A “Two Great Camps, One Great Deal” incentive program has been created, so JCC Day Campers can spend a week at Pinemere at a greatly reduced rate (see below for details).

Pinemere Camp and the Kaiserman Jewish Community Center will continue to explore camping opportunities promoting this wonderful relationship. Together they are confident their partnership will result in tremendous growth for both organizations.

Important 2012 Dates:

July 9-10: Kaiserman JCC Gesher campers overnight @ Pinemere

July 13-15: Pinemere SPARK Weekend for first-time overnight campers entering grades 1-4

July 23-29: Pinemere Pioneers Week for first-time overnight campers entering grades 2-6

Parents whose children are already signed up for JCC Day Camp can sign their children up for Pioneers Week for only an additional $365 (instead of $750)!

For more info please contact the Kaiserman JCC Day Camp or Pinemere Camp.

The JCC of Allentown and the Pinemere Camp Association are happy to announce the reestablishment of a historical partnership dating back generations. In October, both organizations unanimously agreed that an official partnership should be formed. Hundreds of Lehigh Valley residents have attended Pinemere Camp in some capacity and many have served on Pinemere’s Board of Directors. In further recognition of the historical alliance between Pinemere Camp and the JCC of Allentown, Pinemere Camp is now the primary overnight camp partner of the Jewish Community Center of Allentown.

The partnership will greatly benefit both organizations. Pinemere and the JCC day camp will share professional resources and staff training opportunities with each other. Many of the JCC day camp’s campers will spend an overnight at Pinemere Camp this summer, allowing the JCC campers to enjoy Pinemere’s beautiful Pocono Mountain facilities.

A “PJ Goes to Pinemere” day is being planned for the summer. All PJ Library families will be invited to experience a day of arts and crafts, swimming, boating, woodshop, rock climbing and more at Pinemere Camp, where they will be able to see camp in action and feel part of the Pinemere community.

A “Two Great Camps, One Great Deal” incentive program has been established. Parents can sign their children up for the first five weeks of Camp JCC and the second session at Pinemere at a greatly discounted price.

Pinemere Camp and the JCC of Allentown will continue to explore opportunities to promote this wonderful long-standing relationship, and know that the partnership will result in tremendous opportunities for both organizations.

New York, March 6, 2012 – The Jewish Teen Funders Network (JTFN), a youth philanthropy project of the Jewish Funders Network, has awarded grants to 20 summer camps from across denominational lines and around North America. As participants in the Camping Pilot Program, these grantees will receive $1,500 and leadership training to develop high-quality teen philanthropy programs.

Recognizing the potential of Jewish youth philanthropy programs to empower and educate teens about effective philanthropy and Jewish values, JTFN will work closely with grantees on program development and staff training. Summer camps from around the Jewish community demonstrated overwhelming interest in the pilot program, with twice as many applications as slots available.

Through the JTFN Camping Pilot Program, each of the 20 participating summer camps will create a Jewish teen foundation, in which campers will work together as a “foundation board,” giving away real money to non-profit organizations of their choosing. Throughout the grantmaking process, in which the participants will review grant proposals from non-profit organizations, make site visits to potential grantees, and determine which organizations to support, the philanthropists-in-training will examine Jewish texts, traditions, and values related to giving. The pilot program encourages campers to “learn by giving” and will generate at least $20,000 in grants, with each teen foundation awarding a minimum of $1,000 in grants. The pilot program is generously supported by the Maimonides Fund.

The Camping Pilot Program is built on the foundation that JTFN has built over the past five years in establishing the field of Jewish teen philanthropy. Since 2003, more than 50 Jewish teen foundations have been founded across North America in day schools, religious schools, synagogues, social service agencies, local Jewish Federations and Jewish community foundations.

We are adding a batting cage with a pitching machine. Village platforms are being completely renovated. Administrative buildings have been re-painted. By next summer many of our bunks will have a new, fresh coat of paint as well. The dining hall upgrade is underway. Many roofs have been entirely replaced. And much, much more!

We will continue to update this page throughout the year with additional photos:

(Last updated: March 7)

health center

health center porch

office

dining hall

renovated guest bunk

new cottage roof

new kitchen counter

village platform renovation

village platform renovation

Camp directors work year-round, confronting challenges and dealing with issues a mayor of a town might meet including overseeing multi-million dollar budgets, hiring and supervising a staff of several hundred, managing communications, supervising physical sites, working with a board of directors, initiating new programs, and much more. The Executive Leadership Institute (ELI) is a one-of-a-kind program for the 21^st century camp director, often characterized as an executive MBA program, which weaves together the best of private sector leadership and management training with Jewish values and ethics to create the premier training program for Jewish camp professional leaders.

This third cohort of ELI is again made possible because of a generous grant from the Marcus Foundation, bringing the Marcus Foundation’s total donation to FJC to almost $3 million and providing continued support for an innovative project with a proven track record of success.

Those within the camp field, and in the Jewish communal world more broadly, view the Executive Leadership Institute as a program that successfully produces professional leaders with the vision, presence, and skill to create change and excellence. The fellowship consists of six seminars over the course of 14 months, executive coaching, and the use of customer satisfaction survey instruments, among other vital tools.  With two cycles completed, the program has also created a certain esprit de corps among its graduates, generating a vital network of camp directors who support one another in becoming vision-driven leaders.

“Camp directors operating in 2011 and beyond require the training and tools necessary to make their camps and the camp field flourish,” explains Jeremy J. Fingerman, CEO, Foundation for Jewish Camp. “Adapting lessons from the private sector, ELI provides fellows with the necessary skills to raise the status of Jewish camping, grow their individual camps, compete in this competitive climate, and simply be better directors.”

Yes, really. Here’s how to do it:

1) Purchase a ticket to see Dave Matthews & Tim Reynolds in NYC on 11/18.

2) For each ticket you purchase, you will receive a unique code worth your full ticket price to make donation at justgive.org. Select Pinemere Camp as the recipient.
3) Enjoy an awesome show, knowing that at the same time you are supporting Pinemere’s scholarship fund!

For more details, visit http://davematthews.com/charity/.

This week on the Hill we have learned how to communicate better with each other. We have focused on expressing our feelings and excepting our differences. Yesterday was Hilltop Day. We had fun making shirts, getting acquainted with our big sister/little sister, and making friendship bracelets for each other. At night we we got dressed up and we had a feast on the basketball court. Our counselors served us our food! After a bonding evening activity, we had a candle ceremony. Each camper expressed what lights up her world & how much we each love our camp friends!