Category
Camp
Happy wallet, happy camper
The economy is bad. Money is tight. And yet the news isn’t all negative for youngsters hoping to attend Jewish summer camp this year. “The truth of the matter is, most of the summer camps have increased their financial aid,” said Jay Sanderson, president of The Jewish Federation of Greater Los Angeles. “We’ve increased financial aid. So a lot of the challenges of the economy so far have been mitigated. We invest close to $1 million in summer camps.”
An appreciation to summers spent in paradise
In the classic male-bonding film “Stand By Me,” based on a Stephen King novella, there is a line of dialogue at the end that I have never forgotten: “I never had friends later on like the ones I had when I was 12 … does anyone?”
Shorter summer challenges camps
“Early-start” is finally starting. After delaying implementation of a new, earlier school calendar last year, the Los Angeles Unified School District (LAUSD) will begin classes three weeks sooner this fall for the majority of students.
Jewish camps review safety measures in wake of Ramah tragedy
It\’s the nightmare of every parent — and every teacher, youth leader and camp director.
Ramah Darom camper dies on rafting trip
An 11th grade camper at Camp Ramah Darom was killed during an accident on a white-water rafting trip. Andrew Silvershein, of Davie, Fla., died when his raft capsized June 19 on the first day of a trip on the Ocoee River in Tennessee. Six other campers who had been with Silvershein on the raft made it back to shore safely. Silvershein remained trapped under a rock, under the water\’s surface, according to Southern Jewish Life Magazine. A paddle reportedly was used to free him, but CPR efforts failed.
Camp kids, homeless benefit from Federation Community Service Day
More than 250 volunteers participated in The Jewish Federation of Greater Los Angeles’ Community Service Day on June 5, the second of four volunteer opportunities in celebration of The Federation’s 100th anniversary.
It’s official: Jewish camp strengthens Jewish identity
Hundreds of thousands of Jewish camp alumni — and their parents — have long known that those halcyon weeks spent at Jewish summer camp don’t just cement lifelong friendships, they strengthen Jewish identity. Now they have it in writing.
LAUSD’s new calendar impacts camps, families
This summer was going to be the one — the one when Prissi Cohen’s daughter, Tillie, would finally get to enroll with a friend in a late-summer overnight session at Camp Ramah. But now Cohen’s not so sure. If Tillie, 10, winds up going to a Los Angeles Unified School District (LAUSD) middle school in the fall, she would have to be at her desk two days before camp ends.
Lifting voices — and hearts — in song at Hava Nashira
To those who love it, Hava Nashira is less a Jewish summer music workshop and more a calling. Even the name — translated as “come let us sing” — beckons. Started in 1992 by Debbie Friedman and Cantor Jeff Klepper, the sessions originally intended to train camp song leaders have gone on to have a global impact on Jewish music and synagogue life.
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