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What Gilboa Means To Me
Isaiah
Beenhouwer - Sayarim (6th Grade)
I went to Gilboa for
the first time last summer and I had a great time. The reason
is because there weren't any excluded kids in any activities at the
camp any time. That matters to me because bullying is a big
flaw in life. I see it at my school all the time and it was
so nice to get away from that at Gilboa. I was asked to be part of
a special program at school called Safe School Ambassadors and so I
know when kids are bullying each other and I've been learning how
to stop it but I didn't have to do that once at Gilboa - For
example, during Z'man Sport (sports time) when we have more than
enough players to play the game but another kid wants to join, we
ALWAYS made room if they wanted to play. Nobody felt left out.
Or during Pish (Group Activity Time) if one of my friends
wasn't fully participating, we would all check in with him and find
out what's up. Sometimes we'd stop our Pish and cheer up that
person or just tell them we really wanted their company.
There was never a split second that you would feel left out.
My madrichim (counselors) would always make us laugh, cheer
us up and would get us to participate in what everyone was doing -
there was never a minute we could be bored. So, it was a
great break from having to worry about bullies or kids feeling bad
because they weren't included. Gilboa is one big family and
that felt great.
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THE POWER IS YOURS!
Shalom from Mazkirut Winter
Camp
We, Zev
Dever (rosh - head of camp), Emily Mayer (techni - technical
director) and Zlil Simchon (shlicha - Israeli emissary) would like
to introduce ourselves as the people behind what is shaping up to
be exciting four days in the San Bernardino Mountains. Winter camp
is always a wonderful time for chanichim (campers) and madrichim
(counselors) to experience the magic that is Gilboa condensed into
a few crazy, snow-filled days, and we are happy to be able to work
behind the scenes to make this year's Machaneh Choref happen.
We see
Winter Camp as an amazing opportunity to build Gilboa's year-round
community. It provides a unique chance to not only see friends from
the summer, but to build new relationships within and outside of
kvutzot (age-groups). Just like Hannukah lights up the darkest
months, Winter Camp reminds all of us what it is to be part of an
intentional and truly caring community right smack dab in the
middle of the year, when we have a tendency to get caught up in our
often very different lives. In the spirit of Gilboa's unique
experiential education, Winter Camp also allows all of the
chanichim, no matter what age, to go through a shared learning
process that corresponds to a particular theme, engaging together
in something meaningful not only in the context of the Gilboa
community, but relevant to their lives outside Winter Camp as well.
What's the
chinuch (educational) theme of this year's Winter Camp, you ask?
Introducing...The Power Is YOURS! We decided to focus on the
ability of both individuals and communities to make change because
of our deep-seeded belief that, in a society that often doesn't
give space for youth to have a voice, empowering ourselves and each
other to speak up for what we believe in can yield beautiful
results. This theme will come to life through awesome tochniot erev
(evening activities), peulot (age-group education) as well as the
hatzagah (ongoing play), which is always a highlight. We are so
excited to see what the tzevet (staff) does with the theme; we have
no doubt that they will create a one-of-a-kind experience for the
chanichim, full of snow-filled adventure and meaningful educational
content. Now tell me, what could be a better way to fill four days?
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Annual Giving Campaign Underway!
Summer 2012: Gilboa's Best
Summer Yet
Summer 2012 was Gilboa's most successful ever, and
the results from this year's Foundation for Jewish Camp survey
confirm that our Gilboa children and their parents gave the highest
ratings (well above the national average) to their overall
experience, their level of comfort with friends and staff, and the
sense of Jewish connection that they returned home with. Also
very highly rated was the value in relation to the cost of camp -
again well above the national average.
And the most important indicator: Most (including
many first-time campers) said they plan to return and 83% would
recommend Gilboa to their friends! But so many of our kids can't do
it without our help - we need to work together and build a
scholarship fund so that our campers can enjoy this amazing summer!
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Letters went out in the mail last week asking for
tax-deductible donations to our annual giving campaign. This
is the effort we make each year to supplement tuition income so
that we can maintain Gilboa's high level of value and provide
scholarships to those in need. Please give in any amount you
can and as generously as possible. We need 100%
participation from our staff and camper families, as you are the
ones who most understand the great benefits that Gilboa provides
for our children.
Gilboa's Capital Campaign supporters have stepped up
with contributions of more than $1.15 million in cash and pledges (nearly
halfway there!). If you have
donated toward the camp purchase, THANK YOU! We hope you can
also step up and contribute to this critical annual end-of-year
fundraiser. You can send the reply card that came with your
letter or donate on-line at any time through our website:
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DID YOU KNOW WE ARE
PARTNERING WITH LIMMUDLA AGAIN?
We are excited to
announce that this year Gilboa will once again be partnering with
LimmudLA to offer our brand of fun, experiential, and meaningful
activities to their young Jewish learners! For Years LimmudLA has
been bringing the southern California Jewish communities an open
forum for exchange of Jewish thought, ideas and egalitarian
learning. Gilboa is proud to partner with LimmudLA to bring youth
the same caliber of meaningful experiences that their parents
receive. At this year's December 9th LimmudLA West
Valley event we will be offering a wide range of program options,
from exploring our Jewish relationships, identity, and
spirituality, to Israeli dancing, Hannukiya Making, Jewish
Symbols Face Painting, and Making Judaism Milkshakes! Who knew
Learning could Taste so sweet?!
