For many families, sending their children to a Jewish sleepaway camp is a long-standing tradition. Others parents would love to do the same for their children, but unfortunately cannot afford the cost. That’s where the One Happy Camper Foundation steps in. 

The One Happy Camper organization offers grants to help with the cost of sleepaway camp, ranging from $700 to $1,000 for children attending sleepaway camp for the first time. This year, enrollment opened on Sept. 26 and closes during the summer. 

While the One Happy Camper grant is a national program, it has an office in St. Louis, run by the director of the local region, Beth Koritz. She oversees all applications.

“If a camper goes for 12 to 19 nights, they get a $700 grant,” Koritz said. “If they go over 19 nights, it’s a $1,000 grant.”

In order to apply for a grant, a camper must not have been previously enrolled in a sleepaway camp for more than 12 days. A camper also cannot be attending a Jewish day school at the time of the application because Jewish schools are already considered Jewish immersion programs.

“The point of the grant is to offer kids who aren’t already part of a Jewish immersion program the opportunity to be part of one,” Koritz said. 

Last year, Koritz received approximately 100 applications. Everyone who applied was accepted. One recipient of the grant, Jenny Hoffman-Mentle, a mother of two Camp Sabra campers, thinks that applying for the grant is a no-brainer. 

“As a parent, I’m a big believer in Jewish camping and what it has to offer,” Hoffman-Mentle said. “I think it’s great that the grant exists to support families in the community.” 

When Colgate University freshman Max Baron was a sophomore at Parkway Central High School, he received the grant to attend a B’nai B’rith Youth Organization leadership camp in Wisconsin. He believes the camp was integral to him growing up as a Jewish man in the United States. 

“It was an amazing experience and I knew that it was just the best 12 days,” Baron said. “It was incredible that I was able to have that experience.”

The grant also allowed Hoffman-Mentle’s kids to stay at Sabra for a longer period of time. Her son originally signed up for two weeks, but then decided he wanted to stay for four. Without the help of the grant, it would have been much harder to make that happen.

“The One Happy Camper grant is an amazing opportunity for Jewish families to provide Jewish residential camp to their children,” Hoffman-Mentle said. “Whether it would be for one year or for many years, it helps to get your foot in the door financially.” 

According to Hoffman-Mentle, sending her children to Camp Sabra is a long-term investment for her family.  “Thank you [from] my kids,” she said. “But also thank you [from] the kids who may only get to go once, and it’s such a huge help for families. This grant is for everyone, and that’s just so helpful.”

The One Happy Camper grant also gave Baron a group of friends. Through the Beber Leadership Camp, he made friends with whom he is still in contact with now. 

“Some of them are college now. I still have one really good friend that I talk to all the time,” said Baron. “We went on other summer programs afterwards also through BBYO.”

According to Baron, it would not have been possible for him to attend the BBYO leadership camp without the One Happy Camper Foundation’s assistance. When Baron found out he was able to attend, he was ecstatic. 

“For me, it was amazing because all my friends had been able to go to Jewish summer camps before and had been going for almost a decade,” Baron said. “They always talked so much about how amazing it was and how many friends they made. Through the One Happy Camper grant, I was able to meet friends from all over the country.”  

For more information on the grant, visit the website jewishcamp.org/one-happy-camper.