![\"Camp](\"https:\/\/www.activityhero.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/03\/tawonga.png\" "\\"\\"")
<\/h2>\n<\/h2>\nCamp Tawonga<\/a> has been a leader in Jewish camping since 1925. They offer a variety of different programs for campers of all ages from traditional camp fun to teen leadership programs, all set in the beautiful\u00a0Stanislaus National Forest.<\/p>\n Teens can also embark on retreats\u00a0to Israel, Canada, and other locations. We interviewed camp director Jamie Simon<\/strong> to learn a little bit more about her beginnings with the camp:<\/p>\n Tawonga has\u00a0been in my blood since I was eight years old, I was a camper for seven\u00a0summers.<\/p>\n When I was old enough to be a counselor at Tawonga, I filled out the\u00a0staff application the first day it was available! \u00a0I worked on the summer\u00a0staff for many years before joining the year round team in 2006. \u00a0I grew up\u00a0a Tawongan but I never thought I would be lucky enough to be working for\u00a0camp year round!<\/p>\n I live in Oakland, California with my husband, who also grew\u00a0up at Camp Tawonga. \u00a0The values I learned as a child at Tawonga have deeply\u00a0impacted my professional and personal life. \u00a0When not working for camp I\u00a0love watching sports, enjoying the outdoors, and spending time with friends\u00a0and family.<\/p>\n community and a strong connection with nature.<\/p>\n I hope that their time at\u00a0Camp Tawonga has shown them that they are uniquely special, they have a\u00a0loving community supporting them and that they feel inspired to give back to\u00a0the world.<\/p>\n Parents are impressed and happy with our customer service; they know\u00a0that we will take good care of their kids but they are surprised at how well\u00a0we take care of them. \u00a0We have an extensive parent guidebook and make\u00a0customer service a priority.<\/p>\n We know how hard it can be for parents to send\u00a0their children away and want to make this the best possible family\u00a0experience. \u00a0We believe that our success at camp comes from the partnership\u00a0we build with families.<\/span><\/p>\n Tawonga’s location is\u00a0magical, we are located along the Tuolumne River right outside of Yosemite In addition to our\u00a0location we are a group centered camp. Campers learn skills like team work, compromise, community building and leadership. \u00a0Our focus is on the\u00a0community experience. \u00a0Campers leave feeling like they were a valuable part\u00a0of the community and feel excited to create communities like the one they\u00a0shared at Tawonga.<\/p>\n Lastly, our staff are excellent. \u00a0We have a comprehensive\u00a0staff training and ensure that staff are always putting the children first.\u00a0People often ask me, “Where does the magic of Tawonga come from?”, I always\u00a0say, “The people.” \u00a0From the prep cooks, maintenance team, wilderness\u00a0leaders, counselors and year round staff the Tawonga community is surrounded\u00a0by people who are intentional, creative, passionate, caring and motivated. I\u00a0am grateful every day that I get to be a part of this community and create\u00a0the magic for children.<\/p>\n To learn more about Camp Tawonga<\/a>, check out current schedules, and register for camps check out Camp Tawonga on ActivityHero<\/a>!<\/p>\n <\/p>\n Written by Sarah Antrim<\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Camp Tawonga has been a leader in Jewish camping since 1925. They offer a variety of different programs for campers of all ages from traditional camp fun to teen leadership programs, all set in the beautiful\u00a0Stanislaus National Forest. Teens can also embark on retreats\u00a0to Israel, Canada, and other locations. We interviewed camp director Jamie Simon […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":1460,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_eb_attr":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[214,111],"tags":[238,15,31,193],"class_list":["post-1447","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-active-healthy-kids","category-sports","tag-camp-director-diaries","tag-camps","tag-san-francisco-bay-area","tag-summer-camps"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.activityhero.com/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1447","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.activityhero.com/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.activityhero.com/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.activityhero.com/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.activityhero.com/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1447"}],"version-history":[{"count":11,"href":"https:\/\/www.activityhero.com/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1447\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":9406,"href":"https:\/\/www.activityhero.com/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1447\/revisions\/9406"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.activityhero.com/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/1460"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.activityhero.com/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1447"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.activityhero.com/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=1447"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.activityhero.com/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=1447"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}Tell us a little about yourself and how you started the camp.<\/h2>\n
Are there any special lessons or experiences you are trying to provide during the camp?
\n<\/span><\/h2>\nCamp is such a special place for kids and it is my goal\u00a0<\/span>that kids leave Tawonga with three things: a positive self image and self\u00a0<\/span>esteem, a feeling that they have been a part of creating a cooperative<\/span><\/div>\nWhat surprises\/delights the kids (or parents) most about your camp?<\/h2>\n
<\/div>\nWhat sets your class\/camp apart from the rest?<\/h2>\n
\nNational Park. \u00a0Campers have an opportunity to go backpacking in Yosemite\u00a0and explore the beautiful land that surrounds us.<\/p>\n![\"Camp](\"https:\/\/www.activityhero.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/03\/Jamie-Headshot.jpg\" "\\"\\"")