In Jewish tradition, when someone asks “Ayeka? Where are you?” the response is “Hineni – I am here,” or “Here I am.”  We have created resources around this concept of Hineini that offer a framework for exploring how we show up and relate to one another, at camp and beyond. These tools are intended to be interactive—designed to help campers and staff dig into relationships and explore how they are created and sustained. Explore the posters and accompanying resources below.

We hope you’ll share with us how you use these resources this summer! We are always inspired by your creative ideas. Our team is also happy to answer any questions or talk through ideas you may have. Please be in touch at teri@jewishcamp.org or 646-278-4559.

DOWNLOAD THE POSTER

Hineini Poster Preview (Front)     Hineini Poster Preview (Back)

16″x16″ Poster Print Files (Front)     16″x16″ Poster Print Files (Back)

ACCOMPANYING RESOURCES

Symbolism on the Hineini Poster
Hineini Discussion Questions
Hineini Coloring Page
Ayeka: A Text Study for Older Campers & Staff
Splitting the Red Sea: A First Responder Game

These resources are made possible by the generous funding of Lippman Kanfer Foundation for Living Torah.

Created by Gala Gonsalves and Hannah Aronow

FJC SOCIAL MEDIA ACCOUNT INSTRUCTIONS
ALL of the graphics can be found in the shared folder.
In the days leading up to the challenge start date, we hope that FJC will reach out to Jewish summer
camps and organizations and “give them early access to the 30-day Self Care Challenge Instagram story
template and the photo explaining the challenge (both attached below). It would be beneficial to have these organizations share the story template with their campers and staff on the day that the challenge begins. They could choose to do so by posting it to their own social media account and nominate people by tagging their instagram accounts, and/or they could email it to their camp communities and ask them to share the post on their individual accounts.

Created by Harrison Bromberg and Elana Rebitzer

WHAT THEY ARE
Camp is the happiest place in the world, but we know that is can at times be overwhelming or exhausting. As part of Foundation for Jewish Camp’s Mental Health and Wellness Internship Project, we created these streamlined checklists that we hope will inspire your staff and campers to check in with themselves, take a moment to pause, and do what they need to stay mentally healthy throughout the summer.

HOW TO USE THEM
We’ve provided multiple templates for different places at camp: dining halls, bunks, the health center,
as well as a generic template and one that can be placed on staff lanyards. We hope you will edit these
posters as it fits your camp, print them, and place them around your camp so that campers and staff have readily available resources to help them self-regulate.

Created by Jillian Bandler and Tally Levy

This toolkit was created as a guidebook for making camps more inclusive and welcoming to LGBTQ+
campers and staff. All of these are suggestions, and can be modified for a camp community.

Created by Anna Levine and Lucie Waldman

This is a space for you to write down and remember all of the things at camp that you are thankful for Expressing gratitude is a mindfulness technique that can show appreciation for all of the positivity and kindness in your life. This is an inclusive space for YOU to reflect on and express gratitude. You may use this journal in whatever fashion suits you.

FJC and Gleis Security Consulting have developed materials and templates to aid camps in developing their own internal security protocols. These documents contain observations, recommended security operations, and plans from GSC and FJC.

For security purposes, these documents are not posted on the internet.  Please email Randi@JewishCamp.org to request any of the following documents:

1. How-to Guide for Simple & Effective Emergency Procedures – A detailed, customizable guide for your camp to use in creating your own emergency procedure and protocols.
2. Bomb Threat Checklist – Steps to take in the event of a bomb threat.
3. Emergency Procedure Action Sheet – Steps to take for various emergency situations (lock down, evacuation, suspicious people or objects. Customizable for different buildings and spaces).
4. Suspicious Activity Report – A template for reporting a suspicious person or vehicle.

by Adam Benmoise, Louis Bordman, Sheira Director-Nowack, Josh Levine, Katie Quinn Camp is where people can be their best and most authentic selves. What can Jewish camps do to ensure that transgender campers and staff are fully part of their camp communities? Learn from five very different camps that have all successfully welcomed transgender campers and staff. From the initial communication with a transgender camper’s parents, to mission-based communications with the broader community; from training the staff, to anticipating curious campers’ questions; from hiring transgender staff, to designing inclusive facilities — get specifics about the diverse successes and challenges experienced by these camps. Significant time will be devoted to participants’ questions.

Download: Letter to Parents re Transgender Camper – Camp Alonim,  Parent Diversity E-mail – Camp JRF