When Sarah Atkins learned she had been named one of three recipients of the 2025 Covenant Award, she felt a small surge of disbelief.
“I was definitely shocked and overwhelmed with gratitude,” said Atkins, the director of Camp Kadimah, a Jewish summer camp based in Nova Scotia. “I think I got a bit emotional. I was very excited, honoured, in a bit of disbelief and a lot of excitement.”
Announced on May 27 by the Covenant Foundation—a U.S.-based organization that supports excellence and innovation in Jewish education—the award recognizes three North American Jewish educators each year for exceptional and lasting impact in the field. Winners receive a $50,000 prize, with an additional $10,000 awarded to their affiliated institution.
Since becoming director in 2017, Atkins has supervised all senior staff, specialists, and programming at Kadimah. But her vision has gone beyond logistics. She has focused on creating an environment where both campers and staff can explore Jewish identity in deep and personal ways.
“Camp provides a safe space for young Jews to explore what being Jewish means to them,” Atkins told The Canadian Jewish News. “We have incredible Jewish role models that our staff members play. It not only provides a space for our campers but for our staff as well to challenge themselves, question what being Jewish means — not just being Jewish, but being an individual and an independent person.”
According to a press release from the Covenant Foundation, Atkins was selected for her “infusion of Jewish learning and values into every aspect of the Camp Kadimah experience.”
Her work has garnered national attention. Under her leadership, Kadimah was selected to participate in the Foundation for Jewish Camp’s Yedid Nefesh program, an initiative that provides enhanced professional development for staff on mental and spiritual health.
In 2024, she launched Kadimah on Campus, a program where she and other camp leaders visited university campuses across Canada to offer training and emotional support to Kadimah alumni navigating the challenges of antisemitism in higher education.
Through initiatives such as these, “camp becomes a safe haven, a place they trust,” she said. “They’re able to express themselves and build bonds with other young Jews.”
That emphasis on personal growth through joyful engagement lies at the heart of Atkins’s leadership.
Camp Kadimah was founded in 1943 in Nova Scotia to unite Jewish youth from across Atlantic Canada. Originally welcoming just 47 campers, it soon moved to its permanent home on Lake William in Barss Corner. Operated by the Atlantic Jewish Council and part of the Canadian Young Judaea movement, Kadimah will host 314 campers from Canada, Israel and the United States this summer.
Each week at camp, after a Shabbat meal, campers and staff have an “Israeli dance,” which results in “everyone dripping in sweat,” Atkins says. On Saturday evenings, the entire camp community gathers on the sports field under the stars for Havdalah. “Everyone links arms. We have an inner circle that provides the music and everyone is singing and swaying together,” she said. “It’s visual as well as emotional.”
For Atkins, these moments reflect how Jewish values at Kadimah are not just taught—they’re lived, danced, and felt deeply in community.
She also recalled a recurring sentiment that, for her, captures the essence of Kadimah’s impact: “People describe camp as their real life, and the rest of the year as what they have to live through to get to camp. That’s when you know it’s something truly special.”
Michael Soberman, a senior educational consultant and co-chair of Camp Kadimah’s board, nominated Atkins for the award. In his view, her strength lies in viewing camp first and foremost as an educational space.
“She really sees this as a place of education,” Soberman told The CJN. “A place where campers and staff can grow and develop meaningful relationships with their community, with Judaism, and with the land and people of Israel.”
He added that Kadimah’s mission has only become more important in the current global climate: “It’s not just about fighting antisemitism, it’s about showing what’s beautiful about being Jewish.”
Soberman mentioned that he met his closest friends at camp more than forty years ago. “Now (through camp) our kids are friends too,” he said.
Looking ahead, Atkins hopes Jewish education remains accessible at all life stages.
“You can pick it up at any time in your life,” she said. “I hope it stays relevant and resonant for Jews of all ages… Like camp, it should be meaningful and joyful.”
Soberman echoed that optimism: “There are more opportunities today for young Jews to engage Jewishly than there were when I was a kid,” he said. “As long as the camping world and the Jewish educational world is run by top-notch educators like Sarah, then I have all of the faith in the world that things are only going to get better.”
The 2025 Covenant Award celebration will take place this fall.
