The Foundation for Jewish Camp (FJC) has added URJ 6 Points Sci-Tech Academy West to the Specialty Camp Incubator III cohort. Building on the success of the previous two Incubators, this unique entrepreneurial opportunity will now launch six new camps in the summer of 2018. The addition of the sixth camp, as well as the entire program, is made possible by a combined grant from the Jim Joseph Foundation and The AVI CHAI Foundation.

“Foundation for Jewish Camp has fine-tuned the Incubator into a deeply effective model for creating dynamic, engaging Jewish immersive experiences,” says Barry Finestone, President and CEO of the Jim Joseph Foundation. “One of the great successes from the first Incubators has been URJ 6 Points Sci-Tech Academy, and we are especially excited to see this camp come out west – a region with vast potential to blend this specialty with Jewish learning and values.”

URJ 6 Points Sci-Tech Academy West is an expansion of URJ 6 Points Sci-Tech Academy outside Boston, Massachusetts, which was part of the Specialty Camp Incubator II. In its fourth summer, URJ 6 Points Sci-Tech Academy is expected to welcome 600 campers in 2017. Since 2010, the nine Specialty Camps incubated have served over 6,000 campers – with nearly half reporting that they had never attended a Jewish camp before. The camps continue to surpass enrollment and retention goals, proving the demand for Jewish specialty options in the summer camp marketplace.

Incubator III will provide expertise and support to the new cohort of six individuals or organizations as they plan and implement their vision for expanded models of nonprofit, Jewish specialty camps. FJC expects that each of these new specialty camps will serve approximately 300 campers and 40 college-aged counselors per summer with a cumulative potential of serving 1,500 campers and 200 college-aged counselors by the summer of 2021.

The camps also part of Specialty Camp Incubator III are:

• JRF Arts will focus on the film arts with other supporting modalities in Southern California.
• Moshav Eden will be a West Coast camp focusing on a diverse Jewishly-rooted community of children, teens, and young adults who learn to steward the earth and strengthen our food systems.
• Ramah Sports Academy will be a high-level sports specialty overnight camp in the Northeast.
• Sababa Beach Away will capitalize on the setting of one of the East Coast’s top surfing locations to showcase surfing/beach activities, and the growing popularity of Jewish mindfulness.
• URJ 6 Points Creative Arts Academy will be dedicated to the pursuit of visual, performance and media art in the Mid-Atlantic.