Sabra Scene - Fall-Winter 2019

Sabra Scene

News and Notes from the Peninsula Fall/Winter 2019

Welcome Lisa Deutsch, Assistant Director of Community Care Camp Sabra is pleased to announce the creation of a new assistant director position charged with community care, and the first person to take on that role, Lisa Deutsch.

Lisa’s role at Camp tasks her with creating meaningful relationships with campers, staff and parents. She will oversee behavioral, social and mental health policies at camp, facilitate communication with families to ensure camper success and manage daily relationships at camp to take care of behavioral, social and mental health issues as they arise.

“I am looking forward to meeting everyone,” said Lisa. “Please feel free to reach out to me with any questions or concerns regarding camp or your camper. I am excited about being able to help our campers have a happy summer!”

Deutsch is no stranger to the Staenberg Peninsula. She attended Camp Sabra for seven years as a camper, three years as a counselor, and as a child she attended many ‘Dad and I’ weekends with her father, Harvey Dobkin, z”l. For the past three years, Lisa has served as the Camp Social Worker, helping campers and staff with social, emotional and behavior adjustments at camp.

Lisa earned her Master’s degree in Social Work (MSW) from Washington University in St. Louis and is a Licensed Clinical Social Worker. Over the years, she has worked at the J in varying capacities and has served on the Board of Directors and as a member of J Associates. Lisa also led Girls in the Know and worked at CHADS Coalition, whose mission is focused on suicide awareness, education and support in elementary, middle and high schools in the greater St. Louis area.

“Lisa spent the last three summers at camp working with our campers, staff and parents. Her passion and expertise have been an invaluable addition to Sabra’s summers and now to our year-round team,” said Terri Grossman, Director of Camp Sabra.

Lisa is excited to be working at the place she calls “home.” She is looking forward to using her skills to support the campers and staff, to help plan and execute exciting events throughout the year, and to prepare for the amazing summers ahead. Lisa is married to Jim Deutsch, and they have four children; Ryan, Max, Sam and Molly.

Lisa said, “I love my camp family, and especially love that my own children have been inspired by and love Camp Sabra.”

Contact Camp Sabra

terri@campsabra.com facebook.com/campsabra 314-442-3180 facebook.com/Camp Sabra and Hawthorn Alumni campsabra.com facebook.com/CampWahKonDah

From the Director

Staff

TERRI GROSSMAN, Director

KIM HOLTZMAN SLOAN, Assistant Director

TODD WITZMAN, Caretaker and Facilities Manager

Dear Camp Sabra Family,

BEN PANET, Assistant Director

LISA DEUTSCH, Assistant Director

DIANE BUCHANAN, Transportation Director

Mission of Sabra

Camp Sabra will be the premier Jewish resident camp in North America building upon our rich traditions which began in 1938. Sabra is a magical community that fosters lifelong friendships, Jewish identity, and encourages social and physical growth. Camp Sabra provides a fun and safe environment with highly qualified staff and excellent facilities.

The mission will be accomplished by: • recruitment and retention of quality personnel • providing and maintaining the best physical facilities, which will enhance the overall camping experience • development of innovative programs which will meet the needs of the camp population

As the director of Camp Sabra, I have tried to find ways to honor our history while allowing the evolution of tradition and programs. One of the ways we honor both of the camps from which a part of our rich history is drawn is through two awards named in their honor: the Tomahawk Award (WahKon-Dah) and the Skipper Club Award (Camp Hawthorne). We give these awards to four campers on the final night of each session, and even though the entire camp is in the dining hall for the ceremony, you can hear a pin drop.

Our Tomahawk award is voted on by staff and given to two campers each session. Our staff nominate campers who have shown a tremendous ability to mentor younger campers and show leadership to their peers. This camper should be considered a “mensch” or a “great kid” in all areas of activity and at Camp in general. One of our 2019 honorees, Matthew Steinhart, is the brother of our very first Tomahawk Award winner, Jared.

“Winning the Tomahawk Award meant a lot to me when I won it, and it means a lot to me now,” said Jared. “Sabra has given me so much, and receiving the award just reaffirmed what I already knew. Camp is the place where I can be my true self and have a supportive community that embraces and celebrates it. Hearing that Matthew won the same award was a very big l’dor v’dor moment. I am incredibly proud to see how much he has grown as a leader and how the camp community embraced him as much as they did me.”

