Camp Alonim

Happy campers ☀️💝🫂

As we close out Shabbat, we welcome in a new and exciting week!

Shabbat Shalom!! 🤍🤍🤍

We spent Day 2 at our first chugim (activities) and then spent our night at our opening campfire where each division sang a parody song for the rest of the camp! Can’t wait for tomorrow!😆

All smiles for Day 1 😁🌟

CITS ‘74, ‘84, ‘94, ‘04, ‘14 are you ready for your reunions this summer?! Register today via link in bio! Registration closes in 48 hours!!

Goooooo C …. I …. T …. Advisors 2024! Leah, Schwaddy, Spencer, and Xam are excited to get to know their CITs and and build the CIT 2024 community this summer! Check out some photos of them from their first summers at camp!

We’re so excited to share our Yachad Advisors for Summer 2024! Abbie, Ben, Maddy, and Sawyer are incredible role models and we’re eager to see them work with the entering 10th graders this summer! Check out some photos of them from their first summers at camp!

We’re very excited to announce our Head Counselors for Summer 2024 — Charlie, Emma, Halle, Rachel, Sarah, and Sawyer will be incredible stewards of the camp experience for our new and returning campers… Check out photos of them from their first summers at camp!

On this Yom HaShoah, Holocaust Remembrance Day, we remember the 6 million Jews who died in the Holocaust. We must never forget the horrors of the Holocaust committed against the Jewish community and the lessons we can all learn to ensure it never happens again. On this Yom HaShoah, we ask you to join us in taking moments of silence, prayer, and reflection today to honor and remember the victims of the Holocaust.

We're looking for a few more counselors and specialty staff members to round out our incredible Summer 2024 Staff Team! Apply to be on staff now at alonim.com/staff

Wishing the whole Alonim community a joyous and meaningful Pesach! Chag Sameach!

Reconnect with your camp besties at our Alumni 26+ Havdalah Reunion or the CIT '74, '84, '94, '04, & '14 Reunions this summer at camp! RSVP via link in comments! (p.s. we love these photos from August '84!)

It’s Midot Monday! Today’s Midah is kehilah k’doshah or holy community! Alonim is a kehilah kadosha. Whether we’re coming together in song, playing soccer together, dancing, or praying together, everything we do at Camp Alonim is done with the unique intention of coming together as a holy community! Whether you’ve been at Alonim one summer, you’ve spent your whole life here or something in between, you’re an Alonimer and you’re part of our kehillah k’dosha.

Moments in Alonim History #29: the U.S. Bicentennial! In July 1976, Alonim celebrated along with the rest of the country 200 years of American history. We raised the Bicentennial flag, played some softball, and had a barbecue to celebrate!

It’s Midot Monday! Today’s Midah is Masoret, or tradition! At Alonim we hold close to our traditions that have been in place for 70 years, like our Shabbat procession to services as a camp wearing all white. We also take the opportunity to create new traditions as a camp over the years!

Moments in Alonim History #28: B***o Riding! In the beginning of camp, our equine program was not focused on horseback riding but rather b***o riding! In this photo from 1953 you can see some of our first campers riding donkeys. While we've since upgraded to horses, we can't help but cherish these memories of our b***o-riding past.

It's Midot Monday! Today's Midah is atzma'ut or independence! At Alonim campers gain a ton of independence and new skills for advocating for themselves and their needs and desires. From camper choice electives for which activities they participate in during the day, from walking from place to place independently, to being able to get up at meals and serve themselves from the salad bar or other supplementary options, independence is woven into the fabric of what makes camp a transformative experience for a young person!

If you were a CIT in 1974, 1984, 1994, 2004, or 2014 it’s time for your reunion at Alonim this summer! We’re excited to host so many Alonimers coming back to Peppertree Lane this summer. RSVP for your CIT Reunion via link in our bio if you’re a CIT of 1974, 1984, 1994, 2004, or 2014!

Moments in Alonim History #27: The original front gate! The front gate has evolved over the years with different signs, different locations, and different personnel. This first image is the front gate much deeper in to campus than the location of the gate today. Also, you'll see a couple of photos of different welcome signs of Shalom and Bruchim HaBaim from over the years. Another fun front gate fact: the CITs used to work the front gate in Camp's early years all the way until the 80s!

It’s Midot Monday! Today’s midah (value) is Radical Kindness/Chesed. At Alonim we try to go above and beyond what is called of us to show one another kindness. Whether physically or metaphorically having each others back, Alonimers value showing up for one another in kindness!

It’s Midot Monday! Today’s midah (value) is Innovation/Chidush. At Alonim while we value our traditions we also embrace innovation. We value innovation through our programming, through our operations, and through providing our campers and staff with the tools to make our camp traditions and Jewish traditions relevant in their lives today!

