July 2nd – Growing & Learning at Every Age

One of the most special things about returning to camp summer after summer (this is my 10th year!) is watching the tremendous growth that happens throughout the camp lifecycle. Not only is it incredible seeing the confidence campers gain in a few short weeks, but year to year.

Perhaps the most significant growth is the leap between camper to staff. Our LIT and CIT programs prepare these young adults for the transition, but the investment in them continues into their staff journey through the agency’s commitment to staff development.

Throughout the summer, counselors get paired with a mentor for ongoing, real-time coaching. They also engage in weekly staff development lunches to help translate all of the things they are learning working at camp to marketable career skills.

This week, I had the pleasure of co-leading the first round of these staff development lunches. The highlight of these lunches stretched beyond the content of the session itself. What stands out to me is the counselor’s answers to the icebreaker question, “What has made you smile or laugh in the past 24 hours?”

Their answers illuminated the incredible bonds forming between campers and staff in just the first week of the session. If these small glimpses into cabin life are an indication of the larger impact the counselors make, I know your camper will come home with special memories and Jewish role models they’ll remember for years to come.

Deborah Silver

Summer Programming Associate

June 30th – Shabbat Shalom!

In this week’s Torah portion, mayim, the Hebrew word for water is mentioned 22 times.  There is the commandment to mix water with the ashes of a red cow for purification, the well which provided the Israelites with water disappears when Miriam dies, and Moses strikes the rock in anger to bring forth water. What lessons can we learn from this “water narrative” that are relative to camp?

The opportunity to be outside in nature is something we often take for granted at camp. As campers splash in the lake, take care of the animals at the farm, and sit by the stream, there are ample opportunities to explore and appreciate the nature around us. Seeing a colorful sunset, an occasional rainbow and star gazing with friends are important components of a Capital Camps’ summer.    

This past week the wildfires in Canada necessitated increased indoor programing. This change taught us two important lessons. First, it helped increase our appreciation of nature.  Losing some precious time outside reminded us how much we enjoy all that this beautiful campus has to offer.  This week was also filled with lessons about flexibility, creativity, and resilience.

Between an impromptu song session with our Benjamin campers, a multi-village Bingo game with camp swag for prizes, and even a Kaufmann Village rock concert including a visit from “Taylor Swift”, our campers and staff engaged in innovative and fun activities.

As we conclude our first week at camp, we are looking forward to seeing what Reich Village prepared during their Shabbat prep time.  We will sing, dance, pray and reflect on the week. Our CITs will return from their incredible Richmond Community Service trip in time to help us welcome in the Sabbath, while our LITs will have their own camp-style Shabbat in Israel.

We entered camp as individuals and by the end of the week have become a Kehillah, or community.  We can’t wait to taste the challah made by some of our Benjamin campers! We are grateful for the natural beauty of camp and grateful to be together.    

Shabbat Shalom!

Lisa Handelman

Camp Director

June 29th – Forming Community Through Sports

Sports are one of the many ways campers come together every day at camp. They are encouraged, welcomed, and sometimes challenged outside of their comfort zone. Regardless of the competitive outcome, I love seeing campers leave their sport laughing with a bunch of new familiar faces who help this place feel even more like home. Just yesterday during chug, I watched a rousing game of soccer with Benjamin and Reich campers. Watching campers of mixed ages branch out of their typical friend groups and unite them through the spirit of friendly competition is one of the things that make camp special. 

Each week, campers in Rookie and Benjamin Village have the chance to participate in some of the different sports we offer at camp. Campers in Reich, Kaufmann, and Macks Villages choose what they would like to participate in each week. The sports we have offered so far include soccer, basketball, tennis, Zumba, volleyball, archery, lacrosse, and 9 Square in the Air.

Through these activities, they are developing physical skills, making new friends, learning to work together, playing fairly, and trying new things. I have truly enjoyed watching your campers experience success and connection through sports this week. It’s so much more than exercise! 

Jess Dvorak

Sports Coordinator

June 27th – What you may hear from the first few days of camp

A message from your first session Yoetzot, Adina, Caryn, Lauren, Michelle, & Tracy:

What is my child doing now? Do they like the food? Are they making friends? How are they at bedtime? Is anyone comforting them if they feel homesick? Are they okay??? These are all questions that run through our minds, as parents and caregivers, when we send our most precious people off to camp. And not knowing the answers is so very, very difficult.  

