A lot has happened in February. Camp has had over two feet of snow, Punxsutawney Phil didn’t see his shadow, and we announced our new Camp Director, Rabbi Dan Utley! To read more about Rabbi Dan, click here.
We also welcomed campers back to camp for the first time since last summer! Our first ever ILS (Israel Leadership Summer) retreat brought together teens who traveled to Israel in 2021 AND those traveling to Israel in 2022! The teens who traveled to Israel last summer were able to further reflect on their experience, learn more about Israel advocacy from the OSU Shaliach and Camp Wise alum – Amit Dadon, and the Federation Shaliach, Itay. They also got to share their favorite parts of the trip with their peers. The teens who will be traveling to Israel this upcoming summer dove into learning about Israeli culture and history, met with teens from Beit Shean (Cleveland’s sister city), and got even more excited for their trip! Overall it was amazing to bring everyone together for this inaugural program.
Shortly after our teens left, our 5th- 8th graders arrived and jumped right into some Winter Weekend fun! There was an Amazing Race that took us all around camp completing different challenges. We ate lots of s’mores, drank tons of hot cocoa, and played in the snow until it melted in the 50-degree weather!
It felt so nice to have campers back at camp and makes us even more excited for our 115th summer to arrive! Guess what?! Less than 115 days until our 115th summer!
| Visit http://www.campwise.org/events/ for all events |
| February
23-27: Central Region USY Specialty/Kadima Kinnus 24: Hired Staff Roundtable (with Rabbi Dan) 27: Jewish Big Brothers Big Sisters event with CW
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March 2022
6: Northeast Ohio Parent Camp Fair 13-16: CW Team at American Camp Association Tri-State Conference 21-28: CW Team in Israel for International Staff Training 25-26: Gross Schechter Day School Shabbaton 28: Hired Staff Roundtable (with Rabbi Dan) |
April 2022
6: Parent Round Table (virtual) 6-10: Central Region USY Regional Convention 19: New Family Orientation (in person in Cleveland with Rabbi Dan) 24: New Family Orientation (virtual) 28: Hired Staff Roundtable (with Rabbi Dan) 29-1: B’nai Jeshurun Shabbaton |
| In partnership with Jewish Family Service Association (JFSA), Mandel JCC will be offering Covid-19 vaccinations (1st/2nd dose) and boosters the second Sunday every month through the spring at The J. Registration is required using the links below.
Click Here to Register – Mandel JCC – 03/13/22 Click Here to Register – Mandel JCC – 04/10/22 |
| Wise Madness
ARE YOU READY FOR SOME BASKETBALL????? This year, we are hosting our fourth annual Wise Madness bracket tournament, powered by the CW Alumni Committee! Everyone in the Camp Wise community is encouraged to participate, regardless of how much college basketball you watched this year. And new this year, all participants will have the opportunity to enter into the men’s and women’s bracket! We know the brackets have not come out yet, but you can still donate now to get one step ahead of the competition! Visit www.campwise.org/wisemadness to donate and play! The proceeds from the 2021 Wise Madness helped support our Staff-in-Training program and in 2022, the proceeds will go towards the Camp Wise Annual Fund. |
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Call for Host Families There are many wonderful ways for our camp alumni, families and friends to help us make our summer successful. One is by hosting some of our international staff on their day(s) off. This summer we have staff joining us from all over the world including Israel, Mexico, the UK and more! Days off this summer will occur throughout the week, including Shabbat, from June 14-July 31. To learn more about being a host family or to show interest in being a 2022 host, please complete our interest form by clicking here. |
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Nachshon Fellowship The Nachshon Project provides an opportunity for North American students to spend the Spring semester of their junior year of college studying in Jerusalem. Its purpose is to educate and inspire the top echelon of Jewish undergraduates. The Nachshon Project has opened a new Graduate Fellowship opportunity, and we wanted to share with our CW community! This fellowship is for candidates who are current professionals in Jewish jobs or those seeking to bring their skills into the Jewish professional world. Applications for the Fellowship for the 2022-2023 academic year are due March 1, 2022. Click here to learn more |
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| Does 13164 mean something special to you? Make an extra special gift in honor of Camp Wise, by choosing to give $131.64 or $1,316.40 as those are the numbers of our Home of Happiness address! |
Last year we asked a bunch of veteran camp parents what they would add to the packing list if they could. Note: Camp Wise does not collect a share of sales or other compensation from the links on this page. Prices are accurate and items in stock as of the time of publication.
Here are some of the fun things our veteran parents said:
- Shirts in every color for Maccabiah (Red, Blue, Yellow, Purple, Tie-Dye, Green)
- Dress up accessories, (fun hats, crazy sunglasses etc.) for July 4th and/or evening programs
- Autograph book/pillow case/t-shirt
- Small games to play with cabin mates (i.e. Magic the Gathering cards, travel board games, deck of cards, ‘Exploding Kittens’)
- Fidgets
- Mad Libs
- Glow in the dark items
- Items for the whole cabin: glow bracelets, fairy lights, fun décor, mini corn hole
- Embroidery floss for making bracelets
- Surprise letters and/or small gifts packed in camper’s luggage (comic book, baseball cards etc.)
Enrollment Update
- We have over a dozen campers that will be staying with us for 7 weeks!
- Session II Rishon Boys and Girls, Chalutzim II Boys, and Ohalim 7th grade boys, are now full with a waitlist.
- If you have questions or want to review session options, please contact Hannah at 216-593-6250
Staffing Updates
- Want to be a lifeguard and work at our pool and lake this summer? Camp is looking for staff interested in joining us this summer. Not certified? Camp Wise will pay for you to get your certification. Apply at www.campwise.org/work-at-wise/
- We have over 80 staff who have signed contracts and are counting down the days until June! Click here to see who’s joining our team this summer!
- Do you know any RNs that would like to spend part of their summer at Camp Wise? Employment dates are flexible. Connect them with Rebecca.
- There are still open positions for this upcoming summer. Learn more about our job opportunities.
- Contact Rebecca about ways to combine working at camp with a summer internship.
Winter Projects
Our facilities team is
- Plowing lots of snow!
- Making sure any melted snow is draining properly
- Changing out the fans in the Solel cabins
- Building new garbage can holders
- Repairing benches
- Fixing Noar cabin screens
Thanks for reading through our February edition of the Red Wagon! Stay tuned for next month’s Red Wagon email for the latest Camp News!