Over 900 Jewish camp professionals, lay leaders, advocates, and friends
set to attend Leaders Assembly in Chicago

CHICAGO — Over 900 attendees, from Jewish camp professionals to lay leaders to a delegation from Israel, will gather in Chicago on December 9th to 11th, 2024 to shape the future of Jewish camp at Foundation for Jewish Camp’s (FJC’s) biennial Leaders Assembly — part of The Jewish Camp Summit that FJC is co-hosting with JCamp180.

Leaders Assembly will share new research affirming camps’ strong recovery from the COVID pandemic and recent success in helping young Jews feel more deeply connected to their identity at a time of rising antisemitism. 

“We’re thrilled to welcome a record-breaking number of participants to our 10th biennial Leaders Assembly, all of whom recognize how Jewish camp helps young people develop their character and explore their Jewish identity,” said Jeremy J. Fingerman, CEO of Foundation for Jewish Camp. “With over 140 expert speakers, dozens of events, and three plenaries, Leaders Assembly will celebrate and elevate camp’s integral role in transforming the lives of young people.”

The three plenaries will focus on Scaling Belonging, Scaling Leadership, and Scaling Jewish Joy & Identity. Featured speakers include American Jewish Committee CEO Ted Deutch; The Wexner Foundation President Rabbi B. Elka Abrahamson; President and CEO of the Jewish Federations of North America Eric Fingerhut; Co-Founder of Character Strong Houston Kraft; Program Director, Jewish Community & Israel at Crown Family Philanthropies Wendy Newberger; workplace strategist, author, and podcast host Erica Keswin; Chair of the Board of Trustees Jewish Federations of North America and immediate past Board Chair of Foundation for Jewish Camp Julie B. Platt; and actor, advocate, and podcast host Jonah Platt.

“Jewish camp is the key to the Jewish future — from building positive Jewish identity to helping young Jews unplug and be present in a connected community. Among Jews who go on to become communal leaders, camp is the #1 experience they tend to have in common,” said Jamie Simon, FJC’s Chief Program and Strategy Officer. “We’re excited to bring together a diverse, talented group of leaders to delve into themes at the center of our field.”

Reflecting Jewish camp’s dual role as a place to have fun and learn, Leaders Assembly 2024 will also offer opportunities to engage in art, music, improv, sports, and more, as well as expert-led sessions on topics spanning from youth development to inclusion to Israel, such as: 

• “Making More Mensches: The Mechanics of Character Development at Jewish Summer Camp”
• “Building Connections Between North American & Israeli Staff”
• “Making Camp Accessible for Low to Moderate Income, Unaffiliated Families”
• “Cabins, Carbon, and Climate Change: Reimagining the Camp Footprint”
• “Life after Camp: Expanding Horizons for Adults with Disabilities”

FJC’s Leaders Assembly 2024 is made possible thanks to the generosity and support of lead sponsors Crown Family Philanthropies and The Jim Joseph Foundation. 

Media interested in covering and attending any portion of Leaders Assembly can contact Alex Goldstein at agoldstein@ninetywest.com for more information about the Assembly agenda and logistics. 

About Foundation for Jewish Camp 

FJC advocates for over 300 day and overnight camps that provide nearly 190,000 campers and counselors each summer with a meaningful, personal, and lifelong connection to Judaism. FJC is the only public 501(c)(3) charitable organization solely focused on Jewish camp. jewishcamp.org

Media Contact
agoldstein@ninetywest.com for Foundation for Jewish Camp

NEW YORK — New research by Rosov Consulting, sponsored by The Jim Joseph Foundation, reaffirms that Jewish camp is a “Powerful Jewish Learning Experience” that promotes community and individual growth. The report is the latest evidence showing how Foundation for Jewish Camp and its network of over 300 day and overnight camps transform the lives of young Jews by helping them grow and explore their identity. 

