Hillcrest Jewish Center Day Camp

Hillcrest Jewish Center Day Camp is based out of the Hillcrest Jewish Center in Queens, New York. For the last fifty years, it has emerged as one of the elite day camps in the New York City area, with a growing enrollment each year

The camp was born in 1958, the idea of Dr. David Abramson, chairman of the HJC Youth Committee. After presenting the idea to the Board of Directors, Director Bert Rosenberg launched the Hillcrest Jewish Center Day Camp.

Throughout the 50 year history, there have been five directors and seven assistant directors. The previous Directors are Bert Rosenberg, Al Weiner, Barry Shmerler, and Mike Levine. The previous Assistant Directors are Hank Blumenthal, Gary Feldman, Carl Derenfeld, Sidney Bernstein, Hope Rothstein, Jeremy Bernstein.

The current leadership of the camp has Howard Seidman as Director and Matthew Resnick as Assistant Director.

Divisions

Hillcrest Jewish Center Day Camp has programs for children ages 4-14, and is split into various divisions. The Preschool Division is for children entering Nursery School or Kindergarten. The Junior Division is for those entering grades 1 and 2, the Senior Division for those entering grades 3-6, and the Tween Division for those entering grades 7 and 8, and the CIT Program for those entering grade 9 and 14 years old.

Each division receives activities such as a Red Cross Swim Program in the pool on campus, Drama Instruction, Arts and Crafts, Jewish Heritage, Gym, Video Game, Pool/Ping Pong/Foosball in the Game Room, Gymnastics, and daily hot kosher lunches. The Preschool and Junior Divisions go on trips once a week, the Senior Division twice a week, and the Tween Division three times a week. In addition, the entire camp goes on a BBQ each week at Valley Stream State Park.

Trivia

* One week of camp is Color War, a favorite to most who attend the camp. During Color War, the camp is split into two teams which compete in athletic and creativity competitions. Recent Color War winners include the White Ants 2007, led by General Daniel Bacharach and Captain Amy Onorato; and the Green Giants 2008, led by General Michelle Wolf and Captain Nicholas Lupo.

External links

* [http://www.hillcrestjc.org/daycamp.asp Hillcrest Jewish Center Day Camp]
* [http://www.hjcdaycampalumni.com/ HJC Day Camp Alumni Website]
* [http://campratingz.com/ShowRatings.jsp?tcvid=12303 HJC Day Camp "Camp Ratingz" Page]