Launching with the summer 2009 camp season, the Genesis Camp Initiative is the first major program in North America designed to attract Russian-speaking Jews living in North America to Jewish overnight camp. The Genesis Camp Initiative uses a multi-pronged approach to address the diverse cultural, ethnic, and religious preferences of this unique population. A five-year grant from the Genesis Philanthropy Group (for more information, please go to www.gpg.org) has made this program possible.
Recent Jewish communal studies reveal that the Russian-speaking population accounts for up to 20 percent of all Jews in major Jewish population centers such as New York, Boston, Philadelphia, Chicago, San Francisco, and Los Angeles. Of this population, there are an estimated 50,000 children of camp age, many of whom, like their families in general, remain outside formal Jewish religious and educational frameworks and are often alienated from the organized Jewish community.
At the same time, a recent survey indicated that while many Russian-speaking Jews are interested in exploring American Jewish life, others prefer distinct and focused programs and settings. Targeted and segmented marketing, specialized programming, and the development of unique educational models are therefore needed to engage Russian-speaking Jews in Jewish life and in the Jewish community.
Through the program, more than 2,000 Russian-speaking Jewish youth will attend Jewish overnight camp by 2013.
The Genesis Camp Initiative will utilize a variety of strategies to create a holistic approach in reaching the Russian-speaking population. Highlights include:
- Specialized recruitment strategies and programs, coupled with financial incentives to increase consumer demand in this growing market
- In-depth market research and targeted curriculum components incorporated into all FJC programs, such as the signature Executive Leadership Institute for camp directors and the Cornerstone Fellowship for bunk counselors, to ensure that camp environments are welcoming to youth from Russian-speaking families
- Targeted experiences such as Havurah, (for more information, please go to www.havurahcamp.org) a camp program run in partnership with the Jewish Agency for Israel and Young Judaea's Camp Tel Yehudah that is exclusively for Russian-speaking Jewish teens and offers programming that relates to their uniquely Russian-Jewish experiences.
