Our Mission
Camp Rodef Shalom fosters friendships, relationships, and community by providing fun and engaging experiences in a safe environment. By living Jewish values, we give our families opportunities to strengthen our Jewish connections.
What We Do
Throughout the summer, our campers are learning about good sportsmanship, teamwork, positivity, generosity, and enthusiasm.
We teach about the value of strong friendships and generosity instead of numbers and spelling. We teach adaptability and improvisation instead of facts and statistics. We emphasize character and joy, community and cooperation, respect and flexibility.
While we do have prizes for winners of some of our bigger events, even losing the week-long color war competition provides our campers the opportunity to cheer on others and to learn empathy, consideration, and resilience.
Our History
Camp Rodef Shalom was organized in 1976 by Rabbi Laszlo Berkowits, the founding rabbi of Temple Rodef Shalom, with the purpose of helping children stay connected with TRS during summer months. A month-long program of sports, swimming, arts and crafts, music and dance was developed within the context of a Jewish social experience.
Flo Frey became camp director in 1978, with an enrollment of around 60 campers ages four through twelve. Flo was the creator of our camp song "On the Line" which we still sing at camp today.
Over the last 42 years, Camp Rodef Shalom has grown beyond what anyone could have imagined back in 1976. In recent years, in addition to our classic specialties of Sports, Art, Swimming, and Music, we have included Drama, Mad Science, Outdoor Adventures, and Cooking! Who knows what new and exciting specialties we will add next year!
