Never Too Old
for S’Mores
Senior campers find their place in the sun
Debra Rubin/Jewish Telegraphic Agency
Photos courtesy of the Isabella Friedman Jewish Retreat Center
For Adults 60-years Plus
FUN ACTIVITIES
• Live Entertainment
• Lectures
• Music and Dancing
• Movies and Popcorn
• Games
HEALTH AND WELLNESS
• Fitness and Exercise, Yoga
• Health Screenings
• Health Education Programs
and Seminars
SOCIAL SERVICES
• Available When You
Require Support
Plus a free hot meal* served every day
and arrangements for CCT transportation
*$1 optional contribution
KleinLife operates in partnership with Jewish Federation of
Greater Philadelphia and United Way of Greater Philadelphia &
Southern New Jersey and is a beneficiary of the Philadelphia
Corporation for Aging. KleinLife is an accredited senior center.

Rhawnhurst 2102 Strahle Street • Philadelphia, PA 19152
Tuesdays to Fridays, 9:30am to 2:00pm • 215-745-3127
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MAY 14, 2015
Camp Isabella Freedman will be held from July 6 to July 19 this year.

N ot many people attend
summer camp with their
parents. Mindelle Pierce
went with her mom when her
mother was in her 90s.

They chose a two-week pro-
gram for senior adults at the
Isabella Freedman Jewish Re-
treat Center in Falls Village,
Conn. Aside from typical camp
activities such as swimming
and arts and crafts, there were
myriad specialty programming
for senior adults: lectures on
health and nutrition, geneal-
ogy, flowers of the Torah, and
biblical prophets, as well as
trips to area cultural activities,
including the theater and the
philharmonic. Some 80 participants rang-
ing in age from their 50s to 90s
attended the camp.

The Isabella Freedman pro-
gram is among a number of se-
nior camp programs across the
United States, including a hand-
ful that are geared to Jews. Yet
despite the growing population
THE GOOD LIFE
of American senior citizens,
the number of senior camps has
been dropping slightly, accord-
ing to the American Camp As-
sociation, which has 225 senior
camps as members.

That has made for a challeng-
ing environment for Jewish se-
nior camps, too. One such camp,
the Block and Hexter Vacation
Center in Pennsylvania’s Po-
cono Mountains, closed due to
lack of demand. With more re-
sorts available in exotic locales
and seniors more active than
they were a few decades ago,
mountain camps have lost some
of their cachet.

“The new senior is more ac-
tive and discriminating in taste
than the senior of prior genera-
tions,” said Elliot Forchheimer,
assistant director of the New Jer-
sey Y Camps. The camps will be
hosting Russian Jewish adults at
the Kislak Adult Center for two
weeks in June and two weeks in
August, in Lakewood, Pa., about
three hours from Philadelphia.

Of those attending in the
past, one group, said Phyllis
Lauer, administrative direc-
tor of the center, came from the
Klein JCC.

To help stem the tide, some
camps have changed or are plan-
ning changes to their offerings
in hope of attracting a new gen-
eration of older adults.

“With tweaks and changes,
these programs should be able
to thrive,” said Adam Wein-
stein, director of the Berkshire
Hills Emanuel Camps-Adult Va-
cation Center in Copake, N.Y.,
which offers kosher food and
Shabbat services. There are
plans to split the summer into
five one-week programs.

“We’re looking at programs
that will also bring in a young-
er crowd of seniors,” said Irene
Drantch, director of the Cir-
cle Lodge Retreat in Hopewell
Junction, N.Y., an 85-plus-year-
old facility that is affiliated with
Workmen’s Circle and draws
anywhere from 25 people a week
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