Camps pledge support for ‘shvitz-free’ T-shirts
Several of the area’s Jewish summer camps have joined Progressive Jewish Alliance in its “No Shvitz” campaign, pledging to use non-sweatshop produced T-shirts.
PJA has been speaking to Jewish organizations around the Bay Area about this issue, lately focusing much of their effort on summer camps, whose campers buy thousands of T-shirts each year.
Abby Levine, program director of PJA in the Bay Area, said there are only about a dozen vendors that sell T-shirts that are not made in sweatshops.
“It does cost more to go sweat-free, just like buying organic is a little bit more expensive,” Levine said. “Most clothes are made in sweatshops, so we’ve put together a list of vendors that people can order from.”
In its “No Shvitz” pamphlet, PJA argues that Jews have a moral obligation to stay away from sweatshop labor, since so many Jewish immigrants from Eastern Europe worked long hours under terrible conditions for pitiful wages when they first came to the United States. Additionally, the Torah has several verses about how workers should be treated well and compensated fairly for their labor.
So far, Camps Newman, Swig and Tawonga, the Osher Marin Jewish Community Center, the Berkeley Richmond Jewish Community Center’s Camp Tzofim and Camp J, and Camp Kadima, the Jewish Community Day Camp of the East Bay have all signed the pledge.
Secular Jewish school opens in Tri-Valley Area
The Secular Humanist Jews in the Tri-Valley Area has opened a religious school in which students learn primarily about the cultural aspects of Judaism.
The school, which started in January, meets in the teacher’s house. Cooking foods from Jewish communities around the world is a large part of the class.
The children will also make crafts that relate to Jewish communities around the world. The next semester will focus on American Jewish history and literature.
Class meets two Sunday mornings per month from 10:30 a.m. to 12:30 p.m.
The class costs $250 with additional costs for secular b’nai mitzvah, though there is a sliding scale based on need.
For more information, contact Rabbi Judith Seid at (925) 485-1049 or [email protected].
Camp foundation starts fund for hurricane victims
The Foundation for Jewish Camping, the umbrella organization of more than 130 nonprofit Jewish overnight camps in North America, has launched an emergency scholarship fund for Jewish youth affected by Hurricanes Katrina and Rita.
The scholarship fund, called Habayita: Coming Home to Jewish Camp, will benefit families who may not be able to afford to send their children to camp while dealing with the aftermath of the hurricanes.
The not-for-profit organization estimates about 400 Jewish families that traditionally send their children to summer camps have been economically devastated by the hurricanes.
For more information about the Foundation for Jewish Camping and its scholarship fund, visit www.jewishcamping.org or email the foundation at [email protected].
Fellowships available for camp in Hungary
Admission is still open for teenagers wanting to spend two weeks this summer in Hungary.
Every summer since 1990, hundreds of teenagers from all over the world — including India, France, Turkey, Ethiopia, Russia and Israel — have gathered at Camp Szarvas in Hungary.
Forty-five Szarvas Fellowships are available to North American high-school students from all Jewish cultural and religious backgrounds who will be completing 10th or 11th grade this year.
Campers learn firsthand about the Jewish communities around the world today. The program includes guided tours of Jewish heritage sites in different cities in Hungary. The fellows also study the languages, geography and histories of the different Jewish communities attending at the camp.
The deadline for applications is March 1.
For more information, go to www.szarvas.org or contact Seth Braunstein, the program’s director, at (212) 362-3361 or [email protected].
Palo Alto JCC expands J-Camp
J-Camp, a summer program at the Albert L. Schultz Jewish Community Center, has expanded its offerings from four to 12 one-week specialty camps this summer.
The camp themes range from drama to sports to physics and are open to kids ages 8 through 15.
The specialty camps include Circus Camp; Drama Camp; Hogwarts Camp (for Harry Potter fans); Space and Rocketry Camp; Gizmos Robot Factory; Physics Grand Prix; Chess Camp; Cheerleading Camp; Chef Camp; Smallboat Sailing Camp; Computer Game Design; Robotics and 3D Modeling; and Soccer Camp.
The prices range from $250 to $325, and the one-week sessions run from 9:30 a.m. to 3:30 p.m., June 19 to Aug. 18.
Along with the specialty camps, the traditional J-Camp experience is back. It will be offered during four two-week sessions beginning June 19 for campers preschool thru 10th grade.
For preschoolers, camp will be held on the T’enna Campus at 4000 Middlefield Road, Palo Alto. This camp is open to children ages 2 1/2 through pre-kindergarten. For children kindergarten thru 10th grade, camp will be held at the Terman Middle School Campus, 655 Astradero Road, Palo Alto.
Call (650) 852-3555 or email [email protected] for more information.