Summer Camp Directors Preparing for Lots of Fun

The directors of the various JCC Summer Camps already are busy planning a fun-filled, exciting season for youngsters.

The newest member of the team is Ben Brant, who recently was named director of Camp Hoover in Westerville. As Camp Hoover director, Ben will be overseeing various camp activities for campers in 4th through 8th grades such as high ropes, free swim, sailing, canoeing, trail biking, basketball, soccer, arts & crafts, archery, Judaics, drama, street hockey, sand volleyball, nature, outdoor science, and Israeli dodgeball, all on Camp Hoover's 28-acre rustic woodland bordering the Hoover Reservoir. Ben also currently serves as the JCC's recreation supervisor.

The JCC is proud to have three outstanding women as preschoool Camp Yeladim directors - Nancy Thoman, (top) director of both Camp Yeladim and Camp Shemesh at JCC New Albany; Nili Talis, (middle) director of Camp Yeladim at JCC College Ave.; and Linda Fischer, (bottom), director of Camp Yeladim at JCC North. Designed especially for children ages two through three years, eight months, Camp Yeladim is a great stepping stone into the world of preschool and summer camp fun. Camp Shemesh, for children ages three years through entering First Grade, is all about fun and exploration with field trips, games, and special events. This summer, Super Heroes will be making special visits to each camp to help teach Judaic values.

As director of Camp Ora (designed for children ages three years, nine months through Kindergarten), Nikki Henry oversees a camp that provides children a summer experience in a natural but sheltered environment. Part of each day is spent inside the JCC's air-conditioned and state-of-the-art Ellman Early Childhood Wing, with the rest spent in the Camp Ora Shelter, on one of the JCC's age-appropriate playgrounds, in our heated outdoor pool, on the new Sprayground or on the campgrounds.

Camp Arye, directed by John Weaver, is probably one of the most unique camps in central Ohio, providing a summer camp experience for children, teens, and young adults between the ages of 3 and 25 with special needs, including physical, cognitive, emotional, developmental and learning disabilities. Days are filled with traditional summer camp activities, such as adaptive physical education, adaptive movement, music, Judaics, adaptive art, swim lessons, socialization and free swim.

Mom, Dad - Remember what it was like when you were a kid in camp? Remember the nature survival skills you learned, the outdoor cooking over a campfire, and camp arts and crafts? Well, Camp Chaverim is returning to "old school" camping - complete with everything you remember. Under the direction of David Weinberg, campers in Kindergarten through third grade will have the chance to participate in a few overnight camps, sing camp songs around a campfire, and toast a few marshmallows. They'll also be able to spend some time in the new Zusman Center, which features a beautiful multi-purpose great room, changing and restrooms, a nurse's office and an art room with a kiln.