The Skipper Club Award is a skill-based award for two campers who are proficient in all areas at Camp. These campers should be considered “good sports” in terms of their attitude toward trying new skills, encouraging others and interactions with staff. This summer, Kate Benoist (one of our 2018 winners) passed the award to Elliana (Ellie) Goldberg.

“The moment Terri announced my name I felt so honored to be a part of the Skipper Club,” said Ellie. “Sabra is my home away from home. Each year I go back, I make more friends, strengthen my bonds with old friends, and try new activities. I’m so grateful for everything Camp Sabra has given me.”

Though the ceremony for each award may look different than it did at Hawthorne and Wah-Kon-Dah, the depth of love for Sabra, for each other and for our kind community has remained the same for 50 summers. Our camp has created Jewish mensches for 50 years, and each of us who has been at Camp, who has been a part of our community and family, can be proud of the people we send out into the world.

Sincerely, Terri Grossman Director, Camp Sabra

2019 1st Session Award Winners

Take Me Home, Country Roads In 2015, John Rosen drove down Camp Sabra Road for the first time in nearly twenty years.

“I remember thinking, is it going to be the same? Is it going to be different?” said John. “Then, I hit the dining hall and thought, yep, it’s the same!”

John, an alumnus and now parent of two campers from Fairway, KS, is lucky enough to be able to come back to camp each summer for a week to be a camp doctor. He loves that he gets to share and witness the experiences he had as a camper with his own children. He notices the differences in camp from when he was a mini camper in 1987, like no more canteen shopping so that you can pick out your own frozen candy bar. As a parent, he likes how camp is now safer with mandatory life jackets in the lake, paved roads to the swim docks, and no more sneaking around in the middle of the night. He still enjoys a good meal at camp. The sights and sounds of serving food, cheering, and clean-up buckets are timeless!

Another alumna who gets to return to camp is Amy (Morose) Benoist. Amy returns for a few weeks each summer as one of our health center nurses. She experienced that same moment driving down Camp Sabra Road as John did. She described it as if it was a time warp causing so many emotions to come rushing in; she felt like she was her 12-year-old self again. Watching camp from her favorite “adult-self spot” – the health center porch – she is filled with emotion when she talks about seeing the affection that is shown at camp. She sees the campers and staff skipping and holding hands, and her favorite: lots of hugging!

“It’s something that you don’t see everyday in your community and it’s so important,” said Amy. She also can clearly see how the campers’ counselor is EVERYTHING to them! The campers want to hold their hands, talk like them, dress like them and just BE them!

Back in 1983, David Parmet was a rising fourth grader going to mini camp for his first time. It was another 10 years before he returned to camp as a senior cabin counselor. Now, twenty years later, he returned to camp to be one of the camp doctors. He sees many changes at camp, like a swimming pool instead of the slab, but there is still something special about that dining hall. As soon as he starts to climb those stairs, the smell, the sounds, the energy – all of the memories come flooding back!

David describes being back at camp as “coming home to that old familiar place.”

Want to be lucky enough to come back and work at camp? Contact Kim@campsabra.com to find out more!

What Campers Loved Most in 2019 Hanging out, making s’mores and getting scared by our counselors on the Current River trip.

Talking with friends, learning about each other while roasting marshmallows at Harry’s Hut.

Davis B. 2019 Unit: Younger Habonim

Andrew R. 2019 Unit: Older Almagor

Trying new things and adventures.

Lucy P. 2019 Unit: Sharone

Shabbat dinner (you can sit anywhere that you want) and Maccabia (for the braggin’ rights).

Jack Berger 2019 Unit: Golan

The Sweatshirt Fund

By Merle Fischlowitz My dad, Bernie Fischlowitz, often told me this story from the days in the late 1920s when he was Education Director at the old YMHA on Union Blvd. (now the St. Louis Jewish Community Center). In the 1920s, the St. Louis Jewish community was not wealthy, and there were many immigrant families with children who had recently arrived from Europe. Part of his job, as Education Director, was to help get donations of clothes and equipment for youngsters who wanted to play various sports.

Dad told me a story of one boy (he may have told me this story six to ten times when I was a kid) who needed a sweatshirt for playing soccer in the cool weather. Dad assured the boy he’d work on finding a sweatshirt for him.

