In our kids' global Jewish world, Jewish summer camps are primary building blocks for Jewish identity. The “magic” of Jewish camp is undeniable, whether it happens at Camp Barney in Cleveland, Georgia or in Minsk, Belarus.

In Minsk, however, most campers have a lot of Jewish catching up to do. They live in a part of the former Soviet Union where expressing one's Jewish identity can still be dangerous, and where access to Jewish learning has been denied for decades. For these campers, the immersive experience of overnight camp is literally life changing. In the wooded setting of camp, summer programs in the former Soviet Union (FSU) use arts, sports and song to teach the very fundamentals of Jewish worship and ritual.

Here, camp is not just for children and teens. The Joint Distribution Committee (JDC) which is funded through our Federation “core” dollars, also runs overnight family camps, helping to strengthen an entire generation. This summer there will be four sessions of JDC camp. Mazel Tov and Family Camps are devoted to the themes of volunteering and community development. An active Jewish Teen Festival is devoted to the arts in Judaism. As one camp counselor said “At the beginning of each camp season I ask myself, ‘Why?’ I believe that my mission is to help Jewish youth find their own way to a conscious Jewish life.”

Davida Kutscher, who directs summer camps in Minsk reports, “This year the program coordinators invited leaders from other regions in an attempt to recruit more campers coming for the first time. Our camp programs really seek to provide opportunities for Jewish self-discovery and personal growth.” In Georgia or in Minsk, Federation support for Jewish camping is a way to ensure that kids all over the world are developing strong Jewish identities and are strengthening the global Jewish community.