About Us
Our mission:
inspiring a love of judaism 365 days a year!
Here at Camp Newman, we work together year-round to build a community of acceptance, where we role model positive behaviors, and acknowledge that each and every member of the community is vital and important. We live by the value of b’tzelem Elohim, which reminds us that each of us are created in the image of God meaning that each person at camp has a specific set of needs, wants, feelings, hopes, and dreams. We accomplish this through three key offerings:
summer programs
From Camp Newman in Santa Rosa, CA, to social action corps nationwide, to educational trips to Israel, our summer programs empower children, teens and adults to better themselves, their communities, and the world.
year-round programs
We offer meaningful Jewish experiences for all ages, all year, across the Southwest & West Coast. Inspired by the magic of camp, our programs create paths to meaningful, relevant connection to Judaism, Jewish community and Jewish values.
Rent our facility
Nestled in beautiful Napa Valley, the Koret Conference & Retreat Center is the perfect setting for your corporate, congregational or family retreat. Enjoy multiple indoor and outdoor spaces, acres of hiking trails, and more.
Our Philosophy of C.A.R.E.
Everything we do, every relationship we build is rooted in Jewish values, guided by our Philosophy of C.A.R.E.
Community Kehillah Kedoshah
Everything we do at Camp Newman revolves around building a holy community
Acceptance V’ahavta L’reicha Kamocha
Love your neighbor as yourself. –Lev. 19:18
Role-Modeling A’sei lecha rav
Make for yourself a teacher, acquire a friend. – Pirkei Avot 1:6
Each and Every One Betzelem Elohim
All humans are created in the Divine image. – Gen. 1:26
Why camp is so special to me…
Camp Newman is part of a proud lineage of Reform Jewish Camping on the West Coast. From our beginning as UAHC Camp Saratoga to UAHC Camp Swig and now URJ Camp Nemwan – camp is a special place to campers and alumni of all ages. Throughout our website, you hear about everything that we have to offer. However, there is no better way to learn about Camp Newman than hearing from the people that have experienced it first-hand. Watch these “Voices of Camp” from members of our camp community, and hear just a few reasons why camp is such a magical place.
Want to watch more of our videos? Visit our Vimeo site here.
Why Camp Works
Much has been written about the power and impact of Jewish summer camp. We invite you to read on!
Research
CAMP WORKS: The Long-term Impact of Jewish Overnight Camp (2011)
The influence of summer camp on the ways in which adult Jews choose to engage with the community and the degree to which they associate with other Jews can be felt long after the last sunset of the summer. The impact is striking, especially when compared to their peers who did not spend their summer months at Jewish camp.
Camp attendance increases the likelihood of adult participation and identification in every one of these areas. As adults, campers are:
- 30% more likely to donate to a Jewish charity;
- 37% more likely to light Shabbat candles;
- 45% more likely to attend synagogue monthly or more; and
- 55% more likely to be very emotionally attached to Israel.
Generation of Change: How Leaders in their Twenties and Thirties are Reshaping American Jewish Life (Sept 2010)
By Jack Wertheimer
This study examines the identities and attitudes of today’s young cohort of leaders, and explains the effect of their childhood involvement in Jewish activities on their adult leadership behavior. A whopping 71 percent of young leaders surveyed attended Jewish summer camp, as the study explains: “The rates of participation by these leaders in Jewish summer camps, youth movements, Hillel, and other forms of Jewish education are extraordinarily high, suggesting that many of the young leaders were groomed rather than having bloomed on their own.” Clearly, the potential of raising leaders at Jewish camp is enormous, and we look forward to helping camps harness this potential.
How Goodly Are Thy Tents: Summer Camps as Jewish Socializing Experiences
By Amy L. Sales And Leonard Saxe
An entertaining ethnographic study of how Jewish summer camps foster Jewish sensibilities and education. Written for social scientists, educators, community professionals and lay leaders concerned with informal education, camping, children, ethnicity, and religion, this book will be of special interest to those interested in how culture and traditions are passed on to the next generation.
