metro
FIND
OPPORTUNITIES
WITHIN
Opportunity knocks. Research, internships, study abroad, and service
New Alliance
Tamarack Camps joins Federation and
synagogues to enhance future Teen Missions.
These, along with our liberal education foundation that fosters critical
thinking, creative problem solving, and cultural understanding, prepare
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Teen mission participants discover the beauty of Israel through hiking, learning
and touring.
ince its inception 20 years ago
— as the brainchild of Rabbi
S Harold Loss of Temple Israel —
the Teen Mission program has been
a partnership of the Federation and
congregations, providing outstand-
ing opportunities for teens and youth
groups to travel, learn and connect
with their rabbis and synagogues,
while also seeing some of the work
the Jewish Federation of Metropolitan
Detroit does in Israel.
During that time, however, some
Jewish teens in Metro Detroit have
been faced with a decision: four weeks
in Israel — a trip-of-a-lifetime hiking,
rafting, camping and traveling with
friends from synagogue — or a sum-
mer at Tamarack Camps in one of the
outstanding teen programs there with
best friends, many of whom have been
together for eight or more summers.
"What if there were a way to do
both?" asked Robb Lippitt, a corn-
munity leader, Tamarack parent and
strong advocate for teen missions to
Israel. "Why put our kids and their
families in the position of having to
choose one outstanding summer pro-
gram over another?
"Rather than competing for turf,
why not collaborate to build a bigger,
better, more inclusive Teen Mission
program by pooling the resources of
our Federation, our synagogue leader-
ship and Tamarack Camps?"
12 October 8 2015
With strong leadership from
Federation, Temple Israel, Temple Shir
Shalom, Congregation Shaarey Zedek,
Adat Shalom Synagogue, Tamarack
Camps and others, all of the obstacles
to coming together for a common pur-
pose — to bring more Jewish Detroit
kids to Israel — have been cleared.
As a result, Teen Mission 2016,
reimagined as a community co-part-
nership, will run July 5-Aug. 5, 2016.
The Teen Mission will continue to be
open and welcoming to all teens in the
community, regardless of synagogue or
camp affiliation.
What could be better than finding
a way to send more Detroit teens to
Israel? Nothing, according to Sue and
Alan J. Kaufman, avid community
leaders and Teen Mission sponsors
since 2012.
"We love the idea of a Detroit
community Teen Mission with
Tamarack Camps on board:' said Sue
Kaufman. "This can help build on
what Federation and the synagogues
have created, and we hope that new
partnership will double the number of
Jewish teens we send to Israel."
A WIN-WIN-WIN
"We came to the table with very differ-
ent viewpoints — and some concerns
— on how the Teen Mission might
work in separate, but equal shares to
the benefit of each of our organiza-
PHOTOS BY DEBBIE HILL
learning are built into nearly all of Grand Valley's 200+ areas of study.