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Rebecca Starr’s piece in eJewishPhilanthropy (“The covenant of overnight Jewish summer camp is broken, and it must be restored,” Aug. 18) is right to point out that parents today expect more regular communication from their kids’ summer camps. 

I’m the senior director of learning and research at the Foundation for Jewish Camp (FJC), and this article struck a personal chord. I was curious and scoured the data FJC collected from 1,500 parents across 70 Jewish overnight camps this summer. The results are eye-opening. 

One in 10 parents told us they wanted daily updates about their child; another third wants news about their child every two or three days. Only 20% of parents expressed comfort with hearing about their kids less often than once a week. Parents told us they value photos, short videos, end-of-day notes from counselors and regular director messages about camp life. 

As one respondent put it: “Loved the director blogs. Read them every night. The Facebook and Instagram posts made me wish I was at camp. I do wish more photos were posted daily.” 

Another family said: “This is our fourth summer and this was, by far, the best summer from a communications standpoint! From the daily blogs to the weekly Shabbat emails — and the additional updates about Israel — it was all so thoughtfully done.” 

Every piece of communication from camp is a window into the magical summer that kids are having. For many parents, it provides reassurance that their kid is having a good time, allowing them to share in the joy of Shabbat services, lakeside adventures, or dance parties. 

At other times, however, an isolated photo, out of context, can raise the question, “Is my kid having fun?” The answer is almost always yes; and yet parents can become stressed when they engage in forensic analysis, looking at an isolated snapshot for hints about their child.

In many ways, the trust and partnership between parents and camps is thriving. Nearly 90% of parents rate camps as excellent or good in responsiveness, leadership, and health and safety. Jewish camps and their leadership continue to earn parents’ trust, even amid rising expectations.  

But a desire for increased communication is leading camps to hire staff dedicated solely to parent outreach. Some directors spend much of their time in the office responding to parents. These resources could instead be allocated to the in-the-moment experience of camp itself.

Parents’ desire comes from a deep place of care for their children, and understandable anxiety amid rising antisemitism, ongoing war and the devastating floods that impacted camps in Texas. In such a climate, it is natural that parents seek more frequent updates.

Yet the heart of camp is lived in real time, not in sporadic images. The most important growth often happens between the posts: during cleanup after a muddy hike, at a late-night conversation in the bunk, or in the moment a new friendship is born. A balanced approach recognizes that much of the magic happens off camera, while keeping families informed and in the loop.

Just as children thrive when they unplug at camp, parents can thrive when they unplug from daily updates about them. 

Camp is meant to build independence — not just for kids, but for families. Ninety five percent of families report that having their child unplug is a very important purpose of camp. The irony here is that as children learn independence at camp, many parents have developed a dependence on constant updates. For parents, camp can be a meaningful opportunity to cultivate confidence in their children’s independence, strengthening the autonomy muscles of both kids and their loving caregivers. 

Sending children to summer camp is part of intentional Jewish parenting. Perhaps the greatest gift we can offer families is not only keeping children safe and thriving at camp but also giving parents’ permission and encouragement to step back, breathe and let camp work its magic. This is the covenant of camp.

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Nila Rosen is the senior director of learning and research of the Foundation for Jewish Camp.

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In a world that often prizes individuality over interdependence, Jewish camp remains a sacred space where young people live in community, care for one another and see that their actions matter. And this summer, the power of that community came into sharp focus: With an estimated 200,000 young people not only experiencing the joy and belonging of Jewish camp but learning what it means to show up for each other, we saw the positive feedback loop of Jewish camp in action more clearly than ever. 

As camps opened in June, war broke out between Israel and Iran. Teen trips were rerouted, and hundreds of Israeli shlichim (emissaries) were suddenly unable to travel as scheduled. Just as summer was beginning, camps across North America faced immediate staffing shortages and logistical disruption.

In response, Foundation for Jewish Camp launched an emergency campaign to help camps adapt. Within 72 hours, more than 1,400 people — from teens to retirees, from Orthodox Jews to people who aren’t Jewish at all — stepped up to help. They offered to volunteer or work at any camp that needed them, not just their own. That’s a big deal for alums loyal to their own camps. 

