Food at Camp

Many of you know that I am a vegan, former coach and athletic director and very health conscious.  I aspire that our camp menu always improves. At Camp Solomon Schechter I work with the kitchen staff to create a healthy menu.

If you think of summer camp as being nothing more than adolescent frolicking and goofy inter-camp competitions, you may be surprised to learn that camp today is only a little like Bill Murray's movie Meatballs. Now, summer camps are increasingly geared toward helping young people improve themselves.

Texas A&M University - Corpus Christi, conducted an obesity study in 2009. The study found that a large number of students were obese and not eating enough fruits or vegetables. Statistics showed that there are close to 10 million obese children in the US. According to the National Institutes of Health, 13% of all children ages 6 to 17 are overweight.

Thus, a major objective for Schechter this summer will be to introduce children to more exercise and nutrition. Just like any athletic competition, a summer camp needs to have a solid game plan. I welcome any parent feedback on this important topic.

PS: CSS will have a new Chef and improved menu this summer!  Stay tuned for an introduction of our new Chef!

Happy Chanukah!

Happy Chanukah from Camp Solomon Schechter!

For me, the Jewish holidays are often about memories: Passover Seders with my family, blowing the shofar, dressing up for Purim, and, of course lighting Chanukah candles and eating oily, delicious latkes.  Memory is such an important part of Judaism, and of life. 

We have chosen Chanukah as the perfect time to highlight some of our favorite Camp memories, what we are entitling "Eight Days of Camp Memories."  We will be posting one of our favorites every day of Chanukah on our Facebook Page, along with a photo of candle-lighting at Schechter.  Please contribute your favorite memories as well, so we can all share in our communal Camp memories this Chanukah!

Happy Chanukah from my family to yours!

B'Shalom,

Sam Perlin

Executive Director

Camp Solomon Schechter

P.S.  Remember that you can give the gift of Camp for Chanukah this summer.  We will be happy to provide you with a gift certificate for tuition or Schechterwear that you can give the best Chanukah present ever!

PJ Library Campership Incentive!

Happy Thanksgiving!   We always try to let our camper families know about any scholarships or financial incentives that could make it easier to send your child to camp.  So, we wanted to tell you about a wonderful new partnership between the Harold Grinspoon Foundation, PJ Library, and the Foundation for Jewish Camp.  PJ Goes to Camp offers incentive grants of up to $1,000 to offset camp tuition for PJ Library participants, siblings, and alumni.

Apply via One Happy Camper

PJ Goes to Camp funds are available for eligible PJ-associated applicants on a first-come, first-served basis.

To apply, use the link below. Enter your PJ Goes to Camp referral code on the first page of your online application (if you do not know your code, e-mail pjgtc@hgf.org).

•  Submit an Application via the One Happy Camper Program  

Learn More about the Program

For additional information about PJ Goes to Camp and/or One Happy Camper, please contact Carolyn. 

WHO IS ELIGIBLE? 

First-time campers who have not received an incentive from One Happy Camper at nonprofit Jewish overnight camps and who are:

• Current PJ Library subscribers (enrolled in the program on or before Sept. 1, 2011);
• Siblings of currently eligible PJ Library subscribers (enrolled in the program on or before Sept. 1, 2011); or 
• PJ Library alumni.

FOR WHAT AMOUNT?

• $1,000 for Bet, Gimmel or Oded.

We hope you will think about applying! 

B'Shalom,

Sam Perlin

Executive Director

Camp Solomon Schechter

Shalom from Camp Solomon Schechter 11/14

Shalom,  

Here at the CSS winter office in Seattle, it feels like summer is far, far away...and then we see the registrations pouring in!  We are busy renovating cabins, purchasing equipment and supplies, hiring staff, and planning our summer program now, and you won't believe all of the fun stuff we have coming!

We heard your feedback from our end of summer survey, and, for the first time in almost 10 years, we can announce that this summer, Camp Solomon Schechter will be offering pottery!

That is just one of the many, new chuggim, special guests, evening programs and activities we will be adding this summer.  Want to find out more?  Sign up now! 

Our first early bird discount (pay in full by 11/15, receive a 5% discount; pay half by 11/15, receive a 3% discount) expires tomorrow!

B'Shalom,

Sam Perlin

Executive Director

Camp Solomon Schechter

Staff and Board Leaders attend the Harold Grinspoon Institute for Jewish Philanthropy Conference in Springfield Massachusetts.

