Whether overnight or day, Jewish summer camp can be a transformative experience in a child’s journey of identity building, creating relationships and participating in a community. Fifteen percent of Jewish families send their children to Jewish summer camps, according to the 2019 Jewish Federation Population Study. One of the principal reasons this statistic is not higher is cost.

That is why the Jewish Federation of Greater Philadelphia has long offered scholarships to reduce barriers for families to send their children to Jewish day and overnight camps. 

In preparation for Summer 2023, the Jewish Federation implemented a new allocation system to streamline the application process while enabling camps to better directly serve their campers. Instead of awarding individual scholarships, the Jewish Federation is now directing discretionary funds for camps to distribute assistance to families through their processes. 

“We wanted to ease the burden on parents applying for financial assistance for camp,” said Kelly Romirowsky, Jewish Federation’s Chief Strategy and Impact Officer. “Families were asked to complete similar applications for both Jewish Federation’s scholarships and the camp’s scholarships, and we wanted to eliminate that duplication. All in all, we hope that this change makes accessing financial assistance for Jewish camp easier for families.”

Even with the change to the process, the impact that the Jewish Federation will create for families looking to explore Jewish experiences for their children will remain the same.  

Anita, whose last name is omitted for privacy, knows firsthand how camp scholarships can be life-changing for a family. With two children and her husband incarcerated, times have been financially and emotionally challenging – making quintessential cornerstone experiences, like camp, an unattainable dream. 

That was until Anita received the news last year that both of her children – Emily and Ryan – had been awarded financial aid scholarships for camp. 

“My kids are ecstatic,” Anita wrote in an email after being notified that her children will again receive camp scholarships this year. “They have been waiting for summer to come so they can again go to Camp Gan Izzy.” 

While families now receive Jewish Federation’s financial aid scholarships from camps, the organization will continue to directly offer One Happy Camper grants of up to $1,000 for first-time overnight campers. One Happy Camper, a program of the Foundation for Jewish Camp, is funded locally by Jewish Federation.

These grants are not based on financial need and are distributed to open doors for first-time campers to cultivate their identities while participating in the Jewish community.

Camp scholarships are partly funded through the Jewish Community Fund, the Jewish Federation’s largest campaign that allocates donations to the greatest need, and restricted funds. The Jewish Community Fund  allows the Jewish Federation to provide enriching experiences, like camp, for the next generation and care for communities locally, in Israel and around the world. 

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 To learn more about how the Jewish Federation supports camps, visit jewishphilly.org/Camp. To help more kids, like Anita’s children Emily and Ryan, attend Jewish camp, you can make a gift to the Jewish Federation by visiting jewishphily.org/MoveForward.