Camp Northland-B’nai Brith in Haliburton, Ont., holds a special place in the hearts of many families. It has not only fostered lifelong friendships, but also offered many their first true connection to the Jewish community. As most people who have been to overnight camp can attest, the social was often the highlight of the summer. So what better way for Camp Northland to commemorate its 110th anniversary than to host a “Social in the City”?
The event will be held at the Warehouse Venue in Toronto on Nov. 21. Camp Northland families, as well as every member of the Jewish community, are welcome.
“If you can picture a fountain … and the fountain has water shooting up to the sky, but then it cascades back down in a much wider circle. I look at that fountain as a metaphor for Northland, because people will invest in Northland,” said Simon Wolle, the executive director of the Jewish Camp Council of Toronto and camp director of Camp Northland.
“And invest might mean putting your trust in us and sending your children to the camp. It might mean participating in our event. It might mean you send your children to a different camp but believe in Northland’s important role historically and in the sustainability of a Jewish future for Toronto. Because when you invest in any one of these ways, we are investing back in the community for our children and our children’s children.”
Some of the things the camp invests in includes: helping to make sure that every Jewish child can go to camp; building new facilities and creating new activities; improving existing infrastructure at the camp; expanding community relationships, including partnering with Amici Camping Charity to support campers in need; providing free camp for the children of disabled Israeli war veterans; assisting families of chronically ill children with sibling “camperships” through Chai Lifeline; providing scholarships to Jewish Family & Child families; partnering with UJA Federation of Greater Toronto on weekender experiences; and introducing One Happy Camper grant partnerships.
“We are a camp that has COR and mashgiach supervision onsite,” said Wolle. “Part of our Yiddishkeit and education is when campers learn about these things through osmosis. We have people who identify as Reform, Conservative, secular humanists, modern Orthodox, unaffiliated and everything in between. It’s a place that brings people together despite the different perspectives – everybody finds a home at Northland. The whole idea is that even if you don’t send your children to Northland, this is still your camp and there is still a part of this place to celebrate and acknowledge and recognize.”
READ: SUMMER CAMP MEMORIES: THE PARENTS – PART 3
Studies show that sleepaway camp promotes independence, confidence, resilience and grit.
“There is no bond like a camp bond,” said Wolle. “It’s such an immersive environment that when they (the campers) get little bits of learning, it goes deep into the core of who they are. And that could be learning, it could be group dynamics, it could be understanding their place amongst their peers, but it’s also around the values that are touching them throughout the experience. It runs so deep, it becomes a part of their DNA and who they are as people. The little touch points that we have at camp actually extend way beyond camp, and I would argue for the rest of their lives.”
The Machtinger family has a long history with Camp Northland. Karen and Eric Machtinger first met each other as campers when they were 10 years old. Their children – Jackson, 15, and Veronica, 12 – currently go there in the summers. Karen Machtinger’s father, Barry Hennick, went to Camp Northland from 1952 to 1964.
“I was a camper, CIT, canoe instructor and head of canoe,” said Hennick. “I remember all sorts of things: I still have my badges that I earned as a camper. I was the first camper to ever get a Master Canoeist Award. Camp memories don’t get thrown away, they are put away in a certain spot and saved.”
Karen Machtinger said that, “When we come up on visitor’s day, it’s a place that’s so familiar and comfortable. It’s a safe place.”
Eric Machtinger added that, “I feel so fortunate that we can give this to our kids and grateful that our parents gave this to us. It really helps kids grow.”
Wolle concluded by saying that, “We are creating a space where kids can be their best self. I don’t think there is a more powerful place on planet Earth than intentional Jewish summer camping.”
To purchase Social in the City tickets visit campnbb.com.