Jchoice.Org

In social service jargon, CFAK is an intervention vehicle for at-risk kids who, after even one summer at camp, can move further into mainstream society with increased confidence, social skills and a deeper well of experiences. The program’s great strength, however, is that very few of the campers served by CFAK have only one summer’s worth of experience. When accepted into the program, campers can return summer after summer. (By the way, these are four week programs!) This allows for deeper experiences and relationships for ALL the kids. Furthermore, the program works closely with the schools campers attend and they are given support services there throughout the year.

Simply put, CFAK sends kids to camp.

Camp for All Kids began in the mid 1990s in response to a camper’s parent who wondered why all the campers were White. This angel donor got CFAK on its way. CFAK now has a fully functioning Board of Directors and a sound not-for-profit structure. The five camps participating in this program are connected by their directors, all of whom went to camp together as kids and young adults.

Our mission is to provide children of color from under-served communities the opportunity to benefit from attending summer camp.

We need support because camp is really expensive – and really important. Educationally speaking, the benefits of residential summer camp are borne out in research. We all know – too well – the harsh realities of life for too many minority kids in our country. Success in life, educational attainment and economic viability are difficult goals for them to attain. Summer camp can be part of the solution to these problems. In many studies , camp has been shown to build such desirable youth strengths as confidence, independence and spiritual satisfaction.

Furthermore, “nearly 70% of campers experienced the highest level of support… at camp compared to an average of 40% of youth in some community-based organizations and between 15-20% in some secondary schools.”

We have a terrific program in place. We have sent almost 600 kids to camp since 1993 and the program at each camp is top-notch. To keep our promise that allows kids to return summer after summer, we need to raise money. Reaching out to bar/bat mitzvah kids is part of our fundraising strategy. Camping has long been a central part of many Jewish kids’ lives and we believe that they and their parents “”get” camp. These kids will benefit as much as the scholarship recipients in the following ways: 1) They will undertake and complete an important mitzvah. 2) They will make friends they might never had met otherwise. 3) They will earn to love with new people and be enriched by the experience. Be as specific as you can with your strategy, including the specific group being targeted and how these individuals may benefit from your program.

Many organizations offer kids one or two week opportunities for camp. We offer kids a full, four-week session with the opportunity to go back summer after summer. Some of our former campers are now counselors and camp staff!