Hillel Day Camp

By SuSan Schwamm

When you step onto the grounds at hillel day Camp, there’s a lot to see. you’ll see kids enjoying sports on the fields, sW imming in the beautiful pools, and praCtiCing arChery or doing Zumba. With more than 1,000 Children Calling hillel their fun plaCe to be this summer, it’s a “mini City” that boasts Countless smiles, songs, and laughter over the summer months. this W eek, W e spoke W ith evan l eiboW itZ , Camp direCtor, to hear more about the ama Zing aCtivities and energy that permeate eaCh day.

Evan, tell us about Hillel Day Camp. How many years have you been around?

Hillel Day Camp was established as HAFTR’s Summer Day Camp almost 50 years ago! Named for the schools that merged to become HAFTR, The Hillel School and HILI (Hebrew Institute of Long Island), many members of our larger Five Towns community have spent their summers at Hillel Day Camp. Our legacy runs so deep, we now have children and grandchildren of some of our original campers creating their own memories at Hillel Day Camp.

That’s truly a legacy! When someone hears about Hillel Day Camp, what do you want to come to mind?

When someone says Hillel Day Camp, we want everyone to immediately feel and say: that’s MY CAMP! It’s where I went, and it’s where I am going! We want our families to know that we put all of our strengths and minds into creating opportunities for our campers to create lifelong memories and experience something new daily!

We are an Orthodox day camp representing numerous communities and schools bringing together campers and staff to form everlasting friendships. One of my many goals as camp director is for our campers to experience the same feelings of joy that I have when I think about my time in camp.

How many divisions do you have? How many campers enjoy Hillel Day Camp each summer?

My Grandma Miriam always used to say that “we don’t count numbers,” but I will say that Hillel Day Camp is a mini city of over 1,100 people enjoying their summer together in an incredible atmosphere.

It is our belief that it is important to provide as much individualized attention as possible since there are so many moving pieces during a typical day in Hillel. We have a 1:4 staff ratio in camp and 1:5 in each group. Each of our divisions has an experienced adult division head that is a professional educator during the year. We provide adult morahs with our groups up to first grade, and this year, we have morahs with the second and third grade boys, too!

A camp’s staff can really set the tone. Tell us about your awesome staff.

Our 2023 Senior Staff is a group of individuals that, when put together, does way more than just the sum of its parts. Returning to Hillel as our Assistant Director is long-time Hillel veteran Shana Pollack (NYC DOE). Other incredible returning staff include Adam Brick (HANC) is our Senior Division Head, Ilona Diamond (HAFTR) is our Program Director, Sima Fish (Ezra Academy) as our Aquatics Director, Dan Orenstein (NYC DOE) is our Sports Director, and Dawn Horowitz (HALB) is our First and Third grade division head.

New to the team, but quickly acting like veterans are Meira Yagodayev (HAFTR) as our Second and Fourth grade Division Head, Jenna Zelka (HANC) as our Fifth through Seventh grade division head, GariAnn Harris (LBPS) as our Special Events Coordinator, and Shimmie Dreyfuss (NYC DOE) as our CIT Director!

Of course, they only play a small role in Hillel’s day-to-day operations and success. Our counselors, morahs, lifeguards, sports staff, and specialty staff keep on making memories daily for our campers and their families.

I also want to thank two of our former staff members who have “graduated” from Hillel Day Camp and moved on to take larger roles in another camp. I thank Penina Ginsberg and Missy Berger for helping to build our strong culture in Hillel, and we are proud that you will spread the happiness and culture of Hillel.

Your staff sounds amazing. I heard you go on great trips and have special events! Let’s hear more.

