Home Is Where the Camp Is
To say the last five months have been a roller coaster ride is an understatement. When I joined the Camp Newman professional team in 2014, I wouldn’t have guessed that one day, I would be walking along the water at a maritime academy, plotting out where pill call should happen or where Shabbat services should take place.
How I Found My New Good Luck Charm in the Ashes
I was 13 years old, standing with my arms draped around my campmates. We had just completed a two-week Jewish backpacking trip, and were doing siyum, when our counselor, Rick, reached down and picked up a rock.
What Children & Sandcastles Can Teach Us About Resilience
I was sitting on a beach one summer day, watching two children, a boy and a girl, playing in the sand. They were hard at work building an elaborate sandcastle by the water’s edge, with gates and towers and moats and internal passages.
2017, a Year Filled with Gratitude
For the Camp Newman community, this calendar year has been one of transition, of challenge, and at times, of hardship. When fires devastated the Santa Rosa site in October, it was clear that thousands were struggling with the news about Camp Newman and the greater Santa Rosa community.
70 Years of Jewish Camping Continues!
Only 3 Weeks After Wildfire Severely Damages Our Camp’s Home, URJ Camp Newman Announces Summer 2018 Plans! By Ruben Arquilevich & Rabbi Erin Mason A few weeks ago, we were devastated when the site of URJ Camp Newman, in Santa Rosa, California, was...
Thank You
Last week our URJ Camp Newman community felt a great loss. This week we felt a completely different loss. We are at a loss for words. The overwhelming deluge of love, compassion and support has left us speechless.
Finding More Miracles Among the Rubble
We finally were able to visit our beloved URJ Camp Newman site last Friday. While much of camp is destroyed, we were thrilled to make several surprising finds that we want to share with you below.
Parent Resources, Reflections & Prayers for Healing
Thank you to the many people, Jewish institutions and professionals who have stepped forward to offer ways to pray and heal during this time. The following is a list of resources that we will continue to add to:
Our Camp, Our Faith & Our Tradition Endures
A press photographer was given special access onto Camp Newman yesterday – before our team was able to get on site – and took new photos that some of you shared on social media. While the devastation is startling, we immediately noticed one thing when we zoomed in on this photo.
Camp Community Gatherings
Starting tonight, October 11th, many of our beloved congregations are planning gatherings for our camp community to sing, pray and reflect, and to provide comfort and hope. We encourage you to reach out to your synagogue to see if they have an event planned. Here is a...