Moments in Alonim History #26: The original tents. In the earliest days of camp, around 1953-1954, the first Alonimers lived in army surplus tents. All campers lived in the tents the first two years, but teenage campers lived in the tents for many years afterwards. These fabric tents were mounted on wooden platforms and wooden posts. While different from the bunks we live in now, campers still had jobs like sweeping and cleaning for bunk cleanup and slept on similar beds. The early days of Alonim really took the whole "camping" part of camp pretty seriously!

We’re introducing a new series highlighting our Jewish Values based education at Alonim — Midot Mondays! Today’s midah (value) is Respect/Kavod… at Alonim we learn to respect ourselves, one another, our communal living spaces, the natural world around us, our differences, and living up to our commandment of V’ahavta lreicha kamocha — love your neighbor as yourself.

Moments in History #25: The barn animals and Teva have been a huge part of the Camp Alonim experience since the very beginning. Check out these photos from 1954 (Alonim's 2nd Summer) of campers learning about native wildlife (tarantulas, frogs, and other bugs), building a chicken coop on site, and working with the chickens. For many years, the chug working with the animals was called "Barn & Nature," and now working with the animals is part of our Teva chug.

Aaron's Note to the Alonim Community on the second day of his trip as part of the Foundation for Jewish Camp’s Senior Educators Convening in Israel.

"In March of 2019, I had the pleasure of staying at Kibbutz Shefayim for the Israeli staff training seminar. Today I returned to Shefayim which, since October 7, has been a refuge for the residents of Kibbutz Kfar Aza. Today we heard some of their stories, we saw their suffering, and we witnessed their resilience and hope for the future. You can see in the photos: Aaron in front of Kibbutz Shefayim; the table in the dining hall reserved for the 5 residents of Kfar Aza still held hostage by Hamas; Aaron with Gal Atia, the Director of the Summer Shlichut Program at the Jewish Agency for Israel. We are thrilled to be joined this summer by a delegation of Israeli staff members; and a group photo with Elay Karvani (middle of the group in the green Detroit, Michigan shirt) a survivor from the Nova festival who shared with us his harrowing experience.

Our Director, Aaron, is currently on the Foundation for Jewish Camp’s Senior Educators Convening in Israel. We are very grateful to the FJC and Israel Experience for this important opportunity.

A Note from Aaron:

One of our trip leaders said that Israel is sitting shiva, and when someone in our community is sitting shiva, it is our duty to be with them. So here I am in Israel. While it’s clear that Israel is in mourning, today I was reminded that it is also full of volunteers, farmers, activists, leaders, artists, inventors, and heroes. Today I bore witness to incredibly strong individuals, recounting the unimaginably tragic events of October 7th. Even through broken hearts, these individuals still hold out hope for peace.

Pictures:

A mural in Sderot. Sderot is less than a mile from Gaza. On October 7, 60 terrorists infiltrated Sderot. Schools in Sderot will be opening up next week, they’ve been closed since October 7.

Two Musicians: the one on the far right is Jimbo J, a very famous Israeli artist whose songs are played regularly on the radio in Israel. He and his family evacuated from their Kibbutz on October 7. One of his songs from before October 7 is eerily prophetic in its depiction of a war forcing a family with young children to evacuate their home.

Salad Farm: one picture of the whole group, one picture of the founder/owner who went back to the farm one week after October 7 (he had evacuated on the 7th) to rebuild his greenhouses and replant crops (he has seven different varieties of cherry tomatoes...agvaniot) to be able to send crops to the Israeli soldiers. He believes he is living David Ben Gurion’s task of making the desert (Negev) bloom.

On behalf of the Scherwin family, we are saddened to share of the passing of Jordan Scherwin, CIT of 1993. Jordan had a warrior's spirit, was the epitome of optimism, and was a true fanatic for all things sports (including WWE). Jordan was an amazing son to Sara-Ann and Sheldon, brother to Todd (Vicki) (CITs of '96) and Jeremy (CIT of '99), uncle to Landon (future CIT of '28) and Sebastian (future CIT of '31), and role model. Jordan battled Familial Dysautonomia (an extremely rare predominantly Jewish genetic disorder that attacks the autonomic, sensory, and peripheral nervous systems) yet always maintained a positive attitude saying, "it's all I know", and "what else would I do."

We should all aspire to love and live life everyday like Jordan. May we continue to learn from Jordan's outlook, and may his memory be a blessing.

Family and friends are creating a Camp Alonim scholarship in Jordan's name and ask that those who are able, contribute to the scholarship. To donate, click the link below and select "Jordan Scherwin Memorial Scholarship" from the dropdown menu. https://www.alonim.com/donate/

Alumni 25-35 -- you only have 48 hours left to register for Young Alumni Weekend! Spend March 15-17 on Peppertree Lane with your camp besties - register at alonim.com or via link in bio!

Moments in Alonim History #24: Dino the Dinosaur. Dino was a giant heavy dinosaur that would get moved from place to place around camp. Dino would randomly show up on top of buildings, at flagpole, even in the middle of a Maccabia intro! Dino was most famous at camp in the 1980s. One day half of Dino disappeared and then Dino stopped randomly showing up places at camp all together. Share your favorite Dino stories in the comments!