Camp Comeback

...The whole Jewish philanthropic agenda is in the early stage of a very significant transition to North American-based, identity building arenas," Moses says...

...Their children...

...Investing in Jewish camp produces great returns, in terms of continuity and lifelong impact...

...Hillary Buff, executive director of Camp Solomon Schechter in Washington State, says Jewish camps forge identity by giving kids "a Jewish experience separate from Mom and Dad...

...Our goal is to raise the awareness of the philanthropic community and [the] Federation that camping is powerful and that camping needs help," Robert told me...

...That meeting prompted the Bildners to endow their foundation, the first devoted entirely to Jewish camping, with a $2 million seed grant...

...And that could open the door for camps, some say—even at the expense of Israel programs...

...But things might be looking up...

...Some are run for profit, while some are not...

...I'm very proud of being Jewish," she says...

...Our religion consistently forgets how to reach kids at the kids' level...

...We do not yet have a continental approach to the Jewish education component of camping," says Finkelstein, the executive vice president...

...Jewish camping made the difference between being committed Jews and so-so Jews," says Elisa, a former Rutgers University professor and journalist, who lives with Robert and their children in the leafy Sew Jersey suburb of Montclair...

...Nonprofit camps are scrambling to add bunks, hire staff, and spin off new sites and programs against a canvas of deep debt and shallow endowments...

...the goal was to stem the flow of rampant assimilation...

...A new camp costs a cool $5 million to build, and even comparatively modest improvements—a new dining hall, basketball courts, sewage lines—run well into the five and six figure range...

...It's these camps that lack sufficient funding...

...But] for the first lime in many years, we are hearing a really strong desire from the camps for educational guidelines...

...The top givers in the Jewish world seem to accept this—that Jewish camps are powerful shapers of adult identity...

...Thousands are turned away every summer because there is simply not enough space for them...

...Surely there are big-time philanthropists who do back camps...

...It has donated $200,000 to 20 Jewish camps in North America since its inception, expressly for staff funding...

...Believing that camps are a solution worth investing in, the Bildners—who made their millions in the food distribution business—approached a group of New York philanthropists in 1998 to discuss funding Jewish camps...

...Yitzhak Perlman has a daughter...

...People feel 'I need to support Israel...

...That in part is why the Bildners started the foundation, which funds nonprofit camps, in 1998...

...Most Jewish professionals— whether at the pulpit, in the classroom, or in the community at large—say they discovered or consolidated their Jewish identity at summer camp...

...Before sunset we dance Israeli dances, then we go in and say the prayers...

...The foundation is already addressing one major problem—attracting and keeping qualified Jewish educators, counselors, and professional staff (counselors at Jewish tamps often earn less than half the salary of their peers at private camps, so it can be difficult to attract good applicants...

...Perhaps, though, when all is said and done, the secret to the camps' success lies in the fact that when kids go to camp, it's about more than being Jewish...

...And yet Jewish summer camping remains a shy stepchild drifting at the edge of the philanthropic family table...

...At the JCC's Surprise Lake Camp in Hudson Highlands, New York, the focus is on connecting kids to Jewish community— in part by wearing white on Shabbat and benching (blessing after the meal...

...Jewish summer camping, as a movement, is broke...

...They take pride in their identity...

...Not all Jewish camps have the same goals...

...It's fun...

...The camps must also pay Jewish education specialists, counselor and staff salaries, and training costs—which could run over a million dollars a summer for large camp networks like Ramah and the Reform movement's UAHC camps...

...Others are drawn to specialized private camps offering intensive experiences in the arts, music, sports, computer science, or even wilderness training...

...According to the oft-cited 1990 National Jewish Population Study, only 20 percent of the Jewish population lights Shabbat candles, and only 16 percent keep kosher...

...They don't know what camping offers...

...but the foundation is not engaged in philanthropy around Jewish camping...

...I need to support the [Jewish] school...

...That study also found that Young Judaea alumni place a premium on Jewish ritual: 59 percent light Shabbat candles, and 44 percent keep a kosher home...

...Camping is undeniable, in terms of its potential," says Moses...

...The private camps generally have independent funding sources or substantial endowments...

...While some might argue that children who attend Jewish camp are predisposed to lead their lives more Jewishly, those in the know say camping reaffirms those values...

...The key, say the experts, is that camping can provide one of the few Situations where children learn Jewish by living Jewish...

...While the term "Jewish camp" may seem simple enough, it actually encompasses a wide range of summer programming...

...that] might not happen otherwise until college," she says, adding: "Camp works because it's run...

...but why do I need to support camp...

...She considers spending another balmy summer evening praying...

...Even as the camps continue to struggle, the evidence is mounting that Moses' optimism is well founded...

...Camping had never been a part of their vision...

...I feel very special and connected with God...

...Maybe he knows something I don't know," Moses finally said...

...In the late 20th century, the Jewish communal buzz word was "continuity...

