Lewis Sohinki, 32, new director of Camp Northland-B’nai Brith in Haliburton, has been heading toward this job all his life.
A native of Washington, D.C., Sohinki has been going to camp since his father ran a BBYO program at B’nai Brith Perlman Camp in Pennsylvania, and for the past four years, he was the camp’s director.
“There is nowhere I would rather be than at camp. This is what I love to do, ” he said in an interview at Camp Northland’s Toronto office.
With a master’s degree in social work and Jewish communal service, he recently completed the Foundation for Jewish Camp’s Executive Leadership Institute program.
While attending graduate school, he worked as the Baltimore Council Director of the JCC of Greater Baltimore, and for three years, he was the teen services supervisor at the Jewish community centre in Houston, Texas.
He’s “thrilled” at the opportunity to work at Camp Northland.
“There is no other camp like it. Its traditions and Jewish values are strong, and when children come to camp, they grow Jewishly,” he said.
“Camp Northland has just the right amount of Jewish content and value. It connects the kids. The Kabbalat Shabbat, [for example] teaches them how to be part of a [larger] family on Shabbat.”
The high retention rate of staff speaks to the quality of the camp, Sohinki said.
“Most of them were campers there, and they want to give back at the highest level. Some staff have been with us for 10 or 15 years.”
A two-season program for 16-year-olds teaches kids everything they need to know about becoming staff, he said.
“They go through an interview process, and they take part in specific training sessions where they learn leadership skills.”
As part of the year-round job, Sohinki plans athletic and cultural programs, manages the budget, and he’s in charge of registration, recruitment and hiring. He’s also involved in staff training and the daily schedule, and he makes sure everyone is safe and happy.
“I also make time to get out there and play with the kids.”
Sohinki stressed the value that camp has for kids.
“It is a place where they can be part of a larger community, gain a personal identity and learn new skills. They also learn to get along with campers their own age, and those older or younger. We pair up older and younger campers so they can connect, and create a relationship.”
He said that he and his wife, Laura, have been welcomed warmly into the Toronto Jewish community.
“We instantly felt the Jewish life here.”
