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Camp Kulam

What We Do

Camp Kulam (מחנה כולם) is a multicultural camp that celebrates global Jewish diversity, lifts up the experiences of Jews of Color, and welcomes kindergarten to 3rd graders from a broad spectrum of family backgrounds for a fun-filled week together!

Campers enjoy a variety of fun activities including sports, arts, creative play, cooking, music, dance, and more!  They explore and feel proud of their own identities, celebrate and learn about Jewish cultures and communities around the world, and become a part of our special camp community.

Camp Kulam is open to current kindergarten to third graders from schools and neighborhoods all across Brooklyn and NYC during February school break.  All children are welcome, racial and ethnically diverse Jewish families are embraced, and everyone is free to be their authentic selves and have lots of fun.

Our camp cheer says it all!  

Mee poh?  Kulam poh! –  !מי פה? כולם פה

Who’s here?  Everyone is here!

Details:

WHAT: Camp Kulam is a multicultural day camp program during NYC Mid-Winter Recess

WHEN: Tuesday, February 20-Friday, February 23, 2024

  • Regular Day: 9:00am-4:00pm
  • Extended Day Add-On: 4:00-5:00pm

WHERE: Hannah Senesh Community Day School, 342 Smith Street, Brooklyn, NY

WHO: Children in kindergarten to third grades. Children from ALL school communities are welcome and encouraged to attend Camp Kulam!

COST: 

  • Regular Day Enrollment (9:00am-4:00pm) – Full Week Rate: $500/week | Daily Rate: $150/day 
  • Extended Day Enrollment (9:00am-5:00pm**) – Full Week Rate: $600/week | Daily Rate: $175/day (not offered on Friday)
    **On Friday, February 23th, the camp program will conclude at 4:00pm for all campers – no extended care is available.

Applications are now open!

Apply Now

Our Program:

There are many ways to look, act, feel, and be Jewish, and we elevate and celebrate this diversity in all that we do!

Through a wide variety of typical and fun camp activities—such as art, cooking, dance, nature, sports, and stories—campers learn about Jewish cultures and communities around the world and deepen their understanding of their own identities and heritages.

Exploring the core themes of personal identity (“Who Am I?”) and community (“Who Are We?”) campers discover that being Jewish is a beautiful mosaic, with each camper contributing their unique piece, and have lots of fun along the way!

Our Staff:

Our special sauce is our diverse staff!  They are multi-racial, multi-ethnic role models who are kind, energetic, welcoming, and fun!

Our staff are dedicated, caring professionals and educators with camp and early childhood experience who share our vision for a more diverse and inclusive Jewish community.  Witnessing their own identities represented within our staff enables campers to develop a profound sense of self and a strong connection to their Jewish heritage.  

Our staff welcome campers each day with a smile, and create a warm environment that celebrates individuality and sparks curiosity. They work hard to develop a dynamic schedule full of engaging, age-appropriate, experiential programs carefully designed to appeal to the interests of each child, instill in them a sense of belonging, and ensure they are having a lot of fun. 

Camp has a 1:6 ratio of staff members to campers, in line with (or exceeding) the age-based guidance for summer camps as determined by the NYC Department of Health.

Interested in joining our camp team?  Send an email to Jamie Maxner, our Camp Director, at jmaxner@hannahsenesh.org

Our Story:

Each child and family story is unique!  We believe that we all belong here and that our community is richer when we lift up and celebrate the diversity and uniqueness of each individual.  

It is estimated that Jews of Color (JoC) make up at least 12-15% of the American Jewish community, yet participate less and are underrepresented in mainstream Jewish spaces.  Inspired by the vision and values of Senesh, we wanted to create a warm, welcoming community where every child feels safe, included, and excited to share their own identities, ideas and experiences. 

In February 2023, we proudly launched our first-of-its-kind multicultural camp centering Jews of Color (JoC) that brought together a group of diverse campers and staff from across Brooklyn and NYC for a fun-filled week together!  Campers explored their own interests and identities, celebrated differences, and learned about Jewish cultures and communities around the world.  Through stories, song, dance, art, cooking, nature and more, we created a special community – one that is reflective of the diverse Jewish community we want to see – and had a ton of fun!

Our pilot camp program was just the beginning and we are already hard at work planning so much more!

Diverse Jewish Family Programming:

We envision a world in which all children and families are welcomed into the Jewish community as their full and authentic selves; where each of us believe that our unique stories are integral, belong, and are reflected in the rich and beautiful mosaic of the Jewish people.

We are excited to offer programs and experiences beyond camp all year long to engage children and families from a wide variety of backgrounds that connect us to each other and to the global, diverse Jewish people. 

You are invited to join us in the co-creation of an open, inclusive, dynamic Jewish community where children and families of all backgrounds experience a genuine sense of belonging through dynamic programming that connects us to each other, to the global, diverse Jewish people, and where diverse voices, stories, heritages, and practices are celebrated.

To learn more and receive updates about upcoming programs for Jews of Color and diverse families in NYC, please fill out this brief interest form.

Gratitude:

ADVISORY COUNCIL
We are grateful for the ongoing support of our Advisory Council whose questions, thought partnership, and strategic guidance have been integral to the foundation of this camp:

Imani Chapman – Founder and Director, Imani Strategies LLC
Jamie Maxner – Director, Camp Kulam
Martha Nadell – Senesh Parent and Associate Professor, Brooklyn College
Lindsey Newman – Director of Community Engagement, Be’chol Lashon
Chava Shervington – Board Member, Jewish Multiracial Network
Yoshi Silverstein – Founder & Executive Director, Mitsui Collective
Rachel Weinstein White – Executive Director & Founder, Fig Tree

COVENANT FOUNDATION

Camp Kulam is made possible by the generous support of The Covenant Foundation.

JEWS OF COLOR INITIATIVE
We are proud that Camp Kulam is supported by the Jews of Color Initiative as a part of their New York Hub Incubator.