Camper Incentive Program for Jewish Military Families
The URJ Henry S. Jacobs Camp is has announced a program offering a Camper Incentive Program for Jewish Military Families on Active Duty.
The program is open to Jewish families with at least one parent on Active Duty in the U.S. Armed Forces. An individual incentive is available for each child enrolled for camp. The incentives range from $250 to $3000 and vary depending on the camp program and military pay grade.
If this is the first time your child is going to Jewish sleep-away camp, they may be eligible for an additional incentive of up to $1,000.
The camp staff is specifically reaching out to military families and highlight some reasons they feel their camp is well suited for them:
- Our campers are warm & welcoming, polite & friendly. They are thrilled to be at camp, and excited to welcome others into the community.
- Our campers come from all types of families, and from across the socio-economic spectrum – far different than many of the camps near major Jewish centers – resulting in a very diverse community.
- We have many campers who come from small communities, and MANY who come from communities with few Jews. We think that’s something that military kids will share in common with our campers.
- Most of our summer staff members are products of Jacobs Camp themselves – which means they, too, get what’s great about our community, and strive to maintain it.
- Kids who come to Jacobs Camp – and families who send children here – get that the camp is an oasis of Jewish life that plays a pivotal role in building Jewish identity and Jewish self-confidence. Our campers need Jacobs to do this for them – and that we do it so well is one of our greatest strengths.
It’s great to see more and more of these programs that cater to military families and recognize the need for this kind of programming. Please spread the word if you know of anyone that might be able to take advantage of this.
If you want to help enable this kind of programming, you can also donate to the program from their website.
There are some great testimonials from Army and Navy families that have participated:
Last summer, our son spent his first summer at Jacobs Camp and had a great time. As soon as he arrived home, he wanted to know when we could sign him up for 2014. Our daughter is equally enthused and will go to Jacobs for the first time this summer. For both of them, Jacobs Camp offers a meaningful connection to their lives as Jews, and for that, we are grateful. There are a myriad of options available for Jewish summer camps, but Jacobs Camp sets itself apart with its sense of community and family. It has been a great fit for our Jewish military family.
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As a Jewish military family, we have not had the opportunity to have a synagogue and congregation close by that provide the support and comfort to families as loved onesare deployed. Jacobs became that place for my family.