Local young adults are loving their jobs at Rainbow Day Camp, giving back to the Jewish community
They were smiling, enthused and vibrant. There was no slogging, early-morning commuter vibe here.
Rainbow Day Camp counselors arrived early for buses to camp one morning in July, to chat with the Chronicle and pose for photos. It turns out, they are loving camp and have a lot to say.
Here’s what we learned, six things to know about being a counselor at the Albert & Ann Deshur JCC Rainbow Day Camp.
1. It can help you grow.
“It gave me an opportunity for leadership that I didn’t know I needed,” said Lifeguard Olivia Fox. The experience has helped her out of her own shell, she said. She serves as head lifeguard for a team of about ten, making the schedule, adjusting as needed, and keeping things running on time.
2. It offers familiarity mixed with fun.
“I love it. I went to this camp for five years when I was little, and my goal as a counselor is to really give the same experience that I had when I went here as a kid,” said Counselor Jacob Byers. Gaga, swimming, energy-charged camp bus songs and keeping up with friends are big draws for him.
“I used to go here when I was little, and I’ve been here for four years. This is my fourth summer back working as a guard,” Fox said. “Honestly, most of the traditions haven’t changed, which is kind of what I love about it.”
You may need to be a camper or counselor to understand, but Fox’s favorites include the “birthday chicken” – a faux avian that arrives for birthdays – and “pushing Lenny into the agam (water).”
“He knows it’s coming. He exaggerates it, but the kids love it.”
And Counselor David Rector said he loves the “Bim Bom Stomp.” It’s a high-energy Shabbat singalong tradition. “Everyone, all the kids, even if they don’t know how to do it, they’re trying to do it. Younger kids try to do it,” he said.
3. There’s fun for older kids, too.
“I take the kids fishing. I do boating, kayaking, the agam, extra swim time. I do most of the water activities, or sometimes the sports, sometimes a special activity like biking or the rock wall,” said Jacob Byers, a counselor with lifeguard certification.
He’s a counselor in the “village” portion of camp, working with sixth through ninth grade campers.
4. It’s Jewish but accepting of all.
The environment is one where Jewish tradition is valued, but it’s never pushed on campers who are not Jewish, Byers said. “I really like how it builds a sense of community,” he said.
“There’s a lot of Jewish tradition in everything,” Fox added. “Like Shabbat on Fridays; they do a little service. The kids love it, Jewish or not.”
Counselor Coby Wertz, 19, agreed: “Regardless of what religion they are, they always feel they have a place there. They always feel seen.”
5. At least one counselor is ready to help you love soccer.
Wertz said he enjoys working with his group of kids, who are around 7-9 years old. Outside of camp, he coaches women’s soccer for Catholic Memorial High School. He also watches “a ton” of soccer while at college.
Wertz said he has learned how to make picking up soccer fun, so that even if someone reluctant spends five or ten minutes with it, they often learn they enjoy it.
6. There’s tikkun olam, too. Of course.
Counselor David Rector works with adults who have special needs in a garden. They produce for actual use, and they “feel like they are part of something larger,” he said. The program, called Bonim Farms, is a workforce readiness initiative that employs adults with disabilities to work as Farm Fellows at the Albert & Ann Deshur JCC Rainbow Day Camp.
“I love it,” he said. “We all work together and we give food and snack to the rest of camp.”
And when he left Bonim Farms participants for a day to work with children, several participants asked, “Where were you?”
Rector said it made him feel his impact.
Loading ...