Sleep away camp for struggling girls

amother

Mulberry

Mon, May 29 2023, 10:38 pm

amother OP wrote:

The zone is a kiruv camp

The zone also takes campers who are frum- but need chizuk to be frum bc they are struggling.

amother

Mulberry

Mon, May 29 2023, 10:40 pm

amother OP wrote:

Is there sleep away camp for bais Yaakov girls who are struggling with yidishkeit? Not off the derech bh but struggling. Tia

Camp extreme by "Project Extreme" is a great Jewish camp for kids who struggle in Yiddishkeit.

https://projectextreme.org and go to "camp extreme" on the menu bar to read more info on it.

amother

Watermelon

Mon, May 29 2023, 11:47 pm

amother OP wrote:

Is there sleep away camp for bais Yaakov girls who are struggling with yidishkeit? Not off the derech bh but struggling. Tia

I don't think it exist unfortunately. There are camps for frum girls and for otd girls... nothing in between.

amother

Watermelon

Mon, May 29 2023, 11:49 pm

amother Mulberry wrote:

Camp extreme by "Project Extreme" is a great Jewish camp for kids who struggle in Yiddishkeit.

https://projectextreme.org and go to "camp extreme" on the menu bar to read more info on it.

I don't think "camp extreme" caters to bais yaakov girls!

amother

Burgundy

Tue, May 30 2023, 12:02 am

Can you elaborate on "struggling"? Is this a girl who watches movies and wants to have a more chilled dress code? Or are we talking theologically struggling, with big questions like why do bad things happen to good people and how do we even know Hashem gave us the Torah? Or maybe all of the above. That might help people know which direction to go in.

amother

Snowflake

Tue, May 30 2023, 12:22 am

amother Mulberry wrote:

Camp extreme by "Project Extreme" is a great Jewish camp for kids who struggle in Yiddishkeit.

https://projectextreme.org and go to "camp extreme" on the menu bar to read more info on it.

Camp extreme is for girls who are seriously otd. Not just struggling.

mamabird73

Tue, May 30 2023, 12:37 am

Extreme is for girls who are already "off the derech" and are often engaged in destructive behavior. Sending a BY girl who is questioning her yiddishkeit seems like a terrible idea. If Mrs. Toba Shifrin is still working with the Zone, I would reach out to her. Also, try reaching out to Camp Sternberg. I'm not sure how much it's changed since R' Greenwald's petirah, but I know it used to be very helpful in situations like these. Hatzlacha!!

amother

Tue, May 30 2023, 4:35 pm

amother Burgundy wrote:

Lots and lots of questions, lots a crying that if evil things happen Hashem must be evil ect. She doesn't daven or bench, feels no connection

amother

Snowflake

Tue, May 30 2023, 5:59 pm

mamabird73 wrote:

I think this is good advice.

amother

Tanzanite

Tue, May 30 2023, 6:01 pm

amother OP wrote:

Lots and lots of questions, lots a crying that if evil things happen Hashem must be evil ect. She doesn't daven or bench, feels no connection

I'm wondering if she might be depressed.

amother

Banana

Tue, May 30 2023, 6:09 pm

amother Tanzanite wrote:

I'm wondering if she might be depressed.

I second that- possible anxiety and or depression? If so any sort of sleepaway camp may not be a good idea.

amother

Mulberry

Tue, May 30 2023, 6:17 pm

Sternberg a BY camp but is the least yeshivish out of all of them.

So maybe that

But Camp Dina might be the best fit because they have a lot of girls there that are more on the struggling side in Yiddishkeit

Cressel

Tue, May 30 2023, 6:29 pm

Whoa, I'm so saddened to see that there is no camp for "in between" girls. Either totally off the derech or Bais Yaakov type of camp.

I'm sure there are so many girls like just your daughter. In our Dor preceding Moshiach, there are a myriad of Ruchniyus challenges.

Camp extreme is for seriously OTD teens.

And although camp Dina is a good fit in terms of Yiddishkeit, camp Dina isn't a camp for "helping these girls", it's just a more modern camp full of BY girls who aren't BY type.

The ZONE might be a good option. I have a friend who works in the ZONE and she told me there are a bunch of frum kids there that are campers there because they need chiuzk to stay frum. But I don't know so much about it so I would contact the heads of the ZONE asap and ask if they have space for you daughter.

Hatzlacha Rabba! Let us know what you end up doing. Your daughter is in my thoughts and teffilos.

amother

Ecru

Wed, May 31 2023, 7:29 am

mamabird73 wrote:

Mrs Shifrin is not working at the zone any more but she might be a good person to reach out to regardless.
Sternberg currently screens incoming campers (they did not in the days of Rabbi Greenwald) and is unlikely to knowingly accept a girl struggling with yiddishkeit and is probably not a good fit.
I think the zone or perhaps Kaylie can be good options.

amother

Burgundy

Wed, May 31 2023, 8:30 am

sruth1 wrote:

What about one of the NCSY camps?

I've heard the Michlelet program is very good at inspiring girls. The other campers won't be BY girls, and some from non-frum homes. But usually if they're going on Michlelet it means they have a positive outlook towards frumkeit and are looking to learn and grow. That kind of cohort could make for a more positive experience than a regular BY group for the girl described by OP. Also, the leaders of NCSY groups are very open to all kinds of questions and discussions, which this girl may need.

amother

Mulberry

Wed, May 31 2023, 5:10 pm

amother Burgundy wrote:

Tuition for the Michelet camp is around $7,000 since it's a traveling camp in Eretz Yisroel.

Which is a super high price.

If OP can afford, I would definitely recommend either Michlelet or GIVE (They are both EY traveling camps under NCSY but GIVE is more modern than Michlelet)

But it is costly, so if NCSY camp isn't an option, I would opt for either Dina, Kaylie, or Sternberg.