Ivy went to a JCC day camp growing up, so
she’s shared a lot of the moments that her kids are
discovering now.

“Since my children do not go to a day school, I
feel like at Ramah they really get the experiences that
they’re not getting because they’re not at a day school,”
Frajerman noted.

Both Noah and Alana have told Frajerman that they love cele-
brating Shabbat and Havdalah by the lake at Ramah.

“When they’re young is really when their love for Judaism de-
velops and will take them throughout their life,” she continued.

“They will always have those experiences to look back on, and I
think because it’s such a natural part of their life, part of their sum-
mer, part of their year-long experience, it’s just like second nature
to them and it’s important to them.”
Ali Reich, a mother of two who attend Camp Harlam in Kun-
kletown and an alumna herself, volunteers with Camp Harlam as
“They do all the typical camp experiences —
swimming, arts, sports — and yet are totally
immersed in Judaism throughout their day.

Without them even thinking about it, they are.”
— IVY FRAJERMAN —
the vice chair of the Camp Counsel board.

This will be her 18-year-old son’s 10th summer and her 12-year-
old daughter’s fifth, but Camp Harlam has a deeper family history
than that.

“Harlam is the same camp where my husband and I grew up, and
we actually met there,” she said. “So, they’re second-generation ‘Har-
Ali Reich's children at Camp Harlam
lamites.’ It really is their home. It’s where they feel most comfortable.”
She doesn’t see them often during the summer — as a lay leader,
she’s only there for a few days for work — but she’s met a lot of camp
connections as an adult in her volunteer capacity.

“Some of my oldest friends are from my camp days,” she said. “I
guess you’re never too old to go back to camp.”
Reich added that camp gives her kids the opportunity to meet
both staff and other campers who they might not run into in every-
day life at home, like international staff members or campers from
different states.

They get to bond with other Jewish kids over their shared religion,
but grow and expand from their differences.

“All of that makes them feel like they’re a part of something big-
ger,” she said. “I hope that they take away lifelong memories, great
friends, a feeling of really being connected to Judaism and a feeling
that they want to stay connected to Judaism as they grow into adults.

“I know that both my kids wish that camp was 10 months of the
year,” she laughed. “It really is their happy place.”
See CAMPS , Page 8
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