Come check it out, and bring the
whole family!
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MEET OUR NEW SHLICHA!
Shalom GILBOA families!
My name is Zlil Simchon and I'm the new Shlicha of Habonim Dror
Camp GILBOA.
I was born and raised in Nahariya, a small town in Northern
Israel, close to the border with Lebanon.
I'm the youngest daughter in a family of five, and
my parents supported my decision to move to Los Angeles to be a
shlicha. Although they miss me, they think a youth
movement is great place to be educated and have a
safe and worthwhile experience. Both of them were members of
Hano'ar Ha'oved v'halomed, the sister movement of Habonim Dror.
My two older brothers live in Australia, and me and my family
have great relationship and we share and talk almost every day.
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COMING SOON! Cars4Causes
Give your Old car New life
Do you have an old car, RV, boat or truck and don't know what to do
with it? Consider donating it to Cars for Causes, the Charity That
Gives To Charities! They offer a terrific way for people to
donate to Gilboa by selling your donated vehicle. We benefit by
receiving the proceeds from the sale and you receive a tax
deduction! All you need to do is call 1-800-766-2273
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Lior Bar-El (far left)
I am from
Workshop (Habonim Dror's service year in Israel) number 62, and I
am currently sitting in my house on Kibbutz Ein Dor in the Tzafon
(north of Israel), where it has rained four times in the past
two weeks. The chatzran - the maintenance services and repairs
guy - told me that last week's one day of rain was heavier than an
entire year's worth of rain they usually get. I work with him for
Avodah (labor), which we have every Wednesday, and I've done
everything from painting roofs to tilling the soil.
Last week,
all of HDNA (Habonim Dror North America) and HDUK (Habonim Dror
United Kingdom) - they live across the lawn from us - were split up
into mixed groups and hiked Har (Mt.) Tavor, about a mile away from
our current home.
Now that the
Jewish holidays are over, we've settled into a weekly routine. We
get up in the morning, make breakfast for each other, have shiyurim
(classes) about various topics such as Zionism, Jewish peoplehood,
Jewish history, etc., go to lunch in the kibbutz chadar ochel
(dining hall), come back for either hadracha (leadership) or
Israeli society peulot (activities), learn Ivrit (Hebrew), and then
have a tochnit erev (night activity) followed by an asepha
(discussion). If it sounds like a lot, it's because it is; so don't
worry, your sons and daughters will be kept busy with fun and
knowledge when they get here.
Lior Bar-El
Amelim '04
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Are You A Legacy Builder & Dreamer?
Julia
Greenwald
I must admit that I was surprised when I looked up the word
" legacy" and saw that the definition is "anything
handed down from the past", "a bequest", or "a
gift of property". I was surprised because I always thought of
a legacy as something that was handed down from generation to
generation because it was loved, valued and had deep meaning.
No matter
what the dictionary says, in our community, the Legacy program is
indeed about values, and about US making sure that something we
love is there for our children and our children's children -
and that something is Gilboa. Read
More...
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B'Tnua - In
The Youth
Movement
Zoey Green
B'Tnua - In the Youth
Movement
All across North America,
from L.A. to Philadelphia, madrichim (counselors) from our 7 camps
brought engaging conversations about Jewish identity and the peace
process to their local communities. In early November, hundreds
commemorated Yitzhak Rabin and reflected on his important place
within the Middle East peace process through t'kasim (ceremonies)
and peulot run by Habonim Dror members. Given the current events in
Israel, these sorts of educational initiatives become even more
important as our movement members try to create awareness and
dialogue about peace in their own communities. Read More
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UPCOMING GILBOA EVENTS NEAR YOU!
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FOR EVERYONE
Winter Camp!
December 23-27
SAN DIEGO
KEN
December 9
Chanukah Ken
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LA KEN
December 9
Chanukah Ken
December 9
Camp Gilboa@LimmudLA
SO BAY
December 2
Ice-Skating
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IRVINE
December 7
Chanukah Ken
EAST BAY
December 2
Ken
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Shout-outs:
- Thank you to all our families,
supporters and volunteers.
- This season we want to give a special shout out
to
Harold
Grinspoon and his team of mentors who have been helping Gilboa with fundraising
efforts, purchasing the new campsite and organizing into an
efficient team of volunteers. Harold is the mind and soul
behind various successful programs to develop and sustain
Jewish Camps, and we owe him and his vision endless thanks.
Harold has been invited to visit camp this summer, and we hope
he will accept.
- Thank you for Jennifer Freund
and ImpressionsLA for printing thousands of
brochures for Gilboa
- To our Gilboa Legacy
Builders and Dreamers Team: Dr. Barbara Breger, David Oderberg
and Julia Greenwald, who, for a second year in a row, achieved the
goal set by the Grinspoon Foundation for new society members,
and "won" Gilboa $10,000.
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