JCC Camping and Children’s Services

The JCC Movement has the largest network of Jewish day and resident camps for children and youth in North America. JCC Association's camping and children's services department provides consultations, Judaic curricul a , and shlichim (Israeli emissaries) to camps all over the United States and Canada. We administer the JCC Association/ Legacy Heritage Fund Days of Caring and Sharing, which awards grants to day and resident camps to plan and run local community-service projects. Our camp programs teach new skills, encourage independence, impart positive values, and foster character development... and are lots of fun!

Summer camp is one of the most meaningful and memorable experiences a child can have, and attending a Jewish summer camp has the same momentous impact on a Jewish child. If camp teaches life lessons--and it does--then Jewish camping teaches Jewish life lessons.

Jewish camping is one of the major components in the formation of lifelong Jewish identity. What better way to experience Judaism than with your friends in a beautiful outdoor setting where you feel safe and comfortable? Young people of camping age are very impressionable, and the Jewish experiences that they have at camp stay with them for a lifetime. The beauty of it is that these life lessons don’t feel like “lessons.” For children, camp is just fun.

At a Jewish camp, children have the freedom to explore who they are and what they want to be. They can try out new personalities as well as new activities. Children learn to be independent and make decisions. They learn how to live in a group environment and to become responsible members of a community. In addition, Jewish camping gives children a sense of Klal Yisroel, being part of the greater Jewish world. Many camps hire Israeli staff, have Israeli campers, and teach a love for Israel, giving campers a sense of the larger kehillah of Jewish peoplehood. They sing, dance, swim, play and pray--all in a Jewish context.

The camp environment is designed to be welcoming and inclusive. In a space where children are made to feel good about who they are, it is easy to make them feel good about who they are Jewishly. Every camp is not for every child, but there is a camp to meet each child's needs. Take the time to pick the right one and introduce your children to an experience that will bring them a lifetime of magical memories.

For more information about camping and children’s services, please contact Charlene Wendell at 212-786-5126 or e-mail her. For a directory of JCC resident camps click here.

For information on JCC residential camp employment click here.

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