Three grants mean up to $1,800 off for BB campers

By JEWISH REVIEW

article created on: 2009-03-15T00:00:00

Parents facing summer have every incentive to enroll their children in overnight camp. But the economy is providing overriding disincentives; money is tight everywhere.

But not at B’nai B’rith Camp. BB Camp is the recipient of three significant incentive grants aimed at hundreds of incoming overnight summer campers.

Why are these monies so important? Economic downturn or not, Jewish summer camps prove time and again that kids who attend help secure the continuity of the Jewish people.

Seem lofty for three weeks spent learning to water ski? Consider some statistics: Jewish camp alumni are 50 percent more likely to join a synagogue, 90 percent more likely to join a Jewish community center and twice as likely to give $100 or more to their local federation than Jewish adults who never went to camp. Whether they went to water ski or to deepen their practice of Shabbat.

Dor L’dor Maccabee Grant

This grant covers 50 percent of a first-time camper’s tuition for the Maccabee session, regardless the camper’s ability to pay. Set for June 29 through July 6, the Maccabee session is for up to 150 campers entering second through fifth grades in fall 2009. Each child qualifying for Dor L’dor receives more than $460 toward this week.

Inspired by the philanthropist Harold Grinspoon, who saw to it that thousands of kids in Western Massachusetts got a Jewish overnight summer camp experience, Dor L’dor is funded entirely by the B’nai B’rith Men’s Camp Association, a 100-member strong non-profit supporting BB Camp since 1931. Board member Irv Potter realized Grinspoon’s vision could benefit West Coast campers, too, and in 2006 made it happen.

“Irv really understands the importance of Jewish camping, and he’s passionate about BB Camp,” said Michelle Koplan, BB Camp’s executive director.

In 2008, the BBMCA provided more than $140,000 to fund both Dor L’dor Maccabee and 3-Week Session Grants. Last year alone, the grants helped get 184 kids to BB Camp.

Dor L’dor 3-Week Session Grant

While the Maccabee Grant is for any first-time camper for the one-week overnight session, the Dor L’dor 3-Week Session Grant targets any Jewish BB Camp newbie to either of the camp’s three-week sessions. This summer’s are July 9-28 and July 30-Aug. 18.

And the money is big: All eligible first-time Jewish campers in fourth through 11th grades (by fall 2009) receive $1,000 toward their session fee. Prices vary with a camper’s age. For example, an incoming fourth-grader’s session costs $1,965. The Dor L’dor 3-Week Session Grant, thus, covers more than half. An 11th-grader’s session fee is $2,110. Clearly, the cost savings are tremendous in either case.

Funding for the Dor L’dor 3-Week Session Grant is provided by the BBMCA and its members, with help from the Foundation for Jewish Camping, a New York-based non-profit that supports Jewish camping.

JWest Grant

This is BB Camp’s second year offering this whopper of an opportunity to its new campers. Any middle schooler regardless of ability to pay receives $1,800 toward a three-week session. And any camper who benefited from the JWest Grant last year gets $1,000 toward this summer’s BB Camp tuition.

In the philanthropic spirit of Grinspoon, Jim Joseph left behind a fortune targeted at Jewish kids who’d never attended a Jewish camp. His San Francisco-based Shimon Ben Joseph Foundation—commonly known as the Jim Joseph Foundation—helps entering sixth- through eighth-graders living in Washington, Oregon and California attend a Jewish camp.

“Some families may feel, especially this year, that BB Camp is out of reach,” Koplan said. “Our rich grants aren’t on shaky ground like so many portfolios; we guarantee the ability to help hundreds of kids get to camp for the experience of a lifetime.” New: Year-Round JWest Grant

Indeed, to keep that Jewish camp feeling going through every season, JWest granted BB Camp $25,000 for year-round programming. The money is for sixth- through eighth-graders living on the West Coast, whether they were previous recipients of the $1,800 JWest Grant or not.

“The hope,” Koplan said in announcing this first-time boon, “is that these kids will attend BB Camp again and again and bring friends and stay connected Jewishly throughout the year.”

Charged with spending this money the best way possible is BB Camp Associate Director Rachel Rothstein. She’s organizing up and down the West Coast overnights, Shabbat dinners and pizza party reunions in private homes and afternoons filled with activities reminiscent of camp—swimming, singing, s’mores.

“This way they get to relive their camp traditions and connect with friends made at camp,” Rothstein said. “Jewish camps are what turn Jewish kids into Jewish adults and keeps the community Jewishly healthy.”

For a grant, go to www.bbcamp.org and register for camp. Then apply for the grants for which you’re eligible. For questions, contact registrar Allison Kaufman at 503-535-3415.