Potluck Simchat Torah Dinner:
Bring a dish, bring your family and come relax over a home made dinner. No charge since we're all contributing.
Scroll down for more great youth programs:
Purim Carnival: Info and Volunteer Form
Come have fun at the fantastic Howard County Purim Carnival, dozens of cames, crafts and activities for all ages as well as kosher food. Can you lend a hand with the event. Fill out the volunteer form above and let us know.
Stay tuned for more fun to come...
- Shabbat B'yachad
- Howard County Purim Festival: games, food and fun.
- End of year school events and more!
- Fall Fun Fest
- Hanukkah Party
- Pasta, Pizza and Prayer
Youth Group: BBYO
Oseh Shalom BBYO is a co-ed, teen-run but advisor-supervised group for children between 9th and 12th grade. This local chapter of the international order of Bnai B’rith Youth Organization is one of the largest and most active in the area. We have 70+ members that join us for a variety of activities ranging from Shabbat Dinners to Jewish Singled Out. BBYO encourages the teen leaders to plan and execute creative programming in each of the five required areas: social, educational, athletic, Judaic and community service/social action. Many of our members serve and mingle on the council level as well as the Regional level. Our boys also compete in football and basketball leagues. For more information, contact the Oseh Office.
CAMP JRF, Fun, Friendship and Jewish Living
Camp JRF is a summer camp filled with a joyful, creative, and inclusive Reconstructionist community. Campers swim, play soccer, basketball, baseball, volleyball, and other sports. They sing and explore other arts. They learn from visiting artists, scholars, and rabbis, as well from talented specialists and dedicated college-age counselors. Our campers make lasting friendships, experience a safe and fun summer, explore Jewish tradition, forge their own Jewish identity, and participate in creating a Jewish culture in which our values are lived each day.
Reconstructionism is a progressive approach to Jewish life which integrates a deep respect for traditional Judaism with the insights of today. At Camp JRF, we not only teach Jewish living skills, but we also create a warm and caring community, where campers can build character and learn a deep respect for Jewish tradition and what it has to offer in everyday life.
Located on the Aaron and Marjorie Ziegelman Campus in the Pocono Mountains, Camp JRF is within easy driving distance of Maryland, and a short flight from the rest of the country. The site is on 130 acres of beautifully wooded land in South Sterling, Pennsylvania, and includes a waterfront with canoes and kayaks; a low and high ropes course and climbing wall; a heated swimming pool; endless hiking trails; a baseball diamond, tennis courts, and volleyball courts, basketball courts, archery and athletic fields; a state-of-the art theatre; an arts & crafts center; an indoor athletic facility and a complete health center.
Our campers range in age from eight to seventeen and come from communities across North America, Israel and the world, forming a vibrant, unique and exciting Jewish community in the woods. They are supported by mature staff members who believe in Reconstructionist values and in the importance of positive Jewish experiences for youth. The camp community is completed by a core group of faculty members - rabbis, educators, cantors, rabbinical students, and youth workers - who help to incorporate Jewish learning into each part of the camp program. Rabbi Heifetz from Oseh Shalom has volunteered on camp faculty during two recent summers. Everyone comes together to form a community like no other, a community which is certainly not to be missed!
For more information, visit the Camp JRF website at: www.campjrf.org
Federation is thrilled to once again offer CamperQuest financial incentives for summer 2009. These incentives, funded by Federation's United Jewish Endowment Fund, are designed to encourage families to choose a Jewish overnight camp experience for their children. Jewish overnight camping has long been regarded as one of the most powerful Jewish identity-building tools. We are proud that the Federation has developed this incentive program to encourage families to take advantage of a Jewish overnight camp experience.
The Jewish Federation will award grants to two, three, and four week campers. Incentives of $750 will be awarded to children attending 4-week camp sessions, $500 will be awarded to children attending 3-week camp sessions and $250 will be awarded to children participating in 2-week sessions. Recipients must be planning to attend an approved Jewish overnight camp for the first time (see list included in the attached information packet), be between the ages of 8 and 11 years (or grades 3 through 6), and reside in the Greater Washington, D.C. area.
CamperQuest is targeted to families with marginal involvement in the Jewish community as a way to engage them in Jewish life. Priority will be given to children attending public or secular private schools. We hope that you will identify families who you think would, given the right incentive, choose a Jewish educational overnight camp, and who would benefit from increased engagement in Jewish life. Please note that these funds are not intended to be scholarship funds; they are intended to encourage a family to try Jewish camping with the hope that the child will return the following summer. The attached CamperQuest information packet and flyer provides additional details about CamperQuest. In the next few weeks, we will be mailing you a hard copy of the CamperQuest information packet and CamperQuest flyers. PLEASE PLACE A STACK OF THESE FLYERS IN A PROMINENT LOCATION FOR EASY PICK-UP AND POST ONE ON YOUR BULLLETIN BOARD. We will also be attending area camp fairs to further publicize this program. If your congregation will be sponsoring a camp fair, please let us know as we would be very interested in participating.
Please note the following:
Families can access the online application hyperlink at www.shalomdc.org/camperquest. Completed applications are due February 15, 2009.
Applications will be placed into a lottery from which grant recipients will be chosen.
Please contact Rachel Anolik 301/348-7330 or camperquest@ShalomDC.org with questions. As always, your feedback would be greatly appreciated. We are excited to be partnering with you again on this meaningful project!
