and how they spend their days. Trips include fields and ponds, to observe and collect various insects and amphibians.

From mud and ponds to swinging in the air, there’s Circus Camp at Toronto’s Harborfront, for ages 9-14. Experienced circus professionals lead instruction that includes juggling, stilt-walking, acrobatics, highwire, trapeze, mini-trampoline and clowning.

North of Toronto, at the McMichael Art Gallery, ArtVenture kids aged 5-15 partake in many streams of activities: sculptures, painting, science and art, animation, puppetry and instrument making.

For the science inclined, there’s University of Toronto Mississauga Forensics Camp, for ages 9 to 13. Campers scour a crime scene investigation, dusting for fingerprints, collect and analyze clues and learn the science behind all of those CSI shows.

Meanwhile, closer to home, at Vancouver’s Stanley Park, is Eco Detectives Summer Day Camps, for ages 7-11. Kids can embark on an “exciting educational adventure amongst the giant trees, sandy beaches and hidden wetlands of Stanley Park,” according to the camp’s website.

photo - Pear Tree Education offers several day camp options
Pear Tree Education offers several day camp options. (photo from pear-tree.ca)

Pear Tree Education’s Summer Camp Vancouver, for ages 5-14, is at the learning centre in Kitsilano. Those aged 5 to 6 can make “flubber” and learn kitchen science; those 10 to 14 can learn graphic design; “Pear”formers ages 10 to 14 learn dance, musical theatre and acting; and Film Noir, for ages 10 to 14, includes screenings, creating a film and directing skills.

Also local, run out of the Jewish Community Centre of Greater Vancouver, is Halutzim Youth Adventures camp, for those entering grades 5 to 8. Campers will explore adventures in waterslides, skim boarding, hiking and biking, as well as a four-day camping excursion. The JCCGV offers several other day camp options as well, for kids as young as 2.5 years old.

Digivations, headquartered in Vancouver, offers a series of overnight and day camps, which teach youth about science, engineering, technology, cultural arts, creative writing and movement. At their 23-acre Leavenworth, Wash., camp, the summer overnight experience is dubbed Camp Demigod.

“We create different imaginative projects based on what is current and topical,” co-founder Anne Deane Berman told the Independent.

A third to a half of the overnight camp kids happen to be Jewish, she added, leading them to include Shabbat services.

When the camps began six years ago, they had nine kids. To date, nearly 5,000 kids have participated, she said. Expected next summer is also Sci-Fi Fantasy and Theatrical Combat, for ages 8 to 14, focusing on combat swordsmanship, story-making and costume design.

As it did last summer, this August at the JCCGV, Digivations is offering several day options, including LEGO+Arts Imaginerium, for kids 6 to 12, during which campers solve challenges through LEGO and rocket building, art projects and theatre. In Tsawwassen and North Delta, the organization is offering Camp Half-Blood as well as LEGO+Arts Imaginerium and a couple of other creative technology- and innovation-focused camps.

Meanwhile, at the Innovation Academy and World Building Day Camp, students aged 10 to 14 create new inventions through the lens of alternative energy, ecosystems, transportation, genetics or synthetic biology. The camp also offers access to computer and virtual reality equipment.

For something further afield, or at least much further east (and south), there’s Youth Digital in North Carolina, which offers kids ages 8-16 various technology learning experiences, such as App Camp, 3-D Game Design, and Animation. At the end of their session, campers will have created their own playable apps and games.

“It’s pretty amazing, actually,” said one of Youth Digital’s co-founders, Aaron Sharp. “They start with a blank white screen and make these pretty incredible games they’ve taken from start to finish.”

While there are other courses offered with other companies in these categories, Sharp said they’re either simplistic drag-and-drop or college level courses, but, for youngsters, there are no other game design courses in between that require programming.

“The reason why it’s so important for kids to design games, it’s taking something they love to spend time with so much … you can take that, and tell them they can create games, and be on the creative side of technology. It blows their minds.”

Dave Gordon is a Toronto-based freelance writer whose work has appeared in more than 100 publications around the world.

Format ImagePosted on December 23, 2016December 21, 2016Author Dave GordonCategories LifeTags day camp, Digivations, JCCGV
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