We tell the campers regularly that we grow as individuals when we permit ourselves to feel “comfortably uncomfortable”. This is how we develop resilience – we get through difficult moments and can look back on them from the other side, recognize how we handled the moments, what worked and what didn’t work as well.

One strategy that many campers use to release worries is through writing letters home. They may use letter writing similarly to a journal or diary, pouring out their thoughts and feelings on paper during a quiet time of the day, when they may be less busy and thus thinking more of home. And then they move on and return to having fun.

If you receive a homesick or sad letter from your camper, please know that this is a moment, and that the moment has long passed by the time you receive the letter. If your camper was unhappy for more time than not, the camper care team (yoetzot) would have already reached out to share and brainstorm with you. Photographs are also just a moment in time. Don’t be concerned if your child was not in pictures (& we’re trying really hard to make sure that we get everyone in pictures) And if you see them sitting on the sidelines, please presume positive intent – they may have been caught at the moment they were taking a water break or waiting for their turn in a game!

Days at camp can feel loooong, and our campers are busy! While we encourage letter writing, no news is good news! Additionally, mail delivery through Waynesboro can be slow. This small-town post office is slammed every summer when the local population explodes due to all of our campers. It’s likely that letters from your camper may take 3-4 days to reach you. So by the time you receive a sad or homesick letter, your child moved on days earlier!

When you email or write your camper, let them know that you are proud of them for trying new things, collaborating with friends, facing challenges, and learning how to resolve conflicts when they arise. Remind them that they’ve handled difficult moments in the past & that these situations will build grit for facing future adversity. It’s not just about deep content – short, frequent emails can sometimes be more helpful than occasional long ones. 

Also, please do not share about how dearly you miss them, how quiet the house is without them, or how the family pet is sleeping by the door or in their bed, waiting for them to return home!! Be your child’s cheerleader, morale booster, hope builder, & dream partner.

We are delighted to meet and get to know your children. Thank you for entrusting them to our care!

June 26th – The Adventure Begins!

Wow! WHAT A DAY!

We have been counting the days since last summer to be back at our second home. As our Leaders in Training departed for Israel, we welcomed new and returning campers from as far as Virginia Beach, Florida and Israel. 

They were greeted by an amazing group of staff who have been training for this day for two weeks and couldn’t wait to meet their campers. 

After time in our villages, unpacking, and classic chicken nuggets for dinner, we joined together in the Amphitheater to learn our new song of the summer “Where the Adventure Begins”! We ended the evening with the Shehecheyanu prayer said when something new is beginning and with one arm around the other, we sang our nightly closing song, Hashkiveinu. 

We hope you are all basking in the glow of your happy campers here at Capital Camps and stay tuned for pictures and more information about the best summer yet.

Melissa Grossman

Assistant Camp Director

Welcoming in Shabbat & The Summer

Kavanah is the Hebrew word for intention and is often juxtaposed with Keva or the idea of routine. Jewish tradition teaches the value of balancing both in prayer and when performing mitzvot (good deeds). Throughout staff training we are likewise focused on both Keva and Kavnanah. 

At the start of staff training, we brought together our home-grown returning staff, CIT graduates, new domestic staff, and a strong team of international staff.  This group of diverse individuals learn the necessary skills so that our campers can safely experience all camp has to offer from the pool to the lake, from our sports fields to our outdoor adventure course.  Our counselors also spent time learning about group dynamics, behavioral management, and child development.  As this group of committed individuals grew and learned, they also created a strong camp community.  Like our campers, our staff first met their bunkmates, meeting nightly for cabin time activities.  They next formed village-wide communities as they spent time learning with their Village Leader.  And this Shabbat they will sing and dance as a full staff community.

