from ReformJudaism.org

Here are the top six reasons parents, bubbes and zaydes everywhere are sending their kids to Jewish camp:

1. Experiences first, explanations later. Kids are able to ultimately and immediately contribute to their Jewish community at camp. At camp, they experience it (at meals, during Shabbat, on the ropes course, in the cabin - everywhere), and the explanations come later.

2. Camp friendships last beyond the summer. After the dirty laundry has been washed and the camp trunk put away, the friendships endure. Camp is one easy entry point into a lifelong Jewish community.

3. Immersive Jewish community, 24/7. Campers are exposed to adult Jewish role models, Jewish peers, and Jewish friends from different places.

4. Camp ends, but the Jewish community continues. Extensive research in recent years has proven that children who attend Jewish summer camp are more likely to identify as Jewish adults and actively engage in the Jewish community.

5. Jewish camp addresses the whole camper. Children learn confidence, skill-building and socialization by living in a community. They learn how to manage in a diverse group of peers, and they face new situations and overcome challenges on a daily basis.

6. Camp helps kids succeed beyond childhood. Camp is all about fun and can be an environment for “real-world” learning. Campers who return to camp as staff members can create opportunities to advance themselves professionally.