As the calendar flips to August, Jewish children across the United States are undertaking a similar ritual: saying goodbye to the new friends, verdant valleys, and idyllic hills of Jewish summer camp and returning to their daily lives and routines. Soon, they will be trading in the swimming, socializing, and exploring of summer camp for days in the classroom and in extracurriculars.
It’s estimated that some 80,000 campers—mostly adolescents—attend Jewish summer camps in the United States every year. Four in ten Jewish Americans report having attended summer camp at some point in their lives.
Summer camps have contributed significantly to the development of Jewish culture and identity in the United States. Founded initially in the late 19th century as a means to assimilate recent Jewish immigrants from Eastern Europe, Jewish summer camps expanded significantly after World War I as Jewish leaders sought ways to foster and nurture authentic Jewish experiences among children and young adults.
From the original summer camp—Camp Lehman in New York—these institutions have opened in all corners of the country, providing countless opportunities for Jewish youth to experience the great outdoors, socialize with their peers, and dig deeper into their Jewish identities.
Jewish summer camps are even credited with having repopularized the Jewish holiday of Tisha B’Av, a summer fast day that had largely fallen into obscurity in the United States. Falling in the middle of many camp sessions, Tisha B’Av became an ideal opportunity for Jewish youth to reflect on their Jewish selves. Many of these campers took their experiences with Tisha B’Av back into their communities, helping to revive the fast day.
That, said Jewish philanthropist and advocate Janine Winkler Lowy, is what summer camp is all about. Winkler Lowy, a prominent supporter of Camp Ramah in Ojai, Calif., where her children attended for years, said that campers must carry the lessons they’ve learned about the Jewish heritage with them into their daily lives upon returning from camp.
“The impact of summer camp is truly revealed not just in the experiences campers collect while off in the great outdoors, but in the lessons they carry with them through their lives—the realizations and epiphanies camp sparks within them,” said Lowy.
Janine Lowy noted that as antisemitism has spread across the country and young Jews have reported at record rates feeling disconnected from their identities, it is essential that camps continue to provide a venue for young people to connect with and explore their heritage.
“So many Jewish Americans remember summer camp as the first instance in which they truly felt in tune with their Judaism,” said Lowy. “From celebrating summer Shabbats with friends to thinking critically about what it means to be Jewish, campers are exposed to myriad ways to interrogate, nurture, and deepen their identities—and that’s the essence of camp.”
Camp Ramah, about an hour north of Los Angeles, has played a major role in Janine Winkler Lowy’s life. All of Lowy’s children attended Camp Ramah and returned as adults to volunteer as counsellors.
To invest in a dynamic Jewish future, the Winkler Lowy Foundation has supported a grant program at Camp Ramah to ensure that Jewish youth of all backgrounds can attend summer programming and seize the opportunity to learn and grow as individuals and members of the Jewish community.
Supporting Jewish summer camps like Camp Ramah, Janine Lowy said, is a meaningful way for Jewish philanthropists to underwrite the Jewish future and inspire Jewish youth.
“Camp Ramah helped my children forge lifelong friendships, gain greater insight into Jewish traditions and observances and cement a place for Israel in their hearts and minds,” Janine Lowy said. “It’s critical we make these opportunities available to all Jewish families.”