Bahya Ibn Pakudah, an 11th-century philosopher, is believed to have said, “Prayer without kavanah is like a body without a soul.” Likewise, the intentionality that is woven into staff week is the necessary ingredient to create a summer full of meaningful camp moments. Our staff read all the About Me (completed by campers) and About My Camper (completed by parents) forms to gain an understanding of each of their campers as individuals. They planned value-based programs that will explore curiosity, kindness, justice, and decency. We spent time talking about challenging subjects like anti-Semitism, mental health, and the huge responsibility of taking care of children. Our staff learned about themselves as leaders and are well-prepared to help our campers grow as individuals and build supportive communities.        

In this week’s Torah portion, Korach and his followers accuse Moses and Aaron of taking power and prestige for themselves at the expense of the community. At camp this past week, we did the opposite: we empowered our staff as individuals and they in turn created a strong, positive community. We can’t wait for this special group of knowledgeable and compassionate staff to start working with our campers.

Shabbat Shalom,

Lisa Handelman

Camp Director

2023 Health Information

Capital Camps Families, 

This letter shares our 2023 COVID policies for Capital Camps as of June 6th, 2023. 

Our goal, as always, is to provide a healthy and safe camp experience. Additionally, we want to run camp this summer with as little disruption due to COVID as possible. We also know that all policies and procedures may change as conditions evolve.  

Our professional staff, medical committee, and onsite medical team have been working together to craft a policy that is medically sound and works for our residential camp setting.  

Camp is a different environment than home and school. We are a close community of approximately 600 people at a time and campers live in close quarters in bunks. We have campers and staff with varied health needs and challenges. For this reason, we continue to strongly recommend the initial COVID vaccination series and one bivalent booster prior to camp.  

Once we are at camp, and because COVID is no longer as serious a threat as it once was, we want our campers and staff to be able to fully enjoy camp and for COVID to not be a part of our daily experience. We are asking all campers to rapid test within 24 hours prior to camp arrival so that we don’t have COVID positive campers coming to camp. Some campers and families may wish, in addition to this requirement, to start testing in advance of the 24 hours to identify COVID sooner. This year, we have eliminated the step of uploading your test results prior to arrival. Should your camper test positive, please notify Camp. After that, we will not be testing (except as noted below) or masking at camp. Note: All summer staff will participate in COVID testing during Staff Training in advance of camper arrival.  

For all sorts of illnesses, our general approach will be to continue to follow our established criteria for when campers and staff need to be admitted (i.e., stay overnight) into our health center (the MIRP). Generally, this would be when they have a fever, significant respiratory symptoms, or are experiencing diarrhea or vomiting. As we have always done in the past, if a camper is admitted into the MIRP and stays overnight, we inform the parents. When these symptoms resolve, the camper returns to the camp program. If apparent symptoms and clinical judgment dictate that a COVID test is warranted to choose a treatment course, medical staff will perform the test and proceed accordingly.  

This approach allows our medical staff to treat campers based on current and best medical practices. It also reduces campers’ anxiety about whether to be tested or whether someone they know has COVID. If you are healthy enough and able to participate in camp, then you can. If you are not well enough to participate, we will do what we have done in the past for campers who are ill.  

If your camper tests positive during their summer session, Camp will reach out to discuss the isolation plan. Worth noting, while the remainder of the cabin will be continually monitored for symptoms, tests will only be administered to apparent symptomatic campers based on clinical judgment.  

Returning to our prior practices, Camp will reach out only to camper families with a sick child to discuss their health plan. As they say, no news is good news. 

We are looking forward to a joyous summer at camp – filled with friends, laughter, learning and fun!  

,כל טוב (all the best) 

Havi Goldscher, CEO 

Lisa Handelman, Camp Director 

May Camp Newsletter

From Lisa, our Camp Director…

“All my bags are packed and I am ready to go”, the song written by John Denver, can be heard on the last night of camp as candles float in the lake. In May, this song takes on a new meaning as we pack up our bags to head to camp. Our Dining Staff have already begun arriving at camp. In 26 days, our Ropes Course and Lifeguard Staff will arrive to begin their training. And in just 34 days, we will have our full summer team together to kick off staff week. Every summer is special in its own way and Summer 2023 is positioned to be a summer full of celebrations.   

