Nine campers braided friendship bracelets, played team building games and did arts and crafts earlier this month. But Camp Gadol isn’t your average summer camp — these campers range in age from 62 to nearly 80.
Shari Berman, Pozez Jewish Community Center of Northern Virginia’s adult enrichment director, was the primary coordinator for Camp Gadol, which ran from June 9 to 13. It’s a half-day adult camp that offers “joy, connection and creative exploration,” according to Pozez JCC’s website.
Berman said she was inspired to launch Camp Gadol last year during a meeting with older adult staff members of the JCC Association of North America.
“We at the [Pozez] JCC have three camps for kids and younger adults who are neurodiverse, and I thought, ‘Wouldn’t it be fun to be older — retired — and then have time to camp?’” Berman recalled.
The overarching theme of this summer’s installment of Camp Gadol was tikkun olam, or repairing the world. The group spent each day focusing on one aspect of the theme, from self-improvement and self-care to mending brokenness locally and globally, Berman said.
Each day included three hands-on activities such as arts and crafts, sports and dancing and discussions or presentations.
“This [summer], I think we added a little bit more adult Jewish learning,” Berman said. “It was very adult-related but focused and fun.”
On the first day of camp, the group got to know each other and participated in self-care through a mindfulness and meditation workshop with Rabbi Sarah Tasman. Later in the week, campers made no-sew fleece blankets for hospice patients, did water aerobics in the pool, cooked Israeli food, danced and made art.
Mandy, a Fairfax resident and first-time camper at Camp Gadol, said she appreciated that the camp offered “a lot of really well thought out programs. They had an agenda for every day.”
She particularly enjoyed a game of “Jewish trivia” led by Pozez JCC’s Zina Segal, describing the camp staff and supporting Pozez JCC staff as “wonderful, knowledgeable people.”
“You’re never too old to learn,” Berman said.
Campers tried new things that doubled as fun activities. Mandy, who braided her own challah for the first time, said her loaf turned out nicely. The group also designed and personalized challah boards, made floral candle holders and created collage self portraits.
“I wouldn’t consider myself an artsy person, but I discovered that you don’t have to be a talented artist to do arts and crafts,” Mandy said. “It’s just fun and enjoyable.”
Berman, who received lots of positive feedback from campers, said this unique camp experience is especially beneficial for older adults who may not have as many social opportunities in their daily lives.
“Having people come every day and see each other every day and do different activities and learn together every day I think really enhanced that social and bonding opportunity tremendously, so we’re really pleased about that,” Berman said.
She added that the campers — all women — bonded over the course of the week and even exchanged contact information to spend time together outside of camp: “Seeing the group laugh and talk and bond was just super special.”
Mandy joined Camp Gadol for that social aspect.
“I’ve made connections through there [that] I found meaningful,” Mandy said. “It’s just added an extra dimension to my life because I’m alone a lot because I work by myself, so now [Camp Gadol] gives me this opportunity to get out of the house and socialize with others.”
She added that while parents may drop their children off at a summer camp to keep them occupied, camp is different for adults.
“For adults, it’s more about connection, connecting with other people,” Mandy said, noting that especially since the Oct. 7, 2023, attack on Israel, she’s felt the need to connect with fellow Jewish community members even more.
She said she was pleasantly surprised to find that some fellow campers were also in their 60s and worked full-time jobs: “Everyone was pretty young for their age.”
The connections extend beyond the Pozez JCC’s campus. Mandy befriended a camper who had been scheduled to convert to Judaism one week after the end of Camp Gadol.
“I went to shul with her on her first Shabbat after she became a Jew, so that was cool and meaningful for her,” Mandy said.
Mandy plans to sign up for Camp Gadol again next summer.
“It was a really positive experience [for] me, making the connections and learning new things, whether it be arts and crafts [or] a game,” she said. “It makes your life more purposeful when you’re sharing it with other people.”
