Local Mini Day Camps
With COVID still looming, our large overnight camps are not possible. After two weeks of leadership seminars for 9th graders, we have had to shift our programs again to match the new restrictions:
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We will be running mini-camps throughout Israel, only for 3rd-4th grade children (locally and in small groups, with masks and social distancing, no overnight activities).
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In some of these day camps, high school aged counselors in training run activities for 3rd and 4th graders. The counselors in training meet before and after running camp for training sessions.
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General youth movement activities for around 10,000 youth and children, between the ages 10-17, have moved online with group meetings taking place weekly.
Continuing to operate these activities for 3rd and 4th graders is so important not only for their critical educational value – helping kids feel normal after the long lockdown, and in such uncertain times – but is also a significant component in allowing their parents to go to work and/or seek employment at a time when Israel’s unemployment rate has topped 20% and so many families are suffering financially.
There is No Place Like Camp
“Here in Afula, most families have a hard time affording summer camps in the best of times, and this year with so many having lost their jobs during the lockdown, and small businesses closing... I hope we can help them get back on their feet by providing affordable, fun and enriching summer experiences for their kids while they figure things out and look for new work. And the kids get important time away from the stress at home, too.”
Moshe Alkabetz, Youth Movement Counselor
The full cost for day camp for 3rd and 4th graders is now $200 per camper, with approximately $100 covered by the Ministry of Education and the rest expected to be covered by parents.
In this financial atmosphere, even middle-class families are struggling to pay full price. Our goal is to bring down the cost by an extra $100 per camper for the 1,500 families who need it the most from all over the country - with a total of $150,000 needed to be raised.
Alternately, consider supporting a specific underprivileged community – neighborhood or town – with $2,000 supporting a capsule of 20 children.