Jewish camps: From affordability to romance to special-needs job training
Published January 16, 2015
JTA’s special section, made possible with funding from the Foundation for Jewish Camp, examines trends affecting Jewish overnight camps:
Amid increased scrutiny and risk, camps grapple with teen sexuality: Should Jewish summer camps be more proactive about how they address campers’ romantic relationships, particularly given that some statistics indicate that as many as 1 in 3 female adolescents is a victim of sexual assault?
With JDate partnership, Ramah to help alumni kindle campfires of romance: An online dating service expected to launch this year will enable alumni of the Conservative camps to seek out other “Ramahniks.”
First Person: From litigating cases to lighting campfires: A lawyer-turned-camp founder/director explains why he traded in suits and a high-rise office for T-shirts and cabins.
Program connects discount-seeking families with camps eager to broaden base: BunkConnect is launching in full this year, with 75 camps nationwide offering discounts ranging from 40 to 80 percent.
Camps promote inclusion, job skills with burgeoning vocational programs: Part of a growing phenomenon in the Jewish camp sector, the programs are proliferating to meet increased demand from parents.
With launch of four new camps, specialty sector is booming: The specialty camp incubator encourage kids and teenagers, particularly those with special interests they could not have explored previously at a Jewish camp, to have a Jewish summer experience.