The kickoff of our 2L session at Camp Airy is a butterflies-in-the-stomach kind of day. Sure, it’s technically not the first day of the summer, but for the campers checking in it is, and so we want to put our best foot forward. We want everyone to feel at home – whether it’s summer #1 or summer #10. Accordingly, it’s intentional that we pick HOSPITALITY as the middah (value) of the week.

We make every attempt to help everyone jump right into camp mode in this first week of the session – pizza bagels and curly fries on the first day with the “Pizza Man” song; a s’mores dessert event (which was bumped by a day due to inclement weather),  silly line-ups, learning our “Goodnight Song”  and even talking a bit about Velcro. Campers learn where to step for good luck, and how to navigate a grab-and-go breakfast, and the majesty of the Wheel of Birthdays. The goal is that our veteran campers play the role of hosts and leaders by example, while the “new kids on the block” absorb the knowledge and grow in confidence.

By the time we get to Friday night song session and dancing, seasoned campers and newbies alike are focused on every word and step from Dan and Zac. The camp staff follows along too, continuing a trend that began for them in mid-June. When we have this sense of community, when we’ve built trust through hospitality and other values (middot), we can do almost anything … we can resolve problems, we can collaborate on new ideas, we can take these lessons and apply them to all facets of life.

Near the end of Saturday Shabbat services, we took time to recognize nominated campers and staff who demonstrated the middah of the week. Those “mensches” (good, selfless people) are awarded certificates, a bracelet naming the value in English and Hebrew, and a photo opportunity together with the Mensch mascot dolls.

Some of those images accompany this blog post. Congratulations to these HOSPITALITY mensches!

Thanks for following along this week via emailed updates from Unit Leaders and Division Heads, Facebook and Instagram posts, daily posted photos, and our microposts via your Campanion app.

Have a great week – Shavuah Tov