This year we are celebrating our 36th (double chai) Anniversary! Our tagline “Individual Growth, Collective Future” encapsulates the impact on each person who comes to camp and how our work together will impact the Jewish community of tomorrow. At our recent summer Leadership Team gathering, we discussed the many skills learned at camp including, independence, responsibility, collaboration, and increased confidence. Together we build strong communities where each individual’s uniqueness shapes the communal experience.

This summer we will also be celebrating Israel at 75.  A connection to Israel is strongly embedded in daily life at camp.   The cabins in Benjamin are named for Israeli cities, Reich cabins are named for Israeli mountains, and Kaufmann cabins are named for Israeli Kibbutzim.  Part of our Shabbat experience at Camp includes Rikkud, Israeli dancing. We sing the Israeli national anthem, Hatikvah, every morning at B’yachad (our daily gathering at the flagpoles).  Talented Israeli staff join us each summer.  And our LITs will be traveling to Israel! It’s an amazing experience for each individual going and an opportunity for our leaders-in-training to return with programming ideas that will positively impact all of camp.

We are very excited about all the new things planned for summer 2023. From the highest point up in Kaufmann Village all the way down to the lake, there are new structures and new elements.  We will be adding a new sport to our sports rotation and a new element hanging on our static tower on the Ropes Course. Our CITs are poised to create a new Saturday afternoon tradition and our Kaufmann campers will once again be traveling off-camp for an outdoor adventure.  As part of our 36th anniversary celebration, we have invited alumni song leaders to join us.  We have enhancements planned for our staff including additions to our staff lounge and increased mentoring support. 

The Capital Camps team and I have the greatest job ever.  Every summer we get to help our campers and staff grow as individuals.  We are in the business of Jewish identity building.  We focus on Derech Eretz, commonly translated as “the way of the work”.  Derech Eretz is the code of behavior that includes integrity, kindness, and compassion.    And we get to do this in fun and joyful ways and by creating meaningful challenges and shared experiences.  We’re packing our bags in anticipation of all Summer 2023 will offer.  We can’t wait to start celebrating!

Home Hospitality – Supporting our Staff

We need your help and involvement in making our Home Hospitality program a success. This program not only offers us the opportunity to demonstrate our Jewish values and shows our appreciation for our hardworking counselors, but also enables us to meet legal requirements connected with hiring international staff.  

The majority of these individuals come to camp on J-1 visas, which requires cross-cultural exchange elements.  Our summer staff Engagement Coordinator creates events throughout the summer to intentionally integrate our international and domestic staff so both groups can learn from one another. Home hospitality, an opportunity for our international staff to stay with a family before camp, during intersession, and on days-off during the summer is another important component of this program. The Department of State provides examples of appropriate exchange activities which can include: opportunities to learn about American culture, history, philanthropy, volunteerism, sports, recreation, etc. Conversations about all of these topics happen naturally when families invite international staff into their homes. 

Those of us who have participated in Home Hospitality for Capital Camps international staff can attest that this is a relatively easy mitzvah to perform. 

  • Our staff are generally looking for a welcoming place to rest on their time off. 
  • Most families offer Home Hospitality to two or four guests, but some can accommodate more. 
  • A pullout couch or air mattresses are fine and some welcome the opportunity to do laundry. 
  • These independent and self-reliant young adults appreciate a ride to the Metro so they can explore the museums in DC or being dropped off at a nearby shopping mall. 
  • Sharing a meal or two together is a nice addition and if staff is staying with you on a day-off during the work week, there is no expectation to alter your regular work routine. 

I fondly remember a group of Israeli staff who stayed with us, walking to and from the Metro from our house and surprised us by making us shakshuka in the morning before they left.    

Home Hospitality is also a powerful way to demonstrate kindness and live our Jewish values. Abraham and Sarah provide us with inspiration for hakhnasat orkehim/hospitality to guests.  Abraham didn’t wait. He rushed to greet visitors and made sure they were comfortable and satiated. Several of our holidays also stress the important of inviting others into our homes.  We begin the Passover Seder welcoming anyone who is hungry. During Sukkot some ceremonially welcome ushpizin (Aramaic for guests) into their sukkah by inviting Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, Joseph, Moses, Aaron, and Da. Each of these biblical leaders were uprooted and strangers in new lands. And I know my own Shabbat table is enriched when we have guests join us for Friday night dinner.  