...One reason may be that potential perceive camps as lightweight: How can something as much bin as summer camp have a serious, durable educational compact...

...Jewish camps, which don't yet offer such specialized programming, can't compete...

...We strongly believe that Jewish camping is a major opportunity to create worthwhile Jewish experiences in the formative years," Steinhardt told me recently...

...Children of privilege are often attracted to more expensive, far-flung summer programs, from luxury adventure tours like Sail Caribbean to novelty programs like Hummer Camp...

...We cover the light switches with Band-Aids"—at her Young Judaea camp, the "boo-boo" is using electricity on Shabbat...

...Most people in philanthropic institutions don't send their kids to Jewish camps," she says...

...Elisa Spungen Bildner, who cofounded the foundation with her husband, Robert, echoes that sentiment...

...Well-established camps like Ramah are often enrolled to capacity before Thanksgiving...

...For more information on this topic visit our Web site at www.momentmag.com and click on related links...

...Ira Libov, a sixth-grader from Beaverton-Portland, Oregon, senses the magic unfold, layer by layer...

...Private camps, run to yield a profit, have missions that reflect their owners' visions, and their programming spans the entire range of Jewish camping experience...

...The ICC Association, for example, plans to hire it full-time camping consultant to address national issues, along with a Jewish education expert...

...It penetrated their soul, became part of their being, and the level of the family's commitment to Judaism intensified as a result of our kids' going to camp...

...We have the ropes courses, the roller hockey, sophisticated waterfront programs...

...Hands-on experience is what helps identity formation," Buff says...

...If you stand still, you can almost feel it: the first fragile strands of Jewish identity, intertwining inside bunk 11-G...

...Arts programs were suspended from one season to the next for lack of funding and trained staff, and their kids were disappointed...

...Four to be exact...

...They know how much camps have given to Jews, they say...

...High-profile, high-visibility programs, like those that promote day schools and Israel travel, offer Jewish philanthropists and established foundations more glamorous and mediagenic venues for their funds...

...We weren't smart enough...

...He knows how important Jewish camps are, even though he has no first hand experience as a father (his kids never went to Jewish camp...

...But most Jewish charity dollars still go to Israel programs and day schools...

...Can't Jewish camps successfully compete against private camps...

...If Jewish identity- is the goal, these experts say, camping is one of the best ways to promote that end...

...Camps want to expand to meet growing needs...

...The same amount went into three Reform camps in California, Massachusetts and Canada for renovation and land acquisition...

...Adults look to camp for content and curriculum...

...Larry Moses, president of the Wexner Foundation of Columbus, Ohio, was initially startled into silence when I told him of Steinhardt's comments...

...Why aren't Jewish [professional] team owners developing Jewish sports camps...

...In the new century, the organized Jewish world seems intent on a new focus: building jewish identity...

...But each year, on visiting day, the Bildners cringed at what they saw: poor facilities, dilapidated tennis courts, baseball fields, and buildings...

...And camps also need money to provide scholarships for underprivileged campers...

...Because camp educational programs are informal, and because they take place in summer," she says, "there's a perception that camps are not integral to Jewish learning...

...For others, camping is just not affordable (a month at camp can cost anywhere from $1,800 to nearly $4,000, with private camps at the higher end...

...Our camps are moving in a competitive, specialized direction," says Allan Finkelstein, executive vice president of the JCC Association, a national umbrella group for hundreds of Jewish sleep-away and day camps...

...Michael Steinhardt, former Wall Street trader turned Jewish philanthropist, seems to embody this ambivalence...

...The potential hinders asked rudimentary questions: Why do camps need money...

...It's time wealthy Jews gave something back...

...And yet many camps are reeling from economic obstacles that range from balky septic systems to antiquated buildings...

...At first, that might seem counterintuitive...

...It's Wexner's bailiwick," Steinhardt says...

...But it the camps are such big shapers of Jewish identity and they need money, why aren't the big Jewish philanthropists lining up to offer support...

...Steinhardt, who, with patron Edgar Bronfman, funds the Birthright Israel program (any Jewish college student who has never been to Israel on an educational program can go, all expenses paid), has repeatedly and forcefully declared his commitment to reaching "students in a formative stage" for building Jewish identities...

...Camping gives children "the experience of a Jewish community on their own...

...Speaking with the Bildners is like standing under a verbal waterfall: Their sentences tumble out in a torrent, and it's not uncommon for Elisa to finish a thought that Robert begins...

...For one thing, camping just isn't a hot-button issue that attracts deep-pocket creativity—or cash...

...At New York's Camp Monroe, for example, counselors focus on teaching Jewish values...

...The young girl, who emigrated from Russia with her family at age three, feels surrounded, embraced by "friends as close as family...

...No one will deny its importance in the Jewish identity puzzle...

...Indeed, studies suggest that children who go to Jewish camps come home with a much stronger sense of their Jewish selves...

