good morning, welcome to mosaic. i'm honored to be your host this morning. we are about to have a wonderful conversation about jewish camping. many wonder how to educate their youth and get them to relate to a jewish identity. camping is one of the biggest way this happening. we have becky.

>> in hue hebrew it means earth. >> it's urban earth. >> we would like to remind people we are still on earth when in the city. >> what is jewish camping? >> i believe jewish camping secure is a jewish future. when children go to a summer camp anode grounded in a jewish community they are more likely to want to grow up in a jewish community. i didn't grow up in a big jewish community bosommer camp was a place where i was surrounded by other jews. it was cool and fund to be jewish. summer camp gave that to me.

camp is a place they feel comfortable about it. >> the camp is a recognizantal -- residential camp. >> i'm sorry. and urban? >> we are an urban model for a camp. >> the way you go about your programming how is it you understand someone might belong to a synagogue and come for a more e -- emercsive experience. >> we have campers who are not jewish. we have campers who like

bagels. that's the only jewish thing that do. we have campers that eat kosher at home or celebrate ever week. we try to meet them where they are at. we are pluralistic and nondenominational. some connect with the food, some with the music, some with prayers, and some with values. there are a lot of ways to connect with judaism and that's part of the emercyive experience. >> how would you think about that? >> yeah, we have an interesting model because we are in an urban

area. kids can have a jewish experience without having an experience somewhere else. they can let their guard down and connect through farming through building with mud. i believe that experience of being a child is a found at the camp. >> we'll take an quick break. join us in just a moment.

good morning, welcome back to mosaic. we are having a conversation with the director of jewish camp. welcome back. >> thank you. >> we were talking about the way your program works. nature is a common theme in the connection of jewish life. i was wondering if you could talk about jewish life. how does that work with you? >> nature is a part of our experience. one fix of the whole jewish tradition is about farming. this has to do with environment and sharing of harvest. we get to relive those pieces urban jews forgets about. it's fun.

it works for kids and creates community. it's a positive experience of feeling that you are doing real things that are meaning. when you help others and see your efforts benefit those you care for. >> becky, how does it work with camp tawonga. >> we are totally unplugged an screen free. kids can see the stars at night. hear the frogs and lake. we have a farm as well. through that and at yosemite national park. our experience with thatture is help them fall in love with nature. we make this connection between judaism and nature.

they go together. >> how does someone contact the camp and register and what are the choices people have about the different sections throughout the summer. >> we would ensurage people to visit our website. you can see we have a range of summer programs. we have programs at camp that are one week, two weeks, and two and half weeks. we have programs on the road were we have quest. our teams go on like a car camping road trip and do multisport adventures. we also have a family camp which are four day weekend programs in the spring and fall so the family can come and visit together. they can visit our website or come to our office. we are always there to answer

their questions. >> wonderful. before we to -- get to our next guest what is the age level? >> we take children entering second grade through first grade. so roughly seven to 17. to family camp all ages are welcome from tiny babies to grand parents. >> we have a camp season that runs for nine weeks ever summer. the first three weeks are 3-5 and next six weeks ages 5-12. we have a teen program this summer. some thing unique about our program is kids live with their camp is. they get to come back around for community celebrations and group programs. they can bring their school to the farm for a filed trip or

family. their experience at camp extends and they have a place based faith were they live. >> i know your website has the costs and all the ways they can enter that experience. can you explain your scholarship framework so they know there are different opens to fulfill the obligations. >> we give away an haft million dollars in scholarships for camp. that's need based. families are asked to provide us with their household income. there is some need blind options such as one happy camper. p.j. goes to camp and other programs like that.

some synagogues have partnerships where they will sub -- subsidize camp. we list all of that on our website. >> wonderful. >> we don't have as many numbers as a sleep away number. we have 60 campers per week. we give away $9,000 per summer which is proportional to how many campers we have. we also help seek opportunities in the community for help. >> wonderful. we have come to the end of our time together. we'll say good-bye to these guest and wonder two more gust about jewish camping.

mean/every tongue. we recognize people along with their jewish i tentties have many other identities racially, ethnically, and otherwise. we strive to create a space for people to bring their whole

selves. >> wonderful. rabbier written. getting down to concrete details how do people contact camp knewman and how does all of that work for someone that would like to come and participate. >> we are a traditional summer camp. during the summer we'll take campers seconding third grade through 12 harlingen, texas. all of our staff is in college and older. we run camps for three different weekend programs. a few more middle schools as well. we are running our first early childhood family camp this october in partnership with p.j. library. you can find all of that and more on our website. call us us to talk about our rates and dates and more. >> wonderful.