We encourage everyone who is able to get involved with Home Hospitality this summer. Being a welcoming and inclusive community is one of the core values of Capital Camps. Please join us by completing this form to let us know how you can be involved.  

Thanks in advance,

Lisa Handelman 

Camp Director

April Newsletter

From Lisa, our Camp Director…

I spent this year’s Passover holiday in Krakow, Poland. It was an emotional rollercoaster to participate in a vibrant, engaging Passover Seder in a country where 90% of Jews were murdered during the Holocaust.  The day before Seder, my husband and I visited Auschwitz-Birkenau, the largest of the Nazi concentration and extermination camps. The next day we sat among Israelis, Americans, Germans, and Poles to recite the familiar words from the Haggadah.  We had come to Poland to visit our youngest daughter Dalia, who was both a camper and staff member at Capital Camps, including helping to lead the LIT Israel trip last summer. She is spending the year working at the Krakow JCC. 

On one hand, our visit was filled with learning about unimaginable sorrows as we toured the historical Jewish areas, heard stories about the Jewish ghetto, and stood among the “Empty Chairs of Krakow” where each chair represents a thousand lives lost.  On the other hand, the trip filled us with a strong sense of Jewish identity and pride.  In addition to its mission to rebuild Jewish life in Krakow, the JCC is actively supporting those fleeing the war in Ukraine.  My Dad was born in Germany, was a refugee and then a soldier in the USA and now his youngest of six grandchildren is helping Ukrainian refugees.

Unexpectedly I found a connection between the Israeli Rabbi who led Seder, our guide for the Jewish history walking tour, and myself as Camp Director.  We all believe strongly in the power of youth to make this world a better place.  During the Seder, Rabbi Avi shared two stories that resonated with me.  First of all, he reframed the account of Rabbi Eliezer, Rabbi Joshua, Rabbi Elazar ben Azariah, Rabbi Akiba, and Rabbi Tarfon, who were sitting at a Seder in B’nai Brock. All night long, they told the story of the Exodus from Egypt until their students came and said to them: “Our teachers, dawn has broken, it is time to say the Morning Prayer!”  Rabbi Avi suggested that these rabbis, living under the Roman oppression of the second century, needed to see the passion of youth to stop telling stories from the past and move on to the future. 

Rabbi Avi also shared a new perspective on the message of the four sons or four children; the wise, the wicked, the simple, and the one who doesn’t know to ask.  Rabbi Avi asked the assembled group to rank the children from most to least important.  After a lively debate, he suggested that the child who doesn’t know how to ask is the most important.  This child is there to remind us not to remain quiet.  We need to teach our children to ask questions and to challenge what we say and do.  It was especially poignant to be discussing the importance of not being silent in a country that witnessed the horrors of the holocaust. It is important to teach our children to speak up and speak out against injustice.     

Our non-Jewish tour guide, Big Tom, shared several stories that highlighted the complexity of human nature: wicked individuals who choose to save one life and a Jewish child who escaped the Krakow ghetto but led a questionable moral life as an adult. He shared openly about the persecution of Polish political prisoners but was careful to remind everyone how much harder it was for the Jews. Yes, there were righteous gentiles like Oskar Schindler, whose factory was a few blocks away from where the tour ended, but there was also deep anti-Semitism that continued even after the war. Big Tom explained that there was a time where the full complexity of the stories could not be honestly told.  He shared that today children, his children, and others, are learning the more nuanced truth and this gives him hope for the future.   

Every summer at camp, we get to experience the joy of Jewish community through the eyes of our campers.  We provide support as they discover their voice, get pushed a little bit out of their comfort zone, and learn how to live respectfully with others. Jewish identity is built during the high-energy excitement of Friday night song sessions. And in more subdued moments, we challenge campers to think about Jewish values and their relationship to Israel. Dalia credits Camp with giving her a strong sense of Jewish pride along with the reliance, independence, and confidence to move to Poland for a year.  She is using the skills she learned at Camp to help build a Jewish future and to respond to the current refugee crisis.  I can’t wait to see how the next generation of campers will do their part for tikkun olam, as they too take what they learn at camp to help repair the world.