...Yet of the 750,000 Jewish youths of camping age in the United States, only 30,000 (4 percent) attend Jewish camps...

...There are about 100 nonprofit Jewish camps in North America, but differences in camp policies, missions, educational goals, and levels of observance of Shabbat and kashrut have largely kept them from working together...

...Yet when it comes to putting money on the table, Steinhardt's ambivalence rises to the surface...

...But the Jewish piece is what's unique—the rope course isn't...

...But I'm confident, optimistic, that it will be taken on...

...Looking back, the kids' summer camp experiences were worthless...

...Camp Ramah spent more than $15 million last year on Jewish Camp its new camp facilities and a year-round retreat center...

...Kids have a really good time...

...Hilary Loeb of Seattle's SAMJS Foundation, which supports sleep-away camps through scholarship funding, explains that camps are not diought of ;is legitimate Jewish academic alternatives...

...It's about tents in the woods and snakes in the lake— hiking, boating, and good old fashioned fun...

...Their passion for Jewish camping comes from the very life experience that other philanthropists lack...

...They were shocked," Elisa says...

...Neither yeshiva backers nor shul regulars, their camp experiences have firmly connected them to Judaism: they light Shabbat candles each Friday, and they wonder aloud...

...it was never on their agenda...

...About Jewish ideas...

...some ire purely recreational and others mainly educational...

...Moses agrees that camping is a key pathway to shaping Jewish identities at an early age—when it counts...

...Why tlon't these artists establish centers of Jewish lite and arts learning...

...They play a lot, swim a lot, hang out with friends, try new things...

...Teach all you want, hut it has to feel good...

...Children of people at the highest level of the Jewish philanthropic world either don't send their kids to camp or they don't send them to nonprofit camps because the quality of the programs is thought not to be up to the quality of the private camps," says Rabbi Ramie Arian, of die newly formed Foundation for Jewish Camping, in New York...

...Yet Jewish camps are struggling to keep up with rising consumer demand for quality summer camps and swelling economic pressures driven by crumbling camp facilities, a dearth of qualified staff members, and programs that need improving...

...Isaac Stern has kids...

...At the Conservative movement's Ramah camps, for example, an average day includes davening and Jewish study, along with swimming, tennis, and team sports...

...The girls get dressed in something nice," she says...

...To put it bluntly, the camps are in trouble...

...Foundations gave a record Si9.5 billion in 1998 to nonprofit groups, according to the New York-based Foundation Center...

...Community-based studies across the United States consistently show that Jewish campers consistently marry Jews more often and belong to shuts in greater numbers than non-campers...

...Arian says...

...Others may be starting to realize the importance of Jewish camping as well...

...Most nonprofit camps already subsidize tuition tor needy campers...

...Most other nonprofit camps eventually reach or exceed full enrollment as well, and are often forced to add extra bunks...

...Camp tuition, while high, does not cover the full cost of running a summer camp...

...The money is producing results...

...A 1998 Young Judaea survey found that only 9 percent of its camping and youth group alumni intermarried, compared to more than 50 percent for the Jewish community at large...

...Jewish identities are consistently enriched because of camp," he says...

...Camping is not something we are actively pursuing," he says, "for no good reason...

...No major world-class philanthropist has staked a claim to Jewish camping," he adds...

...If they're bored, they're lost," says Dale of the Surprise Lake Camp...

...The nonprofits, which are generally sponsored by a Jewish denominational stream or community organization (examples include Ramah, Young Judaea, and JCC camps), tend to address issues in Jewish education and ritual life more consistently, but they offer tremendous diversity as well...

...And the foundation's future looks bright...

...I get feelings," she says, "spiritual, more enthusiastic...

...They do other things with their summers...

...Steven Spielberg's Righteous Persons Foundation has given the Foundation for Jewish Camping a two-year grant worth $180,000 to support theater arts fellowships designed to attract qualified counselors...

...Israel and day schools receive much more support than camp," says Buff...

...We missed the chance...

...Jordan Dale, executive director of the JCC's Surprise Lake Camp, agrees...

...You have a circle of Jewish friends, you have positive feelings about immersion in a Jewish environment...

...some are sleep-away and some are day camps...

...kids have fun in the Jewish world...

...The community has been Israel-focused, rescue-and-relief focused, for decades...

...Other camps focus on social action and Yiddishkeit (Jewish values) like Camp Kindering in New York...

...At the Zionist Young Judaea camps, Jewish identity is fostered through close interaction with Israeli counselors and staff...

...There has been interest expressed...

...Now North American identity is emerging as a philanthropic focus...

...Fun's not expensive.'" There is another simple reason high-profile Jewish philanthropists lack awareness about summer camping: It has never touched their lives...

...What makes us special is Shabbat, our Israeli counselors, the atmosphere of Jewish communal life...

...My kids] had camp experiences, but not Jewish camps...

...What about the Jewish artists u ho play at Tanglewood...