Parksville, NY
The campers of the 6th grade division in Camp Gan Israel are enjoying the beginning of Bunk war the campers from bunks 15-18 were split up into 3 teams. The teams will daven, eat and make plays together for the next day and a half. The teams will gain points based on participation of their campers and creativity in their skits and plays.
last night after the campers had fallen fast asleep, the staff and counselors of Gan Israel made their way down to the camp square. What awaited them was a beautifully arraigned BBQ. Tables were brought out and set by the waiters with everything from buns to ketchup from tomatoes to chips and salsa…when the meat started coming off the grill, well it didnt stop..! There were hot dogs and burgers galore and loads of shnitzel as well. the BBQ turned into a really nice kumzitz with the staff singing in unison into the wee hours of the night.
(Dont worry with our batteries recharged, we were all up for line up!)
They say that the second months trips are even better than the first. This adage is never truer than when talking about the second months bivouac. Although the first month was phenomenal this bivouac we had was really something special.
After learning classes and activities, the campers headed to the busses for a short ride to Neversink campgrounds, beginning an amazing bivouac. As soon as we got there, the staff and campers headed to their campsites and immediately began collecting wood. We worked tirelessly, dragging everything from massive trees carried by 8 staff members and campers, to handfuls of needles gathered from the forest floor.Thanks to the considerable effort of the campers and staff, these stockpiles of wood painstakingly gathered during the daylight hours provided a continuous source of fuel as the night wore on.
Click here for moreThe grandson of R’ Hirsch Chitrik OBM donated new roofed structures to advance learning at Camp Gan Israel in Parksville, NY.
By COLlive reporter
On the way to Siberia you will find 2 new gazebos.
This line – not from the National Geographic – might sound foreign to most, but to the campers of Camp Gan Israel in Parksville, NY, it is a source of excitement.
New roofed structures were recently placed on camp grounds (on the way to the Bar Mitzvah Division’s area known as “Siberia” due to its distance from the rest of the camp) for the use of learning classes.
They are the result of an ongoing effort to advance the learning level in Chabad’s veteran overnight camp for boys located in the Catskills.
The wooden gazebos with an open view of the surrounding area were donated by Mendy and Leah Schurder of Boca Raton, FL, in memory of his grandfather R’ Hersh Chitrik OBM, a learned man who supported educational causes.
“I would like to thank the Schurders for this generous gift that will enhance the learning experience of the campers in sunshine and rain,” says Rabbi Yossi Futerfas, director of the camp.
Rabbi Abraham Shemtov, long-time head of the camp and a friend of the late R’ Chitrik, said: “It is an approproate tribute to a person who was always looking to provide and improve facilities for chinuch.”
The learning program for the summer of 5772 is run by Rabbi Sholom Baras, Shazi Perman and Menachem Altein. A novel addition this year was the publication of a booklet of self-written pilpulim and chidushim by campers.
Rabbi Shemtov noted the Rebbe’s comment that Gan Israel is a Yeshiva from within, a camp from the outside, adding that this one will be the first of a new line of gazebos.
This addition to the camp will be on display when parents come to Upstate New York this Sunday for Visiting Day of the second month of camp.
