jews d

COURTESY JCC

in
the

Best Of
Both
Worlds

JCC, Tamarack Camps join forces
to “power” JCC Day Camps.

JCC DAY CAMPS

POWERED BY

TA M A R AC K

ABOVE: JCC day campers just after a swim.

Brian Siegel

Rick Zussman

Steve Engel

Stacy Brodsky

KERI GUTEN COHEN STORY DEVELOPMENT EDITOR

U

nder a plan that leaders of two local
organizations view as historic, the Jewish
Community Center Day Camps will be
“powered” by Tamarack Camps through a managed
services agreement approved last month by the
boards of both groups.
This means Tamarack Camps has operational
control over the JCC Day Camps in close con-
sultation with JCC leadership. JCC Day Camps
Directors Jenny Morgan and Liam Grandidge will
be hiring staff and managing the day camps under
supervision from Senior Managing Director Randy
Comensky, who was recently hired by Tamarack
Camps. He will also supervise overall day-to-day
operations, staffing, budgeting and programming.
JCC day campers will notice the difference dur-
ing sessions this summer.
“Tamarack intends to build upon the JCC’s
already-excellent programming that’s been estab-
lished over many decades,” said Steve Engel,
Tamarack Camps CEO. “We can now take the best
practices from both agencies and deliver a higher
level of excellence in programming, staffing and
facility enhancement.
“Together, we plan to add new and creative
program opportunities over time, including day
trips and overnights to Camp Maas (in nearby
Ortonville). And, of course, we will infuse that
Tamarack ‘magic’ and energy into all our programs.”
JCC CEO Brian Siegel added, “Tamarack ‘magic’
is hard to describe, but includes enhanced Jewish
programming and traditions including music,
games and all-day camp activities that Tamarack
employs quite successfully.”
By working together and through further devel-
opment of the JCC day camp’s
physical site in Phase II of the
plan, leaders of both organiza-
tions say the outcome will be a
“world-class day camp program
for the betterment of the com-
munity.”
Jeremy Fingerman, CEO of
the Foundation for Jewish Camp
Jeremy Fingerman based in New York City, says he

has been advocating for this type of collaboration
for several years and has been in separate talks
with the JCC, Tamarack Camps and the Jewish
Federation of Metropolitan Detroit. Both organiza-
tions are under the Federation umbrella.
“For several years, I have been speaking about
building on the strength of Jewish summer camp
‘brands,’ especially in Detroit, where Tamarack has
been a fixture for 116 years,” Fingerman said. “I am
very pleased to see it finally come to fruition. This
kind of partnership makes so much sense.
“We have been encouraging more inten-
tional connections between summer camping
brands. The Tamarack brand is synonymous with
excellence in Jewish summer experiences and the
Detroit JCC facility and grounds are of the highest
quality and offer great potential.
“I agree that this is an historic agreement in the
sense of long-standing youth-oriented communal
institutions collaborating together in an effective
and efficient way,” he said.
“We will be monitoring the progress closely and
hope this will serve as a leading example of the
power of collaboration and partnership, not only
for the field of Jewish camp, but also for our entire
Jewish community,” he added.
Engel and Siegel agree and are enthusiastic
about the collaboration for similar reasons.
“The move is historic because in many commu-
nities around the country, resident camps and day
camps are part of a single organization,” Engel said.
“In this instance, we have taken two separate orga-
nizations with nearly 200 years of experience and
we’ve agreed to break through silos to collaborate.”
Siegel said, “In this world of shrinking resources,
the JCC/Tamarack collaboration is an important
example of how institutions ‘wired’ to behave pro-
tectively can work together to exceed community
expectations in a more efficient manner.”
Scott Kaufman, Federation CEO, agrees. “Along
with the recent combining of the JCRC and the
American Jewish Committee operations, Tamarack
and the JCC working together is another important
step in creating a more collaborative and stronger
community,” he said.

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January 18 • 2018

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