Camp Hess Kramer & Gindling Hilltop
Jewish sleep away camp has transformed the lives of thousands of Jewish children and young adults, including my own. Anyone who has been to Camp Hess Kramer (CHK) or Gindling Hilltop Camp (clap clap) knows how magical these places are. When I ask someone to share their camp experiences with me, their stories start to pour out with the biggest smile on their faces. People often don’t feel the same enthusiasm for their schools, AYSO teams, or Boy/Girl Scouts, but you always hear them rave about their summer they spent at CHK and Hilltop. But why? What makes Hess Kramer and Hilltop so magical?
As kids, we counted down the days until it was time to get away from our parents for the summer and see the friends we hadn’t seen all year. We thrived on spending time with the counselors and camp leaders who helped shape us into the person we are today. Camp provides a safe haven, free of judgement, where kids can learn and grow from their peers.
People often find themselves at a loss for words; uncertain how to genuinely express the extraordinary. It can be difficult to explain camp and its profound ability to shape and transform an individual's life in unimaginable and remarkable ways.
In an attempt to find the words myself, I asked current campers, former staff, and other camp alumni to share with me their experiences at CHK and Hilltop and what made camp so magical to them.
"It was the one place that I felt like I was the best, most authentic version of myself and that others saw the real me." - Camper & Staff member from 2002 - 2007
"It was a time in my life where I wasn't confident or able to find my true self unless I had those weeks or months at camp. It really was a place that has made me the person I am today" - Camper and Staff Member from 1995 - 2006
"It's a place to find your truest friends and truest self. A place where you are accepted for being you. A place and community that you belonged to and once a part of, it never leaves you." - Camper and Staff member from 1998 - 2009
"Camp introduced me to lifelong friends who became family. My summers at camp guided my career path. Camp provided a community in which each and every one of us share this powerful connection to our past, our present, and our future. Every summer camp served as a metaphorical and physical protector; providing a safe environment where we could try new things, meet new people, do something outside of our comfort zone all while forming our identities. And then camp does this beautiful thing where you get to be apart of creating that environment for YOUR campers and watch them learn, love, and build a sacred community." - Camper and Staff member from 2003 - 2012
"There’s something transcendent about growing up at camp. The connections to the people, the place, to nature, to Judaism, and to the traditions are the purest form of love, acceptance, and growth. GHC + CHK shaped me. They taught me more about Judaism than anywhere or anyone else. They taught me what a real community is, and that it will always support each other. They helped me learn my love for grilled cheese, how to make learning fun, how to recognize the value of traditions, and that dancing on Shabbat with my dearest friends is true bliss." - Camper and Staff member from 1995-2009
"I learned about bravery at camp. The empowering community allowed me to be vulnerable, take risks, and be my most authentic self. At camp -- no matter who you are -- you are always enough." Camper and Staff member from 2000 - 2008
"There are no words to describe what camp has done for me and my family. I went there for 8 years, and my kids now go there. Their closest friends are all from camp. Camp has taught us the beauty of respect and love for one another" - Camper and Staff Member in the 1970's and 80's
"When you're at camp, you're disconnected from the outside world. That may mean something different today than it did when camp was founded, but in every generation, camp is a place where you can focus only on the people and activities around you. Campers and staff get to know people completely, work through challenges together, celebrate Shabbat together and develop a sense of pride in the community they have joined. And sure, it's better if that place looks like a magical forest or has the best view of the pacific anywhere in California, but it's the people that make the place magical. " - Staff Member 2006 - 2008
This past weekend, 87 of 97 camp structures and buildings burned during the Woolsey Fire. I posted the photos of the damage on my social media and I received an outpouring number of messages from friends, family and peers all across the United States sending their condolences and asking how they can help.
The camps hosted a Havdallah service this past weekend filled with hundreds of families in attendance and thousands of people streaming in the wake of this community tragedy. Watching these young kids weep, I thought to myself, how can I help?
Talking to some of my oldest camp friends, we discussed that people need to hear every camper’s story and understand why camp is so powerful. Camp fosters an environment that allows kids to be their best selves. When you drive up Pacific Coast Highway along the ocean and enter the camp gates, you can feel the change in atmosphere. Fears that people have in the real world dissipate. Camp is a community that thrives on different personalities and succeeds most when Jewish teens of different backgrounds, social abilities, and personalities come together. It's a place where low self-esteem can be conquered. A place where social disabilities are fostered not by counselors, but by fellow campers. An environment that encourages each individual to take time to reflect and learn who their truest selves are, without judgement in the process.
Being a Jewish teenager in America isn't the norm. While more likely in some areas of the country, Jewish kids may be the only Jew in their school or the only kid who misses school for high holidays. It can be isolating to explain why you don’t celebrate Christmas and why you have to eat matzah during Passover to your non-Jewish school friends. At camp, being Jewish is the norm. It gives Jewish teenagers who are trying to find their path a home and an anchor to establish their identity. For many, camp is the root of their Jewish identity.
Camp is multi-generational. It’s a beautiful cycle of campers becoming counselors and creating magical experiences for new generations of camp as it evolves but also keeps traditions alive. There are campers whose parents met at camp and want their children to have the same meaningful Jewish connections that they had. This is why we have to re-build. To continue to support and encourage Jewish teenagers on their journey to adulthood, in order to give them their best opportunity to be their best selves.
There are quite a few GoFundMe pages out there, as well as direct links to Wilshire Boulevard Temple Camps to donate, but I wanted to write this so everyone can hear our story. I hope you can understand why it is so important to re-build these facilities and give campers the ability to go back to their second home at the most magical places in the world, Camp Hess Kramer and Gindling Hilltop.
Please help me in my fundraising efforts to rebuild Wilshire Boulevard Temple Camps. If you don't want to donate here, please donate directly to:
https://www.wbtcamps.org/recovery