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Friendship, love and community.

Jewish summer camps

When summer camps in the USA first came to be, Jewish summer camps also very much arrived.

Lead by the emigrating Jewish communities - they set up places outside the city, in which families could reunite with friends, enjoy activities and relax.

Fast forward a hundred years and what you’ll find is that a huge amount of East coast private camps, in places such as New York, Pennsylvania and Vermont, share a very similar Jewish connection.

Facilities and accommodation

Facilities at our Jewish American camps tend to vary from camp to camp, but the classic American summer camp activities will be covered including arts & crafts, sports, swimming and more, with meals taking place in a big lodge or mess hall.

You’ll typically share a bunk with a small group of co-counselors and campers, often with a private area for staff.

The campers

Campers will range from 5-18 years and will often have differing levels of involvement in their faith.

For the most part, Jewish camps and campers have a very modern approach to their religion and are very open minded to individual interpretations of the faith.

How do Jewish camps differ?

All summer camps in America aim to help children grow whilst in a safe and fun environment and most camps are based on some kind of core values.

For the Jewish camps these values are the same, however, they stem from and hold a high regard for Jewish culture.

Depending on the camp, you might also see other Jewish traditions, like Shabbat.

How religious are the camps?

The Jewish camps we work with have varying degrees of religious influence, from camps with an established and practised faith to others where you wouldn’t even know they’re Jewish based and just seem like any other private camp.

If you’re more culturally connected to Judaism we have camps with stronger faith ties which you can ask to work at in your application.

Applying for a Jewish camp

When a Jewish summer camp hires a new staff member they will take into consideration that person’s own beliefs, so don’t be surprised if you are suddenly hearing from a Jewish camp and you aren’t Jewish yourself - many camps won’t mind that you don’t share the same faith, just that you are open to new experiences.

If you are Jewish, then this is a fantastic opportunity for you. Jewish summer camps are always thrilled to have people of the Jewish faith working at the camps.

Bringing your home culture and being able to share it with the children is a deeply important element to all camps.

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