Read more about this book or order copies.
History of Camp
Summer camp is an integral part of the Reform Jewish experience in North America and we are proud of our 70+ year legacy of serving Jewish youth and teens in the West and Southwest. We were established in 1947, originally named Camp Saratoga, in the beautiful Santa Cruz Mountains. In the early 1960s, we were renamed the UAHC (Union of American Hebrew Congregations) Swig Camp Institute, after Benjamin H. Swig, benefactor and visionary, allowing the camp to grow and flourish.
In 1997, we were able to purchase our second site, and current home on Porter Creek Rd., in Santa Rosa, and there established Camp Newman.
Since then, URJ Camp Newman has flourished, becoming the West Coast’s largest Reform camp. We serve over 1,400 campers each summer, drawing from over 80 congregations in Northern and Southern California, Arizona, Nevada, New Mexico, Hawaii, and Texas. Following the Tubbs Fire in 2017 which destroyed so much for our friends and neighbors in Sonoma County, we found a temporary home at Cal State Maritime Academy in Vallejo, enabling us to continue engaging hundreds of campers and staff over the course of summers 2018 and 2019. We again pivoted in the Summer of 2020, offering Zoomin’ with Newman and TeenFest virtual camp options, enabling nearly 200 children and teens to connect meaningfully online.
In Summer 2021, we finally returned home to Porter Creek, serving more than 715 campers and over 150 staff, faculty and volunteers. We’re thrilled to be back home, again, and truly believe the best is yet to come!
Before the fire: Our History in the Community
Camp Newman has a 70+ year history providing immersive Jewish learning and living on the West Coast. Our summer camp began on the shores of Lake Tahoe, migrated to the Saratoga mountains as the UAHC Swig Camp for Living Judaism, and then eventually settled in Santa Rosa. Since purchasing our Santa Rosa site in 1997, Six Points Community Center at Camp Newman has flourished to become the West Coast’s largest camp and retreat center – with a capacity of 700 people at a time, drawing over 2,000 Jewish children and adults each summer, and over 60,000 participant nights annually. Through both its Jewish summer camp and community retreat center, our Six Points Community Center provided Jews a distinctly Jewish and inspirational space to live Judaism 24/7, and provided the entire community a unique, safe and welcoming place for people of all ages and abilities to learn, live, grow, and play.
Before the Tubbs Fire in October 2017, our Six Points Community Center operated year-round and was growing in demand with an ever-increasing number of single- to multi-day retreats booked years in advance.
During the summer, Camp Newman provided a safe and welcoming environment for Jewish children and adults to pray and reflect, build community, foster friendships, become their best selves, explore their Judaism, and participate in social action causes – all in a unique, overnight immersive setting within nature. Throughout the rest of the year, our Six Points Community Center was used by a diverse range of groups and organizations for community center services. Highly used by Bay Area Jewish organizations, the center became a destination for congregations holding their religious school retreats and family weekends, Jewish high schools hosting their school groups, and organizations like the Jewish Healing Center to offer its Grief & Growing retreat.
The center provided both Jews and non-Jews in our entire community spaces where participants could foster connections, cultivate leadership, inspire social action, celebrate culture, and teach environmental stewardship. Multiple organizations, from tech companies to schools to non-profits, regularly used our Six Points Community Center for meetings, conferences, and extended community outreach activities. Individuals and groups also used the facility for counseling retreats, youth group activities, holiday celebrations, leadership trainings, professional development, family events and retreats, and group meetings.
All campers and retreat participants would take full advantage of our recreational offerings – our pool, ropes challenge course, Zipline, climbing wall, tower, playing fields, and basketball court – as a means to have fun, develop teamwork skills, challenge one another, and develop new skills. Campers and participants would also take every opportunity to explore the outdoors – 500 acres of hiking trails, a kibbutz (farm), a vineyard, and overnight sites.