Chanukah camp in Glendale

The timing might be a little off this year — with Chanukah so early in December — but organizers of the annual Chanukah Camp at Camp Max Straus in Glendale are not deterred. Chanukah camp packs a week’s worth of camp fun — campfires, hikes, sports, drama, arts and crafts, social service projects — into the first week of winter break, Dec. 19-23. And although Chanukah’s last night is Dec. 8, all of these activities will revolve around a Chanukah theme, including a concert, carnival and latke making.

Camp Max Straus, on a 112-acre wooded campus in the Verdugo Mountains, is operated by Jewish Big Brothers Big Sisters of Los Angeles. About 40 percent of the 100 or so kids who usually come to Chanukah Camp are little brothers or sisters in the program.

Chanukah Camp works on sliding-scale tuition, so the camp and the families determine a fee based on the family’s income. No one has ever been turned away for inability to pay, even if they could not afford even the $35 application fee, said Barry Vigon, director of Camp Max Straus.

Chanukah Camp is open to kids ages 7-14, with a counselor training program for older teens. Kosher meals are provided upon request. For more information, call (323) 456-1153 or visit jbbbsla.org.