JWB Jewish Chaplains Council®, part of JCC Association of North America’s Center for Jewish Peoplehood, is pleased to offer Operation Summer Camp. This initiative ensures that Jewish children in military families can enjoy the many pleasures and benefits of Jewish community by connecting to the JCC Movement:
JCC Overnight Summer Camp
Overnight Jewish summer camp is the highlight of the year for countless children and young people across North America. JWB Jewish Chaplains Council®, a signature program of JCC Association of North America, with generous support from the Marcus Foundation, is proud to bring the joys and values of Jewish summer camp to children from Jewish military families by welcoming them into the JCC Movement’s network of overnight camps, the largest on the continent, which offer:
- A “home base” to which to return annually
- Year-round engagement opportunities and points of connection
- Friendships that transcend time and geography
- The opportunity to build a strong Jewish identity and a lifelong commitment to Jewish life
Participating JCC Overnight Camps
JCC Maccabi Sports Camp, Atherton, Calif.
Camp Tawonga, Groveland, Calif.
Camp JCA Shalom, Malibu, Calif.
JCC Ranch Camp, Elbert, Colo.
Camp Barney Medintz, Cleveland, Ga.
Camp Livingston, Bennington, Ind.
Tamarack Camps, Ortonville, Mich.
Camp Sabra, Rocky Mount, Mo.
Surprise Lake Camp, Cold Spring, N.Y.
Berkshire Hills Eisenberg Camp, Copake, N.Y.
Camp Seneca Lake, Finger Lakes Region, N.Y.
Camp Wise, Chardon, Ohio
BB Camp, Otis, Ore.
NJY Camps, Milford, Pa.
Camp Poyntelle, Preston Township, Pa.
Pinemere Camp, Stroudsburg, Pa.
Capital Camps, Waynesboro, Pa.
Sabababeachaway Camp, Virginia Beach, Va.
Emma Kaufman Camp, Morgantown, W.Va.
Camp Chi, Lake Delton, Wis.
Camp Interlaken JCC, Eagle River, Wis.
For more information or to apply for a full scholarship to attend a JCC overnight summer camp, email Hadassah Nitzan, JWB director of operations and outreach.
This expansion provides children in Jewish military families with access to high-quality, Jewish day camps, offering a meaningful, immersive camp experience rooted in Jewish values, community, and belonging.
The OSC: Day Camp Edition aims to strengthen connections between military families and local Jewish communities, meeting families where they live and creating meaningful opportunities for children—and their parents—to engage in daily camp life.
Through this program, children and families gain:
- A welcoming Jewish community close to home
- Daily connection to Jewish life and values
- Friendships that grow through shared experiences
- A strong foundation for Jewish identity and engagement
- Opportunities for year-round family involvement
To be eligible for a scholarship, children should:
- Be entering 1st grade or above
- Live and be raised in a Jewish home
- Have at least one parent currently serving:
- On active duty in the U.S. armed forces or honorably discharged within the last five years
- In the National Guard
- As a VA chaplain or
- Who is the recipient of a Purple Heart or is a member of a Gold Star family
OSC will support:
- Up to four weeks of JCC day camp at no cost to families
- An opportunity to participate for up to two summers
- A high-quality camp experience in a supportive, values-driven environment
For more information or to apply for a full scholarship to attend a JCC day camp, email Hadassah Nitzan, JWB director of operations and outreach
For more than 40 years, JCC Maccabi® has been rallying and uniting the Jewish community around a positive, unparalleled, and transformative Jewish experience—inspiring Jewish-identity building; strengthening connections amongst a diverse, global representation of Jewish teens to one another and to Israel; and cultivating the next generation of proud Jewish leaders. And it does so through the universal lens of sport—the most inclusive and influential vehicle for teen engagement and impact.
The Olympic-style competition for Jewish athletes from 13–17 years old is now welcoming Jewish teens from active-duty military families and offering full scholarships for eligible participants.
As the largest organized Jewish youth sports platform in the world, every summer JCC Maccabi brings together 3,000+ Jewish teen athletes and coaches, and 10,000+ family members, spectators, volunteers, and leaders of all ages and backgrounds from over 75 global communities. Although Olympic-style athletic competition draws participants to the week-long program, it’s the Jewish expression of six core JCC Maccabi midot | values woven across every facet of the experience—from the Opening Ceremony to the JCC Cares service-learning program, and educational HangTime hosted by schlichim from Israel—that remains embedded within them for a lifetime. JCC Maccabi stands as a transformative vehicle that engages teens in the wider Jewish community and builds a sense of Jewish pride, joy, and peoplehood in them and everyone who is touched by the magic of the JCC Maccabi experience.
JWB Jewish Chaplains Council® is proud to be able to bring Jewish teens to JCC Association’s JCC Maccabi Games® in Austin, Texas, in 2027. Thanks to JWB’s Operation Summer Camp, Jewish teens ages 13–17 with at least one parent currently on active duty or discharged from the U.S. military within the last five years are eligible to apply for a full scholarship to the Games!
The application deadline is May 15, 2027.
For more information or to apply for a full scholarship to attend the JCC Maccabi Games, email Hadassah Nitzan, JWB director of operations and outreach