JCCs of Greater Boston Set
to Rename Summer Camp to Embrace JCC Maccabi Brand
NEW YORK, NY, JULY 21, 2006 – Generations of
Boston-area youngsters have called Camp Kingswood home every
summer since 1955. When the JCCs of Greater Boston (JCCGB)
took over the sleep-away camp in 1992, renaming it JCC Camp
Kingswood, it inherited a world of warm memories and proud
traditions. While that won’t change, vowed JCCGB leadership,
one key element will. At a gathering of board members and
camp alumni in Bridgton, Maine this morning, JCCGB and JCC
Association announced that, effective September 2006, the
camp will become known as JCC Maccabi Camp. The change will
be fully operational in time for the 2007 camping season,
as the camp increases its identification with the JCC Maccabi
movement and breaks new ground among the largest network of
Jewish day and resident camps for children and teens in North
America. More than 100,000 youngsters currently attend the
150 day and 25 overnight camps in the US and Canada under
the movement’s continental umbrella, the New York-based
JCC Association.
“This exciting partnership was inspired by our wonderful
experience in hosting the 2004 JCC Maccabi Games,” said
Mark Sokoll, JCCGB president, referring to the week-long Olympic-style
competition held annually for teen athletes in several host
cities. (The 2006 host cities are Stamford, CT, Phoenix, AZ
and Vancouver, BC.) “The positive response of our community
led us to think about how to further integrate JCC Maccabi
programming into our services for youth.”
He continued, “By joining forces with JCC Maccabi, we
hope to communicate more explicitly the open, inclusive spirit
of the JCC, together with the vision we share: a diversity
of educational, social, cultural and sports activities that
connect kids to their Jewish identity, to each other and to
Israel.”
JCC summer camping is a key component of the JCC Maccabi Experience,
which also incorporates JCC Maccabi Games® (which will
celebrate 25 years in 2007); JCC Maccabi ArtsFest™ (new
in 2006); and JCC Maccabi Israel™. All programs are
designed to promote Jewish values and provide fun and enriching
experiences that convey the power of Jewish community and
create meaningful, life-long connections.
This decision will enable the JCCs of Greater Boston to:
• Design year-round youth programming associated with
the JCC Maccabi Experience under one, recognizable banner,
promoted with a consistent message
• Create new opportunities to engage young people without
regard to affiliation, family structure, or religious practice
• Establish a gateway to Jewish life for unaffiliated
families
• Position the camp as a catalyst for continued and
increased involvement in Jewish activities.
According to Sokoll, one aspect of JCCGB’s
long-range plan is to have the camp become a feeder for the
Games, ArtsFest, and JCC Maccabi Israel, creating a continuum
of transformational local, continental and global experiences.
While the camp will remain a general overnight camp, with
a broad athletic, creative arts, and cultural program and
strong connection to Israel, eventually, said Sokoll, JCCGB
also hopes to:
• Expand its sports specialty workshops, along the line
of the JCC Maccabi Basketball Camp that is offered at Kingswood
this summer
• Enhance the camp’s existing artist-in-residence
program, based on the ArtsFest model that will debut next
month in Baltimore
• Implement tzedakah-focused Days of Caring and Sharing,
sponsored throughout the JCC camping network by The Coca-Cola
Company®
• Establish a physical space for Hang Time, facilitating
fun, educational activities related to Israel, and Jewish
culture that can continue during the off-season
Since 1992, JCCGB has invested more than $1
million in Kingswood’s facility, infrastructure and
programming, with plans to invest another million. Among the
anticipated improvements are new and refurbished bunks; a
baseball field; adventure programs; renovated bathrooms and
showers; artists-in-residence; staff training and recruitment;
additional programming; and upgrades to the kitchen and dining
facilities. While spaces still remain for the current season,
enrollment has continued to increase every year since the
takeover. Significantly, families have reported a high degree
of satisfaction with their summer experience and many campers
have recruited friends and siblings to join them. The camp
will continue its policy of setting aside funds for scholarships.
Offering access to JCCGB programs regardless of ability to
pay is core to JCC Association and the Boston JCC’s
organizational mission.
“JCC Association congratulates the JCCs of Greater Boston
on adopting the JCC Maccabi brand for its camping and youth
programs,” said Allan Finkelstein, president of JCC
Association. “JCC Maccabi stands for the best of our
JCC Movement heritage—Jewish values, culture, diversity,
camaraderie, and community. We believe this is an important
step toward the unified presentation of that message in our
services to the youth and teen community.”
Research has confirmed that Jewish summer camps have a decisive
impact on children’s developing Jewish identity, a critical
component in securing the future of North American Jewry.
JCC Association is committed to strengthening the camps that
comprise its network through innovative programming, staff
training and resources.
###
JCC Association
is the leadership network of, and central agency for the Jewish
Community Center Movement, which is comprised of 350 JCC,
YM-YWHA and camp sites in the U. S. and Canada. JCC Association
offers a wide range of services and resources to strengthen
the capacity of its affiliates to provide educational, cultural,
social, Jewish identity-building, and recreational programs
to enhance the lives of North American Jews of all ages and
backgrounds. Additionally, the movement fosters and strengthens
connections between North American Jews and Israel as well
as with world Jewry. JCC Association is also the U.S. government
accredited agency for serving the religious and social needs
of Jewish military personnel, their families, and patients
in VA hospitals through JWB Jewish Chaplains Council.
Miriam
Rinn
Communications Manager
JCC Association
15 E. 26 St., NY, NY 10010
212-786-5092
grounds. Additionally, the movement fosters and strengthens
connections between North American Jews and Israel as well
as with world Jewry. JCC Association is also a U.S. government
accredited agency for serving the religious and social needs
of Jewish military personnel, their families, and patients
in VA hospitals through JWB Jewish Chaplains Council.
The NFL Youth Football Fund (YFF) is a 501c3 nonprofit organization
founded by the National Football League and NFL Players Association
in 1998 to use football as a catalyst to promote positive
youth development. Through the YFF, hundreds of thousands
of youngsters have been given the opportunity to learn the
game of football, get physically fit, and stay involved in
productive after-school activities with adult mentors. The
YFF also provides youth football participants with safe and
accessible places to play, as well as programs and initiatives
that address the importance of proper coaching, academics,
health and safety, and life skills development.
fax: 212-481-4174
send an e-mail
Back to Press Releases |
Privacy policy | Contact
us | Home
|