>> you mentioned a program we should let people know about which is p.j. library. p.j. stands for pajamas. it's an reading program you can sign-up for. it's for newborns through toddlers. >> actually six or seven years old. p.j. goes to camp is a scholarship program that runs through the same organize. we are a number of camps that received a grant for p.j. my way. really the mission of p.j. is to open up the world of jewish books to families who don't know they exist. >> it's a wonderful example of different collaborations. so, lindsey, can you give us a sense of the range of campers and who comes and how all of

that works? >> sure, we have campers that range from eight to 18. we are a slightly smaller camp and some of the others have been here today. we have much more of a family feel. all eight to 18 year-olds are together and living together and doing activities together. for younger campers that can help them feel comfortable to have buddies at camp. for our older campers they are taking on often leadership roles and provide that comfortable space for other campers. so you can sign-up on our website or give us a call. we would love to talk to you and get to know families who are interested. we also work with our families

to find resources to help them come to camp be whether it's p.j. library or other resources in the community or raising funds to help. >> wonderful. i want to take an quick break and come right back here on mosaic.

good morning, welcome back to mosaic we are in the middle of a wodgerful conversation with these two camp directors. >> thank you. question have different kinds of experiences in the camping

world for lgbt families and youth and they come to camps. is that an example how you sort of see the ways in which the multiculturalism exists and around the jewish community and has particular ways in which photocopies identify in a particular way. i wonder if you could talk about how from your prospective how you see jewish i didn'tty evolving and functioning in your respective arenas. >> sure. we welcome around 1200 campers ever summer. they come from all walks of life and denominations. our hope and goal when they come to camp knewman is they find a place where they can feel at home and be their best

selves and jewish selves. they feel like they found a place where they have a family. we have groups of all the ones you mention. we have different races. family makeups and when at the camp all of that combined to form the different families we have at camp. we hear from campers that also go to the other camps that allows them to find different kinds of family and find the place where they fit. >> lindsey, from your prorespecttive. >> similarly we have campers and families from many different backgrounds. they might only be involved in one spectrum of the jewish

communities and other families that are involved with others. families of adoption and lgbt families. for a lot of kids of color this is one of the only experiences where they are around a majority of people that look like them and have similar experiences. we think of our camp as a supplemental camp. we are three weeks during the summer and a lot of our kids do other camps. so, you know, we feel like we offer a opportunity for our kids to see other that look like themselves and role models that look like them and develop their comfort in expressing their jewish identities. >> it makes me think that jewish camping is a place were different kinds of people can

form family and relationships and deepen what eat means to be a jew and human being. that's an extraordinary world that gets created. because it's successive and residential it's continual that impact on the way a person understands themselves as well as their community with such great diversity must give a lot of confidence to a jewish community sense of place in the world everybody is welcome and even if you are different that doesn't make them an other you are still part of the family. from your prospective, we don't have that much time. what's been the impact you are having on people once they are not at camp or leave camp back

out in the world in their other world they live? >> well, i say for a lot of our kids especially kids of color they experience both an invisibility of their experience as well as they might be highly visible in the communities. we see our camp as leadership development camp and they help kids to figure out how to tell their own stories and know when people are looking at them as leaders and that they know how to embrace that and put up boundaries. >> we have a quick moment. how would you respond? >> i would say we made a push to respond to the needs of our families of inclusion. whether it's some thing you can see or can't see. we support the needs of our campers to make them feel like

this is home and give them to tools to take what they learned and carry the pride of camp back with them. >> you thank you so much and get on the web and look up our camps. make a wonderful choice for yourself this summer. thank you for being here on mosaic.

corrie's death put her in the center of the palistinean - isreali conflict... and captured internation in 2003... welcome back to base sunday . rachel corrie's death put her in the center of the palestinian conflict and captured international attention in 2003 when she stood her ground in front of an armored bulldozer. now but hit broadway play based on her writings just opened up in san francisco and here in the studio is the star, charlotte hemmings. glad to have you with us. tell us a little bit about her. who was she? >> she was an amazing young woman from olympia, washington