Jewish summer camps are where lifelong friendships, core memories and Jewish identities are built. In order to ensure that children can focus on having fun, camp organizers work behind the scenes to ensure that safety remains a top priority. 

Preparations for the 2025 summer season kicked off in June with proactive measures for Jewish camps in the Greater Philadelphia region. Amid continued rising antisemitism throughout the country, the Jewish Federation of Greater Philadelphia, in partnership with the Secure Community Network (SCN) – the official safety and security organization for the Jewish community in North America – provided security training for 1,400 staff at 21 camps. This was triple the amount of training conducted last year. 

"In times like these with increased threats, ensuring that staff are trained, alert and prepared is no longer considered ‘optional’ – it’s essential,” said Jewish Federation Security Director Scott Kerns of SCN. “One of the reasons the Jewish Federation raised funds for us to hire a deputy community security director in 2023 was so that we could provide more security trainings for our camps, including those in the Poconos, as well as our schools, congregations and agencies" 

In addition to bringing on Deputy Community Security Director Cortney Voorhees, Kerns also enlisted the help of several SCN employees to expand the training network in the local region. These team members included SCN Regional Security Advisor Timothy Brooks, Deputy Director of the SCN Camp Security Initiative Eddy Azcarate, Director of the SCN Camp Security Initiative James Tarasca, and SCN National Training and Exercise Advisor Stuart Frisch. 

"I want to thank the Jewish Federation of Greater Philadelphia and SCN for coming to Camp Achdus and giving us a very informative security training,” said Yehuda Silver, director of Camp Achdus. “Recently, our community has started to feel the rise in antisemitism, and now our counselors and staff feel ready to protect and serve our children. Our staff and the parents of the children we serve greatly appreciate it."

The trainings conducted this summer helped protect the nearly 12,0000 children and staffers who attend the 21 camps.

Jewish Federation Security Director Scott Kerns of SCN leads a tourniquet training at URJ  Camp Harlam. Courtesy: URG Camp Harlam.

“With the additional help, we met our goal of expansion, and continued to work on our collaboration which is essential to securing our region’s camps,” said  Voorhees. “It’s another example of how the partnership between the Jewish Federation and SCN provides security guidance in an increasingly complex and challenging environment.”

The camp training sessions, provided at no charge, include a situational awareness training to help participants recognize and respond to potential threats, an active threat training to handle dangerous situations in real time, and a Stop the Bleed training to know how to control severe bleeding in emergencies.  

“Our counselors and young adult staff feel more confident in their ability to respond to emergencies and create a safe, supportive space where their campers can thrive without fear,” said David Weiss, executive director of Camp Galil. “We thank the Jewish Federation and SCN for helping us focus on our mission of creating joyful, fun summers.”

Outside of the direct training, SCN also provides camp walkthroughs and full security assessments of their campus to identify strengths and weaknesses in security protocols. In cases where necessary security enhancements are necessary, the Jewish Federation can provide grant writing support to apply for federal and state funds.

In the beginning of June, SCN also held a special briefing about safety for camps this summer with the Regional Security Coordination Working Group. The group is made up of Jewish communal professionals, interfaith partners, law enforcement, first responders and individuals from the private sector and relevant industries with a mission to enhance information sharing and collaboration on security issues. 

“As the central hub for Greater Philadelphia’s Jewish community, it is important that we are in constant contact and conversation with stakeholders,” continued Voorhees. “We believe in creating an effective streamline of communication to properly disseminate security information, measures and resources.”   

In addition to this initiative, the Jewish Federation’s Real Estate group (JFRE) provides capital investments to camps to use toward obtaining and updating safety equipment and systems. Last year, JFRE awarded $65,700 to three camps for security infrastructure projects. 

“We’re not here to scare anyone,” said Kerns. “We’re here to empower our community. Our goal is to make sure that every camp staff member knows exactly what to do in a crisis and can commit to action so that they can focus on what they do best: giving kids an unforgettable summer camp experience.” 

***

To help the Jewish Federation continue to support Jewish summer programming for children, make a gift at jewishphilly.org/donate.