Camp creates community.  I have always known this, but looking back on my years at Camp George has only solidified this idea.  I know that my closest friends were made at camp, but my community goes beyond that.  My professional life is also improved by my experiences at camp.  As a high school teacher, I find that I am constantly turning to friends and collages from Camp George and from a camp background in general to inform my pedagogy.  My professional practice is, in turn, improved by my years and experiences at camp.

This is why I feel it so important to give back to camp.  I know that my time helped me become the successful teacher and Jewish community member that I am today.  I want to see those opportunities exist for any child who wants to go to Camp George.  This is why I have donated to both the scholarship campaigns and specific infrastructure campaigns in the past, and will continue to do so in the future.

I also want to see camp thrive for years to come.  As a parent of a young child, I want to know that the Camp George that existed for me will continue to exist for my son and for my friends’ children.  I want them to get the same joy from the bus turning on to Good-fellowship Road as I did – the summer ahead full of anticipation and hope.  Will I get up on water-skis this year, will I be brave enough to go down the zipline, who will be in my cabin, what will the food be like this year?

I am lucky enough to be married to a faculty member too. This means that I get to see all of the great programming from the outside. I continue to see smiles on camper faces as they move through their day.  I know that they are growing as individuals and also creating friendships, memories, and skills that will help them in their futures. Camp made me who I am, and I know that its future is sound as many more campers will grow into themselves in the same place.