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Spotlight on Numbers Summer 2015
13,000+
2x Sci-Tech registration doubled in its second year
Youth representing over 660 URJ congregations will participate in our camps, Mitzvah Corps and Israel programs nearly
25% Growth in Mitzvah Corps participation
350 Teen leaders will spend time learning together at Kutz Camp
600 Rabbis, cantors, educators and youth professionals will serve on faculty
1,800 Young adults employed as staff members, including 228 from Israel
262 Increase in campers at URJ camps
Connect with Us this Summer Subscribe to The Clipboard e-mail for highlights from our programs all summer long urjyouth.org/clipboard
Read Youth Engagement Now for CYE Updates urj.org/cye/email
Increased Youth Engagement In 2015, the CYE will reach more young Jews than ever before, enriching the lives of thousands of youth and adults who work with youth:
•The B’nai Mitzvah Revolution is launching a new URJ Community of Practice
Union for Reform Judaism
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Campaign for Youth Engagement Update
for congregations that have successfully launched—and are actively engaged in—innovative b’nai mitzvah experiments. urj.org/bnaimitzvah
•We are partnering with congregations to expand NFTY678 programming NFTY increased registration by 15% last year, primarily by attracting younger participants. nfty.org/nfty678
•The URJ Biennial, Nov. 4 to 8 in Orlando, FL, will have numerous ways for teens and adults to learn and network Teen leaders can join their congregational delegations for the entire biennial program and all teens are welcome to join clergy will gather Friday afternoon for a symposium on teens and social justice. urj.org/biennial
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And we’re just getting started.
urjyouth.org/social
Learn more at urjyouth.org or call 212.650.4070 © 2015. Union for Reform Judaism
The URJ’s Campaign for Youth Engagement (CYE) seeks to inspire more young Jews to embrace Jewish life as a path to meaning, purpose and joy. Central to our strategy is collaboration with Reform congregations, other Jewish organizations and people like you who are committed to youth engagement. Together, we are leveraging existing opportunities and launching new initiatives to engage many more youth.
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A Snapshot of Summer 2015 For the 8th consecutive year, our programs will reach more kids and young adults than ever before with
Expanding Our Reach: More Options in More Places URJ specialty camps now reach 1,200 young people per summer— many with no previous Jewish camp experience. 6 Points Sci-Tech Academy nearly tripled the number of girls at camp, and boasts a 70% return rate (above average for specialty camps). Kutz Camp, our NFTY teen leadership center, will have their largest summer in 8 years. We will expand our reach even further when 6 Points Sports Academy West opens in Los Angeles next summer! Mitzvah Corps increased by 25% with the addition of new programs in the traveling to Costa Rica by establishing regional cohorts through our camp communities. Our regional camps are innovating to meet the needs of today’s families. Camp Kalsman will have the largest summer in their history after they introduced new session lengths. GUCI attracted a large number of new campers by adding an introductory program for younger children. Harlam Day Camp, in its second
Congregations Make the Difference More than 1,500 congregational clergy, educators, youth professionals, and lay leaders will visit our camp, Israel and Mitzvah Corps programs this summer and serve on faculty. They will learn, train and participate in important conversations about strengthening youth engagement and the Movement. At Kutz Camp, congregational educators will lead new training for teens who serve as religious school Madrichim (teacher assistants) launched in partnership with ARJE (Association of Reform Jewish Educators). Harlam Day Camp expanded its model of hosting Shabbatonim for families with young children at local congregations during the summer. Over 700 youth registered for camp from URJ congregations with Service Corps fellows – young camp staff and alumni who lead innovative, camp-inspired programs within their congregations year-round. A gift from the Legacy Heritage Foundation is helping camps reach more children from small communities.
over 13,000 participants!
Achieving Programmatic Excellence A taste of the innovative programming this summer:
• New health and wellness programs for campers and staff at camps Coleman, George, Greene, Newman, and Harlam funded by a generous grant from the Mallah family.
• Forensics, web/graphic design, aviation and the science of sports medicine at 6 Points Sci-Tech Academy.
• Enhanced and expanded efforts to support campers with disabilities at Camp Harlam through a grant from the Foundation for Jewish Camp, generously funded by the Ruderman Family Foundation.
• A Kesher-Taglit Birthright Israel trip option focused on ecology funded by a Charles F. Bronfman grant. Also, we are proud that the staff of our Israel-based programs are all alumni of URJ or IMPJ experiences.
• Mitzvah Corps and camps will combine efforts when Camp Kalsman joins for a day of service and learning in Seattle.
• Expanded garden and greenhouse programs to inspire and teach stewardship of the earth and environmentalism at OSRUI, George and Eisner just to name a few.
year, continues to grow at an aggressive pace.
Shining a Spotlight Building Out Our Future
Alumni Engagement
Northeast Teen Collective
Our camp facilities, infrastructure and systems are strong, safe and vibrant. We completed 3 million dollars in capital improvements this year!
Our alumni network is 100,000 strong! We are launching a searchable online NFTY alumni directory so our alumni can reconnect with each other.
• Coleman: New pool slide and cabin renovations
We will welcome home alumni for anniversary celebrations at Crane Lake Camp (18 yrs), Greene Family Camp (40 yrs) and Kutz Camp (50 yrs).
Eisner and Crane Lake Camps’ Northeast Teen Collective will expand their successful summer Counselor-in-Training program to create year-round leadership internships to give teens skill building and mentorship opportunities beyond the summer months.
• Eisner: New Machon (CIT) center and new Olim Beit Am (program building) • Greene: Restoration of legacy courtyard and program buildings • Harlam: Cabin renovations and beach expansion and renovation • Kalsman: New outdoor gazebos and Director’s cottage
The Koret Foundation gifted $4 million to the Camp Newman’s $30 million capital campaign—Newman’s largest single gift to date.
The future of Kutz, our NFTY teen leadership center, will be front and center during Kutz@50 with the launch of the camp’s capital campaign and a Think Tank to further vision the NFTY alumni network.
The Teen Collective will be positioned to add value to existing NFTY, congregational, and other community initiatives in an effort to reach more teens, more deeply.