When Ilona Diamond sent me the final draft of our 2023 calendar, I said to her, “There will not be a ‘regular’ day at Hillel this summer.” The definition of regular has to be changed! There isn’t one day where a special event, show, or multiple trips is not happening. My deep belief is that children and staff remember events and unique things, and I am happy that each day at Hillel has unique things. We have weekly trips to many of the places highlighted in the Sukkot and Pesach editions of The Jewish Home, but we are also incorporating unique Chessed Days, Carnivals, Let’s Make A Deal and Minute To Win It Games, Variety shows, and our yearly Shabbos Nachamu Concert! I am so glad that we were able to bring back a camper production this year. I can’t wait to see Hillel campers and staff in “101 Dalmatians”!

Summer is about swimming! Tell us about your swimming program.

So many calls and emails come in throughout the year from new families who tell us they are coming to Hillel Day Camp because they have heard the stellar reputation of our swim program. Our three on-campus, full size, heated pools are spectacular. Our swim team leadership has decades of experience teaching water skills and lifeguarding. All of my own children have learned to swim under Sima and her staff. I mean, her last name is FISH!

What about your other activities and specialties? What are the campers’ favorites?

We have brought back many of our camper favorites and added a lot more. Returning to the Hillel schedule are cooking, STEM, nature, art, 7 flags, Pakua, jewelry making, yoga, drumming, music, dance, string art – just to name a few. We have four chinuch Rebbes and Morahs this year plus a great number of new specialties, too! New to Hillel ‘23 is archery, survival, coding, fun with food, ceramics, clowning, and Zumba. Plus, we are continuing our activity partnerships with our Five Towns neighbors including Lollibop Cafe and Play, Warren Levi Martial Arts, sports and gives opportunities to those that select the specialty track to follow a more technology driven or artistic path a few afternoons each week.

I also am proud when I see girls ben-

“We noW have Children and grandChildren of some of our original Campers Creating their oW n memories at hillel day Camp.”

Lion’s Den, Ofra Jewels, Torah V’Tevah, Make It Too and more!

Do you have special “days” in camp?

I’ll do the Bill Belichick “Every day in Hillel is special! Next question!” but just wait for a special guest in a few weeks. I am sure it will be in these pages.

Summer is just starting. What is something that you are proud of for this summer?

Every summer we evaluate what works well and what needs to be adapted in our programming. We noticed that some of our kids were missing a great opportunity to focus on things that they really enjoyed and to engage in activities that really speak to them as opposed to doing things that were expected of them, and so, we have created a specialty track for those campers who would like to move away from competitive leagues. It allows for more intense clinics and tching from their new middot of the week Hillel Bentchers, boys sporting their middot of the week kippahs, and campers of the week showing off their HDC towels. I am proud to see Hillel Day Camp represented throughout the neighborhood!

Hillel Day Camp sounds like a great place to be! What would you say makes Hillel Day Camp unique?

Hillel Day Camp is a special place. Attending Hillel is an opportunity to practice new skills, learn new things, and make friendships that will last a lifetime. My camp friends from 32 years ago are still some of my closest friends. That’s what we want to create at Hillel.

Although I can praise the fact that we take a year’s worth of activities and events and pack it into eight short weeks full of learning and excitement, to really get a “feel” for the uniqueness of Hillel, after Shabbos, I urge you to watch some of our weekly videos on our YouTube page or our Instagram page @Hillel_Day _Camp.

They are full of smiling campers and staff, kids learning how to swim, participating in sports and special activities, and enjoying off and on campus entertainment.

On behalf of my immediate family and our extended Hillel Day Camp family, I wish all of The Jewish Home readers a Shabbat Shalom. (and why not give a plug…Hillel Day Camp has openings in certain bunks and ages for the second session…register now at haftr.org!

By the Numbers

1 brand new location this summer

1,100 People arriving daily in our Mini City called Hillel Day Camp

29 Buses taking kids to and from Hillel Day Camp

42 Bunks of Campers

23 American Red Cross + Nassau Certified Lifeguards teaching our campers how to swim

1:4 Staffing Ratio

1 in a Million

– Hillel Day Camp

1 Mascot, Quackers