For the second year in a row, Mosaic United is helping bring the joy, respite, and meaning of Jewish summer camp to Ukrainian Jews.
In our first year, together with our philanthropic partners, we invested $1.1 million to send nearly 1,400 participants to more than 17,000 days of camp at 24 camps across 10 countries.
This year, together with our partners, we have more than tripled our budget, allocating $3.7 million. We are projecting nearly quadrupling our participants to 5,300. And our reach has grown to 79 camps through 26 different providers spread across 14 countries, including for the first time within secure areas of Ukraine.
In 2022, third-party evaluation by Rosov Consulting of our Ukrainian Jewish summer camp initiative demonstrated high efficacy in achieving our goals to provide a sense of joy and fun alongside the strengthening and deepening of Jewish identity, community, and connection to Israel.
Our goals for this summer’s camps include a number of critical measures.
- Provide support and respite: Camps will supply enjoyable and restful experiences, creating a space for campers to find stability and disconnect from day-to-day struggles
- Connection to the local Jewish community: Enable campers to integrate into and foster meaningful relationships within the local Jewish community
- Strengthen Jewish identity and Israel connection: Provide campers with the opportunity to learn, engage, and develop a deep sense of belonging to their Jewish heritage and Israel
- Promote staff and capacity development for the camp providers: Through the provision of emotional support professionals and pre-camp seminars, counselors will receive the necessary skills to deliver a high-quality, supportive camp experience
- Organizing the field: Expand the scope of our work in order to touch the work of the majority of organizations providing summer camps for Ukrainian Jews
Partners in this endeavor include the Israeli Ministry for Diaspora Affairs and Combating Antisemitism, the Jewish Federations of North America, and others.