Every week, the boy would ask if there was a sweatshirt for him, and Dad would tell him, ‘not yet, maybe next week.’

One week the boy came in and asked, “Do I or don’t I get a sweatshirt?!” Dad said to him, “With that attitude, the answer is NO.” I believe the boy who asked the question learned a lesson from my Dad’s quick ‘NO’ response. I also believe, given the needs and generous attitudes of YMHA leaders, the boy got his sweatshirt.

This story stuck with me in many ways for several years. In 1967, when Dad was president of a successful chemical company and had served several years on the board of the J, my brother, sister and I thought about what to give him for his sixty-fifth birthday. We decided that ‘for the man who we thought had everything he needed,’ we’d set up a scholarship fund in his name at Camp Sabra. I always thought of this camp scholarship fund as a ‘sweatshirt fund,’ meeting the needs of children who couldn’t afford all the costs of activities. Sue, Alan and I told Mom of our idea, and she shared it with several friends. In January 1968, we arranged for a letter, I think from Bill Kahn to Dad, telling him of the new Bernie Fischlowitz Camp Sabra Scholarship Fund.

Later in 1968, Dad was sadly diagnosed with Leukemia. After several months of difficult treatment, he died in August, 1969. We let it be known, through the obituary and by word of mouth, that an apt way to honor his memory would be by gifts to the Camp Sabra Scholarship Fund. I believe there were significant donations to the fund at that time, and from many in our family during the following years.

When Mom died in March 2000, it was natural that the word went out that gifts in her memory would be most appropriate to the now re-named Ruth and Bernie Fischlowitz Camp Sabra Scholarship Fund. In the years since 2000, many in the Fischlowitz family have given to this fund in memory of our parents and grandparents, Bernie and Ruth Fischlowitz.

New in 2019: Hammock Village!

In addition to the fantastic activity options our campers get to choose from each summer at Camp Sabra (wakeboarding, pottery, sailing, zip lining, etc.), we often hear from our campers that they also want a place and time where they can simply hang out with their friends and relax. To answer that demand, we unveiled a new landmark on the Peninsula – Hammock Village!

With design input from our year-round staff, we created a structure that can support up to 63 hammocks hanging in a circle around a central fire pit. We provide the hammocks, and counselors and campers can check them out to use for cabin activities, rest hour and cabin overnights. We also hold our unit overnights at Hammock Village as well. A great opportunity to sleep under the stars in a hammock!

This space gives our community a supervised place and time to just kick back, relax and get to know each other organically. For summer 2020, we will be adding additional fire pits for cooking during unit overnights.

Camp Sabra’s Coves Receive “No Anchor” Designation Our Sabra campers and staff now have our coves all to ourselves. With the assistance of Scott Biondo, Community Security Director at the Jewish Federation of St. Louis, and the Missouri Highway Patrol, the coves at Camp Sabra no longer allow outside boats to stop or anchor. This designation has effectively stopped outside boats from entering the cove at all, helping us protect the entire space for Sabra activities.

Popularity at the Lake of the Ozarks has increased over past years, and there has been a significant increase in the number of boaters who like to drop anchor and enjoy the Lake’s many coves. On busy lake weekends, as many as 15 boats have anchored in our ski/swim and sail coves. While these boaters were generally just looking for a quiet cove and meant us no harm, they did take up space and, from time to time, used our lake inflatables as a free water park. Our new ‘no anchor’ designation will ensure that our space and equipment is just for our campers and staff.

Sabra and J staff and lay leaders have made many inquiries over the years about privatizing our coves – appeals were made to government officials (all the way up to the Missouri governor) and to Ameren Missouri (the owner of the Lake of the Ozarks) – but none were successful until this summer when our staff decided to try a new tactic.

The Missouri Highway Patrol manages traffic on the lake, so Scott Biondo reached out to his contacts there, and over the course of one summer, we received our designation. Thank you to Scott and the Missouri Highway Patrol for this designation and ensuring that our campers are even more safe and secure!

741

campers

2,656

Camp Sabra 201 9 b y t he 181

first-time campers and staff

20,694 visits to the health center

2,907

camper nights spent sleeping in tents

2,283

camper weeks

combined summers spent at Sabra

Numbers

29 11

states countries represented by campers & staff

7,250,880 minutes not spent on screens

11,483 pieces of French toast served

170+

donors who supported our future

All-in-for-Sabra Day Raises More Than $100,000 in 24 Hours Thank you to all who supported Camp Sabra on our second annual All-in-for-Sabra Day on August 8-9! Whether you participated by watching our “Why I’m All In For Sabra” videos on social media, by spreading the word to your friends and family, by attending the birthday kickoff event at the Moonrise Hotel on August 8 or by contributing to our 24-hour fundraising campaign, we say “thank you!”