Beyond staffing, FJC also raised more than $2 million so that Jewish camps could build meaningful alternatives to canceled Israel trips for teens this summer. Thanks to that funding, Camp Yavneh in New Hampshire designed an alternate leadership capstone experience at camp; Camp Wise, based in Cleveland, pivoted to a trip to Europe that included a stop at Camp Szarvas, an international Jewish camp in Hungary. Others traveled to Argentina or Costa Rica.

The willingness to volunteer and say Put me in, coach, I can help — the optimism to find meaning in new plans when old ones get scrapped — these are powerful messages to campers. They show rather than tell what it means to be part of a resilient, caring community, and what it looks like to adapt in a world where young people are constantly confronting uncertainty. This kind of response is only possible because these values are woven into the camp experience. 

Camp cultivates individual leadership and communal responsibility. Whether it’s cleaning the bunk as part of daily nikayon time or helping to lead Shabbat services, campers take on ownership. Actions as small as cleaning and stacking your plates with your bunkmates send a big message about responsibility and being part of a broader ecosystem. Campers are also encouraged to explore and trusted to lead — just ask the 10-year-olds who host podcasts and radio shows broadcast to their camp communities.

All of this builds the skills campers need to better their own communities: imagination, compassion and teamwork. Even during fierce Maccabiah competitions, campers learn to cheer on their own team but also others. Camp helps young people dial into their emotions, while also instilling the maturity to recognize that at the end of the day, we should all support one another.

Later in the summer, when devastating floods hit camps in Texas, the same ethic we saw during the war resurfaced. Though the affected camps weren’t Jewish, our network responded quickly, promoting fundraising efforts and offering support. The lesson was loud and clear: Caring for others is part of who we are — even when it’s not our immediate circle or no one asks us to.

The people who stepped up and reached out to help this summer are products of this ethos of Jewish camp. Jewish communities are, in a way, a product of Jewish camp as well: Data from Leading Edge suggests that Jewish camp is where many Jewish professionals get their start, with camp alums more connected to their community as adults and more likely to get involved.

I’m living proof of that impact. My journey started as a Jewish camper, nervous and excited, clutching my duffel bag full of bug spray and possibility. Over the years, I went from camper to counselor, from camp director to the newly appointed CEO of Foundation for Jewish Camp.

For me, camp was the first place I felt a deep sense of belonging, where my Jewishness was celebrated through music, ritual, values and community. It was a stark contrast from my childhood growing up as the only Jewish kid in my class. And I’m not alone: A recent study from Stanford University and BeWell found that summer camp is the No. 1 community space where Jewish teens feel comfortable being their true selves.

Camp taught me how to lead, how to listen, how to parent and how to love Jewish life. As I transitioned from counselor to professional to executive leadership, I saw how camp strengthens Jewish connection, welcomes families, trains future clergy, leaders and change makers, and creates lifelong friendships that become the fabric of Jewish community. 

From the scramble to fill staffing gaps at the beginning of the summer to the outpouring of support to flood-stricken Texas, Jewish camps and camp alumni responded with empathy, urgency and solidarity. The Jewish camp community modeled what it means to take responsibility for one another. And while that was remarkable, it shouldn’t be a surprise. That readiness to help is itself the product of Jewish camp. Jewish camp nurtures positive values in future leaders, and when these leaders live out those values, they model them for others — and so it continues l’dor vador, from generation to generation. 

As I step into the role of leading FJC, I’m filled with hope for all we’re doing to enrich the lives of campers and strengthen the incredible work of Jewish camps. I also hope that the spirit of this work — from financial support to investments in mental health and accessibility — will model our core values for the next generation.

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Jamie Simon is the CEO of Foundation for Jewish Camp, whose mission is to grow, support and strengthen the Jewish camp movement, leveraging more than $15 million of philanthropic giving annually to scale programs and resources that benefit more than 300 Jewish day and overnight camps across North America.