Research

An entertaining ethnographic study of how Jewish summer camps foster Jewish sensibilities and education. Written for social scientists, educators, community professionals and lay leaders concerned with informal education, camping, children, ethnicity, and religion, this book will be of special interest to those interested in how culture and traditions are passed on to the next generation.

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This study is the third in an ongoing series of market research studies the Foundation for Jewish Camp has commissioned in the last five years to learn more about parents attitudes and behaviors towards Jewish summer camp. Written by Dr. Steven Cohen and Judith Veinstein, the report provides the field of Jewish camp with a deeper understanding of Midwestern Jewish families and their connection to the Jewish community, particularly exploring intermarried families--families in which one parent is Jewish and the other is not.  Together, with the analyses of Los Angeles and Toronto parents, this report moves the field closer to a complete picture, illuminating both the particularities and similarities of Jewish parents across North America.

We are grateful to the Jack and Goldie Wolfe Miller Fund for their support of this new research.  It will enable camps in the Midwest and beyond to develop the appropriate strategies to reach a broad Jewish audience, increasing the number of Jewish children influenced and shaped by summers at Jewish camp.

This study was conducted by FJC in partnership with the UJA Federation of Greater Toronto, an organization dedicated to improving access to and attendance at Jewish summer camps. Lead researcher and preeminent North American Jewish sociologist Dr. Steven M. Cohen and co-author Judith Veinstein revealed the needs and consumer practices of the Jewish parents in the Greater Toronto area. While almost one-in-four Jewish camper-aged children in the Toronto area attended a Jewish summer camp in summer 2008, many parents are concerned with the cost of camp, and those unconcerned with cost tend to believe that non-sectarian camps can provide their children with higher-quality activities and facilities.

This research will enable the camps in and around Toronto, as well as across North America, to develop the appropriate strategies to better reach their audience and thereby increase the number of Jewish children influenced and shaped by summers at Jewish camp.

Due to the generosity of the Jewish Community Foundation of Los Angeles, FJC conducted a market study of the Jewish community in Greater Los Angeles. This study, led by Dr. Steven M. Cohen, investigated motivating factors behind parents' decisions to send their children to Jewish summer camp. This important first study continues to serve as a template for how FJC conducts community-based studies.