This online giving campaign and its kickoff event at the Moonrise Hotel helped to raise awareness for Sabra’s Home Away from Home Annual Fund Campaign. With the help of more than 170 donors, six very generous matching donors, 65 people who attended our 50th birthday kickoff event and lots of ruach from the entire Camp Sabra community, we raised $102,000! Additionally, 18 donors made a special gift of $650.72 or more to receive an exclusive Sabra sweatshirt. Want a 65072 sweatshirt? Contact Staci Gerchen, sgerchen@jccstl.org or 314.442.3109 to make your gift.

Your support helps provide each camper and staff member with unforgettable programming, ensures facility maintenance and improvements, and provides financial assistance for families in need year after year. Our campers and staff will be able to continue to find amazing experiences and make lifelong friends at their summer home.

Thank you to the entire Sabra network for coming together to give back to the camp that has shaped thousands of lives.

Register Today for Camp Sabra’s Birthday Weekend Camp Sabra is turning 50! We’re celebrating with a full weekend of festivities from August 28-30, 2020!

Are you registered?

Cabin space is filling up fast. There are more than 200 alumni, former directors, favorite counselors, campers and staff from all generations registered already! Don’t miss out on this chance to relive your favorite camp magic and memories.

Camp Sabra’s birthday weekend includes Shabbat dinner and celebration on Friday evening plus a weekend of activities, including water skiing, sailing, ropes course, arts and crafts and more!

Register online at campsabra.com/alumni Coming next year: sponsorship opportunities! Contact Rob Koritz, robbok3@sbcglobal.net, or Danielle Crall, danielle@cjmuggs.com, if you or your business would like to be an area or cabin sponsor for the event.

More details coming soon!

To become involved or with further questions, please contact Rob Koritz or Danielle Crall.

Action Needed: Update Your Information Please help us update our alumni database! Ensure that you receive news about upcoming events and reunions - update your information online at campsabra.com/alumni or use the form below: First Name___________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________ Last Name____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________ Maiden________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________ Address_______________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________ City ____________________________________________________________________________________________State_____________Zip_________________________________ E-mail_________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________ Phone_________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________ Which Camp Did You Attend: o Sabra

o Hawthorn

o Wah-Kon-Dah

Years attended as Camper________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________ Years attended as Staff____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________ facebook.com/CampSabra twitter.com/CampSabra instagram.com/campsabra youtube.com/user/campsabra

2 Millstone Campus Drive St. Louis, MO 63146

Appreciating Our Heroic Staff At the heart of Camp Sabra is our great staff. Through the support of those who have given to the Camp Sabra Annual Fund, we are able to reward the hard work put forth by these camp heroes! This summer, we ‘appreciated’ our staff with: Morning Starbucks Surprise: Five times this summer, we picked up a whopping 50 gallons of Starbucks coffee for our staff to enjoy.

Pizza Parties & Late Night Snacks: Food is the universal language of appreciation. Multiple times throughout the summer, we provided our staff with a late night snack (about 25 pizzas per pizza party or platters of tacos or subs).

Staff would hang out around ‘The Pit’ and enjoy a community-building campfire.

Second Session T-Shirt: Did you really work at Sabra if you don’t have the t-shirt to prove it? We gave our staff a special shirt mid-way through second session as an extra special piece of swag.

Final Week Staff Banquet: We provided a feast for our staff. Because our senior staff supervise the camper villages and are on duty almost all the time, this event is time where they can join all of the staff at once.

Shout Outs: Our admin and senior staff keep a record of the ‘shout outs’ our staff get from others. At staff meetings, we read them aloud to recognize the good work everyone is doing.

Our staff retention rate remains at over 80% every year, meaning that staff develop meaningful connections and relationships with campers and each other. Our staff members come from all over the U.S. and the world, but they return to Camp Sabra each summer. This diversity creates a welcoming, accepting and kind community at camp. We appreciate the ability to give back to our staff when they give so much to us each summer.