Executive Director Sam Perlin, Development Director Jef Nobbe, Board Co-President David Schwartz and Board member and Dream Team Committee Chair Corey Salka, all attended this very informative conference.  There were 98 Camps that were represented at the conference where staff and lay leaders learned together. Topics at the conference revolve around fundraising, board governance and technology but the highlight might be the time to network with like counterparts from other Jewish residential Camps.  One of the great discoveries that we made was that Schechter already has implemented many best practices that other camps are just starting to learn to do. Of course there are so many things that we learned to try and improve our fundraising and outreach.  Corey and David together gave a very well attended and well received peer learning session where they discussed Schechter’s recent process in creating and using a master facilities plan. It was a proud moment for Camp Solomon Schechter!

BREAKING NEWS: Camp Solomon Schechter is now ACA Accredited!

The American Camp Association® (ACA) announced today that Camp Solomon Schechter (CSS) has received ACA-Accredited® Camp status for Summer 2012 for the first time in CSS’s 57-year history.
"ACA Accreditation means that Camp Solomon Schechter submitted to a thorough (up to 300 standards) review of its operation by the American Camp Association (ACA) — from staff qualifications and training to emergency management — and complied with the highest standards in the industry," said Cindy Moore, National Standards Commission.  "Parents expect their children to attend accredited schools. They also deserve a camp experience that is reviewed and accredited by an expert, independent organization," Moore said.

"Camp Solomon Schechter and ACA form a partnership that promotes summers of growth and fun in an environment committed to safety," said Sam Perlin the Executive Director of Camp Solomon Schechter. "ACA accreditation demonstrates our commitment to quality camp programming."

Camp Solomon Schechter was founded in 1954 and is located in Olympia, Washington. The Camp is in operation from June to August and offers age-based sessions lasting from five days to five weeks. For more information, parents can contact the Camp at 206-447-1967, or visit the Camp's Web site at www.campschechter.org.

ACA is the only independent accrediting organization reviewing camp operations in the country. Its nationally-recognized standards program focuses primarily on the program quality, health and safety aspects of a camp's operation. ACA collaborates with experts from the American Academy of Pediatrics, the American Red Cross, and other youth-serving agencies to assure that current practices at the camp reflect the most up-to-date, research-based standards in camp operation. For more parent-focused information about accreditation, visit ACA's www.CampParents.org.

Solomon Schechter is 'a jewel of a camp'

(A re-post from Soundly Jewish)

Solomon Schechter is 'a jewel of a camp'