Through a series of virtual focus groups, researchers interviewed 48 people between the ages of 25 and 35 who participated in some combination of Jewish camp, youth groups, campus life, and post-grad community. Nearly two-thirds of study participants attended camp at some point. Their reflections converged around the many life-long benefits of the Jewish camp experience, such as:

• Jewish Learning 
  •  “I feel like there’s a lot of prayers that I know in my core because of camp and not necessarily because of Hebrew school and Sunday school.”
• L’Dor Va-Dor 
  • “All of the camp songs that you’d sing on Shabbat… you take with you for the rest of your life. And I have a son who goes to Jewish preschool now and he is singing these songs, and we sing them together in the car…”
• Independence, Joy, and Friendship 
  • “I gained the value of joyous Judaism, social connections… just having a community of people that you get to just be with, [is] just amazing.”
• Connecting to Jewish Identity 
  • “Camp really helped me understand the importance of Jewish community and continuing involvement with the Jewish community after my bat mitzvah. If it weren’t for camp, I would not have done Hillel in college. I would not have joined Moishe house.”
  • “I really feel connected to my summer camp. I think it has given me the foundation to feel at home in a lot of different Jewish spaces.”

“50 years ago, I first attended Camp Ramah in Wisconsin, and it changed my life. It’s gratifying to hear so many participants in this new study detail how it changed theirs,” said Jeremy J. Fingerman, CEO of Foundation for Jewish Camp. “We’re grateful to The Jim Joseph Foundation for all of their support, and to Rosov Consulting for illuminating the long-lasting, wide-reaching benefits of Jewish camp.”

“These are very positive outcomes that show how five organizations are integral in creating a vibrant Jewish communal ecosystem throughout key life stages for the young Jews they serve,” wrote Stacie Cherner, Director of Research and Learning at the Jim Joseph Foundation, in an opinion piece for eJewishPhilanthropy. “The Jim Joseph Foundation is eager to engage in more cross-portfolio evaluations to build our base of knowledge and understanding about shared outcomes across the field.”

The study zeroed in on common outcomes among Jewish experiences from camp to college and beyond, such as helping young people find and become part of the Jewish community, achieve personal growth, and form deep and lasting friendships. At the same time, the study highlighted the opportunity for exploration as a particularly strong element of the camp experience.

“Camp, as already noted, is a place to stretch, to experiment and to explore new experiences, in Jewish and personal terms. This is the theme to which alumni consistently returned most often when talking about camp,” said Rosov Consulting in the study. “They recollect experiencing joy and Jewish learning, and they celebrated the friendships formed, but it was the personal growth they experienced thanks to being given the space to explore that exceeded all other outcomes.”

Belonging, leadership, joy, and identity — four of the core building blocks highlighted in the new study — will be central themes at FJC’s 2024 Leaders Assembly, which will convene over 800 Jewish camp leaders and advocates from around the world on December 9th to December 11th in Chicago. Rosov Consulting will be present to share more detailed findings from this study.

About Foundation for Jewish Camp 

FJC advocates for over 300 day and overnight camps that provide nearly 180,000 campers and counselors each summer with a meaningful, personal, and lifelong connection to Judaism. FJC is the only public 501(c)(3) charitable organization solely focused on Jewish camp. jewishcamp.org

Media Contact
agoldstein@ninetywest.com for Foundation for Jewish Camp

About The Jim Joseph Foundation

The Shimon Ben Joseph Foundation, commonly known as the Jim Joseph Foundation, (the Foundation), is committed to the legacy of its founder, Jim Joseph, z”l. The Foundation was established in 2006 as a private foundation, classified legally as a California Public Benefit Corporation. The Foundation is devoted exclusively to supporting Jewish education of youth and young adults in the United States.

About Rosov Consulting

Founded in 2008, Rosov Consulting is a professional services firm helping foundations, philanthropists, and nonprofits in the Jewish communal sector meet their goals, assess progress, and make well- informed decisions to enhance impact. Working at the nexus of the funder and grantee relationship, our expertise includes evaluation and applied research, strategy development, launching new philanthropic initiatives, and systems coaching. We utilize our range of life experiences and knowledge to best serve our clients.