FROM THE DIRECTORS
We are so THANKFUL for you this Thanksgiving season!
The Thanksgiving season always has us thinking about the many things in our lives we are grateful for and finding new ways to express that gratitude. This year, we are incredibly grateful for a community of supportive camp families who understand the true value of summer camp. We are grateful for staff who go above and beyond to ensure that each camper has a meaningful summer. We are grateful for our beautiful camp site and the ability to spend each day of the summer immersed in nature. Most importantly, we are grateful for our happy, excited campers who put a smile on our faces each day. We are so lucky to love what we do.
How do you talk to your children about gratitude? Not just saying “thank you” but feeling truly grateful about their lives. Check out this adorable Shaboom video by BIMBAM- it is another great teaching tool. It focuses on the Jewish value of hakarat hatov, which means seeing the good in the world and being grateful for what you have.
Wishing you a meaningful Thanksgiving holiday, filled with special family moments!
WELCOME CENTER HERE WE COME!
In 2008, a small group of JCC Camps at Medford staff and lay leaders had a dream to build a Welcome Center including a sensory room for our Open Hearts/ Open Doors campers with special needs. After many years of planning and some unexpected challenges, demolition began at our campsite on Wednesday.
To all those who stayed the course and never gave up, this is a truly special and momentous occasion for the JCC Camps at Medford. We are incredibly grateful to our community for all its support.
We will be bringing you photos from different stages of construction, and we can’t wait to welcome you all to our new Welcome Center this summer!
NEW ONE-WEEK SPECIALTY CAMPS AT JCC CAMPS AT MEDFORD
We are excited announce we are in the planning stages to offer one week intensive camp experiences after the regular camp season ends at JCC Camps at Medford.
If your child would like to take a deeper dive into an area of camp they love, they can join us Monday, August 20 through Friday, August 24. The curriculum will be structured to challenge each camper and focus on learning and fun. The individual programs may include: Art, Adventure/Ropes, Culinary, Robotics, Drones, Coding, Song Leading, Teen Entrepreneur, and possibly others. The day will include transportation to camp and back from the Katz JCC, lunch, snack, ice-cream. Class sizes will be limited, some age restrictions may apply. Each program day will include: specialty area intensive, free swim, lunch, and choice activity.
75th ANNIVERSARY TILE WALL- Make Your Mark at Camp! (pic of tile painting)
At the Fall Festival, we kicked off the creation of our 75th anniversary commemorative tile wall! Our site director, Ken, and his crew have built a beautiful structure to house the tile wall each summer, and you can make your physical mark on camp- it is not too late!
We will be working with Color Me Mine to plan an evening social at the Katz JCC where you can purchase a tile to decorate. Keep on the lookout for a Save the Date soon. You can also pre-order a tile HERE. You can choose to come to the JCC to decorate one or have us decorate it for you with whatever you want it to say!
Pricing for tiles:
1 tile/$18 • 2 tiles/$36 • 3 tiles/$50 • 4 tiles/$65
A LETTER FROM CHAI LIFELINE
Dear Beth and Sara,
You did it! And we’re grateful!
On behalf of our children and their families, thank you for participating in Chai Lifeline’s Chai-A-Thon. Your campers’ hard work and dedication helped JCC Camps at Medford raise $1,254.00 this summer. We were touched by their sensitivity as they showed how they TRULY CARED for Chai Lifeline’s kids!
We want to let you know how your campers helped our campers have an extraordinary summer. More than 400 very sick children and teens had a unique opportunity to find friendship and support from others going through similar situations. Instead of being left on the sidelines, they played sports adapted to their abilities, created wonderful works of art and craft, participated in plays and musical productions, and thoroughly enjoyed themselves during concerts and interactive games.
It was an extraordinary summer, thanks to your campers’ chesed and tzedaka. We hope they gained as much as our children through their dedication to Chai-A-Thon.
We hope this partnership continues on their behalf for many years to come.
BRING A TASTE OF CAMP TO YOUR THANKSGIVING TABLE!
Each month we are going to bring you fun activities to try at home with your family! For Thanksgiving, try this delicious treat—can also be made with mashed sweet potatoes!
Cornflake Topped Carrot Kugel
1 (14.5 oz.) can of diced carrots, strained
3/4 cups (1 1/2 sticks) margarine, divided
1 cup sugar
1 cup all purpose flour
3 large eggs
1/4 cup soy milk
1/4 cup brown sugar
2 cups cornflakes or rice Krispies cereal
Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Spray a 9-inch round or 8-inch square baking pan with nonstick cooking spray. Set aside.
Puree strained carrots in food processor.
Melt 1/2 cup (1 stick) margarine in a small saucepan or microwave.
In a bowl of a stand mixer, beat carrot puree, melted margarine, sugar, flour, eggs and soy milk until smooth. Pour into prepared pan.
In the microwave, melt the brown sugar with the remaining 4 Tbsps of margarine (approx. 45 seconds). When the mixture is melted and smooth, remove from heat and mix in the cornflakes. With a wooden spoon toss to coat all the cornflakes. Sprinkle cornflakes evenly over the top of the kugel, do NOT mix in.
Bake uncovered for 1 hour. Serve warm.
(Can also be baked in a muffin pan for individual servings.)