As the school year across the FSU region has come to an end, the EnerJew movement’s weekly club meetings in its 39 cities are also taking a break for summer vacations. Most of the cities have already celebrated the end of the season with memorable and colorful “EnerJew-style” activities.

That does not mean, however, that movement activists are just going to sit by and miss their favorite past time the entire summer. Quite the opposite – with the help of the movement’s mentors and educators they are going to run a summer camp in Ukraine that will be the best camp ever, or so they say.

“The Gan Isroel EnerJew camp will run in August, but the preparations for it are already in full force,” said EnerJew program director, Konstantin Shulman. EnerJew coordinators, counsellors and mentors are developing a fully complete program for the camp’s 16 days – a half for the boys’ session and the other half for girls. The camp will take place in Zakorpatye – a picturesque mountain region in Southern Ukraine and be free of charge for the participants. There will be about 160 people in each session – 120 campers and 40 EnerJew staff.

“The camp is both a beginning and an end in EnerJew’s yearly cycle,” Mr. Shulman said. “For those teenagers, who are not yet part of the movement, the camp will be a great way to get to know us better and, hopefully, get involved during the school year. On the other hand, for our activists, who have learned how to be Jewish leaders for the entire year the camp provides an opportunity to practice the skills and knowledge, and also to continue the process of active participation.”

Many of the coordinators and counselors, who are going to be leading the camp’s groups, are students in EnerJew’s “School of Madrichim” – a two-year course that consists of about 10 seminars and prepares high-level professionals in informal education. The program that they are developing for the camp is a unique mix of learning, team-building, self-development, sports and summer fun activities, Mr. Shulman said.”This will truly be an amazing camp and both the staff and the participants are looking forward to it,” he said.

Participants are expected to come mainly from Ukraine, which is the camp’s main focus area, while any available spots left after the deadline will be offered to the rest of the countries in EnerJew’s family. The camp is supported by the FJC, the Finger Family Foundation and the Jewish Agency for Israel.