Thursday, 11 August 2011 13:40

By Herb Levine, Soundly Jewish Editor
"This is a jewel of a camp," Camp Solomon Schechter executive director Sam Perlin told us, "with a special place in the Pacific Northwest Jewish community." Generations of campers in our region would agree. The lakeside site in Tumwater south of Olympia offers sun, woods, water, and a bit more. "We teach the skills of Jewishness," Perlin said.
Gimmel is great In the Pacific Northwest, Perlin said, more parents than on the East Coast want to vacation with their kids, and seem to prefer shorter camp sessions. CSS is unusual because it offers three three-week sessions separated by age, which is "great for programming."
When we visited the third session -- Gimmel -- was in full swing. There were 215 campers from those entering 8th grade to 10th, cared for by 70 staffers and an additional 20 kitchen staff. The 12 cabins each had two counselors. During the first two sessions the younger kids had also had two "Oded" campers, counselors-in-training entering 11th grade, in their cabins.
We were able to speak with four veteran CSS campers enjoying their first experience of Gimmel, all from the Soundly Jewish coverage area.
Alex Kaplowitz and Danny de Jesus of Olympia are both 13, entering 8th grade, graduates of the Beit Sefer at Temple Beth Hatfiloh. Danny was in his fourth year at CSS. Alex thought it had been about seven years.
How did they like their first summer in Gimmel? They agreed it was great, with fewer rules, and more freedom. "Everyone is more whatever about everything," Danny said, and he liked it that way. In particular, the boys appreciated the greater freedom to decide whether or not to participate in activities.
Their cabin counselors were 17, the boys said, one of them Israeli. What's he like? He likes to fool around with an air horn.
We also spoke with two 13-year-old girls, Emily Blitman and Sarah Haas. Emily is from Olympia and affiliated with Beth Hatfiloh. Sarah is from Tacoma and affiliated with Temple Beth El, the granddaughter of current Beth El president Kate Haas. Emily has attended CSS for three years, Sarah for six or seven.
Like the boys, the girls valued the increased freedom in Gimmel, including a bedtime at 10:30 p.m., not 9:30. The were glad there were "no Odeds" and they only had their two counselors in their cabin. They also enjoyed being able to listen to their own music. They appreciated the programming for teenagers, especially the dances.
Although Emily noted that "sometimes the cabins are a bit overwhelming," both girls said generally everyone gets along. Emily said, "You don't get the bullying you may experience in public school." Sarah agreed, and added, "There are no real cliques."
A 'Jewish chick' who rocks
We were able to sit in at the CSS amphitheater as Jewish rocker Naomi Less and her band, on tour from their base in Brooklyn, rehearsed the evening's entertainment. They were working up "Shout 'em Out (1 to 10)," a song about the 10 commandments (check out the cartoon video). When they took a break, they played "CSS Forever" on the sound system, a collaborative song-writing and production project they'd just completed with some of the campers.
The band includes Less (co-writer, lead singer and guitar), Shahar Mintz (lead guitar), Ziv Shalev (bass and vocals) and Glenn Grossman (drummer, co-writer, music producer and Less's husband). They released their first CD, The Real Me, last March. We caught them in the midst of their summer Jewish camp tour, stopping at CSS between Baltimore and "BB Camp" (B'nai B'rith Camp) in Lincoln City, Ore.
"First and foremost I'm a Jewish educator," Less told us, engaging kids in exploring their identities through music. Through her Jewish Chicks Rock project, she aims to "empower younger girls" as a role model and through a proactive program. She considers herself a Jewish feminist, grateful for the progress made by Jewish women before her. Last Pesach she led a University of Washington Hillel Seder in Seattle, an "inclusive Seder with a feminist lens."
An independent camp with Conservative roots
CSS is "an independent camp with our roots in Conservative Judaism," executive director Sam Perlin said. The campers come from many denominations, although most are Conservative. CSS is kosher and Shabbat observant. There are Orthodox campers, but "our halachah is Conservative," under Perlin's own supervision.
This is Perlin's fourth summer at CSS, which he first got to know as a parent. He brought 20 years of coaching and teaching to the job, including stints as the athletic director at Seattle Academy and an Orthodox day school in Baltimore. Perlin is a member of Seattle's Congregation Beth Shalom (Conservative).
Perlin said he will recruit from any synagogue that welcomes him, but CSS has a number of "affiliated" Conservative synagogues, including Congregation B'nai Torah in Olympia, two in Seattle and three in Vancouver. Some 600 campers attend each season, of whom about 125 are Canadian. Most come from the urban areas of Seattle, Vancouver, Portland and Spokane.
There are some campers from other regions, and this year there are 20 from Israel, all from secular homes, most from Tel Aviv.
"We are different from Ramah," Perlin said, and nonaffiliated as a matter of policy. Why? "Conservative Jews of the Pacific Northwest are unique," Perlin explained, and CSS provides the "perfect balance of Conservative halachah and secular camping" for these Jews.
'There are plenty of Jewish kids to go around'
CSS has an annual budget of $1.6 million, Perlin said. In the off season he spends time recruiting campers and staff, but fund raising is a large part of his job.
He noted that for years CSS was the only Jewish camp in this region. Some CSS campers switched to URJ Camp Kalsman once the Reform camp opened in 2007. But "Kalsman is good for Schechter," he said. "There are plenty of Jewish kids to go around." The more kids who attend Jewish camps the better.
"The bigger the pie, the bigger Schechter's share," Perlin said. "We are collaborators in the cause of Jewish camps."
CSS has long attracted campers from Tacoma and has a "campership" program set up for Tacoma-area campers, the Robert (Bobby) Rosenthal Scholarship, named after the late son of Rabbi Richard Rosenthal (z"l), the founding rabbi of Temple Beth El. Perlin recruits at Beth El every year.
The tuition per camper for 2011 was $2,155 for three weeks. Payments from parents were supplemented by support from the Jewish Federation of Greater Seattle for Washington State students, and incentive grants for new campers from the Foundation for Jewish Camp). But tuition from all sources only covered 75 percent of the camp's operating budget, Perlin said.
And additional 12.5, percent, he explained, came from CSS scholarship funds, and the final 12.5 percent from rental income during the off season. The cabins are heated, he said, and CSS is available during the non-camp year for rentals of all kinds, including Shabbatons, b'nai mitzvah, and synagogue and youth retreats.
Open to all points of view
CSS has Conservative roots, but recruits campers and staff with other backgrounds. "We are unabashedly Zionist," he said, "but open to all points of view."
"Like your website," he told us, CSS "unites rather than divides." ■