Los Angeles Family Camp: Creating a partnership with Federation, local camps and ECCs

The Jewish Federation of Greater Los Angeles launched the Family Camp Project in 2016. Knowing that immersive Jewish experiences are one of the most effective ways of building and strengthening Jewish identity, Federation wanted to expand the opportunities for Los Angeles families with young children to experience such weekends. By partnering with camps and matching them with early childhood centers and other organizations serving families with young children, they were able to offer affordable, nourishing, and Jewishly rich programming for families. Additionally, they provide training to increase the capacity of the camp and ECC staff to successfully run family camps. This session from Leaders Assembly 2018 will serve to share guiding principles along with the learnings so far. Coupled with the Federation perspective, the audience heard from two camp leaders (Shalom Institute and Camp Ramah in CA) and discussed what this approach offers, the learning curve involved, and the way in which it introduces potential campers to the power of overnight camping.