camp guide

Summer
Smiles

Camp Ganeinu celebrates 30 years.

JUDY GREENWALD CONTRIBUTING WRITER

CLOCKWISE: Playing in a ball pit puts a smile on the face of Meir
Leib, 4, of Huntington Woods. Ganeinu campers enjoy some time
in the dirt. Shaya Nachlas, 8, of Oak Park and Jordan Elberg, 8, of
Southfield have fun preparing challahs. Hinda Golda Davidson, 12,
of Oak Park, Noga Feldman, 12, of West Bloomfield, Zahava Hadar,
13, of Huntington Woods and camp counselor Shayna Dinerman of
San Diego, Calif., have fun outdoors at Camp Ganeinu.

A

sk the kids — it’s never too
early to start thinking about
summer camp. And if that
camp is Ganeinu, part of the larg-
est and fastest-growing network of
Jewish day camps, boys and girls
of all Jewish backgrounds are sure
to experience a vacation filled with
creative activities, sports, swimming
and many more exciting and inno-
vative programs designed to enrich
children’s lives.
This year, Ganeinu Day Camp, a
5-acre campsite in West Bloomfield
filled with trees, fenced-in play
areas, an arts and crafts garage, air-
conditioned classrooms and outdoor
theater, will celebrate 30 years of
providing a warm, spirited atmo-
sphere for children from preschool
through teenage years to enjoy sum-
mer fun and friendship and inspire
their Jewishness to last a lifetime.
One of the camp’s original direc-
tors and a Chabad shlicha (emis-
sary), Chaya Bergstein explained her

enthusiasm about creating and run-
ning this meaningful program.
“My childhood and teenage years
were enriched and influenced by
many summers of both Jewish day
camp and overnight camp,” she said.
“My husband and I came to Michigan
in 1977 as Chabad shlichim in
Farmington Hills. There were years
of sporadic backyard-type camping
we did, but Ganeinu as it is today
started when my high school-age
daughter Hadassah and a friend
started a camp program with kids
from the neighborhood at our Bais
Chabad. That summer, 40 children
came. The next summer, it was 80,
and the following year, 120.
“At that point, we purchased
our present property, formerly
Bloomfield Nursery and Day Camp,
and the larger property allowed for
expansion in enrollment, which aver-
ages 200 campers a season.”
The camp is designed to imbue
youngsters with a sense of pride in

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February 1 • 2018

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