Camp Blog

Camp Simcha alum Matthew Arbess speaks about his camp experience at Chai Lifeline’s Awards Dinner 2012.

Sibs club girls enjoyed a wonderful weekend in Monsey hosted by the Fischl Family. On Friday, they had a ball at Funplex followed by a refreshing swim. After an uplifting Shabbat, the girls got to ride on a horse and swim yet again. Each girl received a sibs club sweatshirt to remember the wonderful weekend.

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CLL kids and sibs have two exciting shabbatons planned for this weekend, June 2nd.

• 40 Camp Simcha Special girls and counselors will be hosted by Miriam Gordon and the Gordon family in Staten Island. This is the second CLL shabbaton taking place in the Staten Island community.

• Our “Just Us Girls” sibs club is having their end of year shabbaton at the Fischel house in Monsey.  40 counselors and sibs will be hosted by the Fischel family from Friday morning until Saturday night.

Our families enjoyed a beautiful sunny day in the world of Sesame Street. Their favorite Muppets, splash rides, and dedicated counselors made the day a spectacular success.

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Please send your articles/comments/letters about camp to webmaster@campsimcha.org so we can post them on the blog.
Thank you to whoever already submitted articles. Keep them coming-we love hearing from you!

[singlepic id=6708 w=320 h=240 float=right]Hi, I hope you are having a great day!

My name is Ashira Greenberg, and I have been a camper in Camp Simcha Special since 2005.  When Zahavah (webmaster of campsimcha.org) asked me to write a post about my book, Don’t Judge by what You See, I felt a little weird.  Since the book was released a few months ago, many people have commented and asked me questions.  I am generally more than happy to talk to people about the story behind the book and emphasize the book’s message of not judging people or situations based on externals, but talking to Camp Simcha people is like “preaching to the choir.”  After some thinking, I realized that my post should not be about why and how I went about writing a book.  So, without further ado, I want to say a huge thank you to all of my Chai Lifeline friends.  The book is really based on the lesson(s) that I have learned from being in Simcha Special for so long.  Camp has made a huge difference in my life!  I really appreciate all of the great memories that I have from my summers at 430 White Road, Glen Spey, NY 12737.  To my most amazing bunkmates from over the years, thank you for being who you are (such great friends!!!) and for your contributions to the book!

Please help me spread the message of the book.

http://www.amazon.com/Dont-Judge-what-You-See/dp/1600911552/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1332816730&sr=8-1

We hope that you all had a fantastic Purim! It was great catching up with Camp Simcha friends at our various Purim events that included carnivals, rides, and shows. Can’t wait to see you by the next Chai Lifeline event!

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Last weekend, our Camp Simcha girls reunited for a Purim themed weekend which transported everyone to ancient Persia. The girls were amazed by the strange and beautiful sight of our entire campus covered in snow! [singlepic id=6704 w=520 h=440 float=right]Campers created tambourines, beautiful beaded headpieces, perfume, and airbrushed sweatshirts. The Skyriders were on hand and amazed our girls with their trampoline skills. The Skyriders were awesome, but they paled in comparison to the wonderful performance of the Purim story performed by our very own campers.

On Sunday, the winners of our Simchaspace contests were announced-congratulations to Shira, Julie, and Avigail, who all won Simchaspace sweatshirts! (Want to win a sweatshirt? Check out Simchaspace!) As our girls said their goodbyes, they left Glen Spey with memories and strength to carry them through the rest of the year. Four more months-we’ll see you guys again then! Plenty of time for the snow to melt 🙂

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Chai Lifeline’s annual trip to Israel, Wish at the Wall, is sponsored by the Hartman Family Foundation and is organized by our Midwest region. Wish at the Wall treats teens who have completed their treatment for cancer or who have learned to successfully manage complex chronic illnesses to an incredible ten day trip to Israel.

Dear Chai Lifeline Volunteer,

I am writing this letter after a very thought provoking Shabbos. I realized this past week something about our CLL volunteers. These are young men and women that put their own life on hold on many occasions to be here for our kids and families. I guess I just wanted to take a minute to publicly acknowledge all that you guys do for us. I mean the behind the scenes preparation for every single event, The dropping everything you are doing to be with our kid in the hospital,  the answering text messages and phone calls for your camper or any camper that calls and texts you even when you might really be busy and much rather continue on your personal life. Even being here for us parents  when we need to talk or cry…. You are here for us. I know it must get exhausting and I wonder if sometimes you feel unappreciated. I have to apologize. As a parent I think we also put an insurmountable extra pressure on you when it’s our kid that needs attention that day. We have this idea that our kid is the only camper that needs you. We want you at our house. You must feel so torn at times. How unfair of me and any other parent to be so selfish.  Please understand and forgive us. We are parents going through a tough time. We are struggling to keep it together and some days you are who we count on. I am sorry for the extra pressure , you most certainly do not need it. But boy am I ever so grateful you are here. I cannot imagine life without you. Please know even if we don’t thank you every day that we appreciate EVERYTHING you do. It does NOT go unnoticed. We realize that you make so many sacrifices just for our kids momentary happiness. I hope that you will continue your great work and always remember how much we truly appreciate you. I hope when you lay in bed at night you are able to think of the many mitzvos you have done each day for our families. So please know we get it, we see your effort and your unselfish dedication. We think you are absolutely amazing. Continue the great work. May G-d continue to bless you with strength to keep going and do such amazing things.

With complete Sincere Appreciation …… what you do is noticed on every level!

A Chai lifeline Parent