chw supports social services
Canadian Young Judaea (CYJ)
Each year, CHW provides funding to Canadian Young Judaea summer camps in Canada, which aim to strengthen young members’ Jewish identity and principles. CHW is honoured to have grown alongside such a wonderful organization, and enjoys serving children and youth in Canada and Israel together.
Founded in 1917, Canadian Young Judaea (CYJ) is Canada’s largest Jewish youth movement with active centres from Vancouver to Halifax. Its ideology is pluralistic and apolitical. CYJ’s aim is to strengthen its young members Jewish identity with an emphasis on the centrality of Israel. Canadian Young Judaea offers a wide range of year round and summer programs across the country and is affiliated with six camps, which are:
Camp Shalom, Gravenhurst, ON
Camp Solelim, Sudbury, ON
Camp Kinneret, Mont Tremblant, QC
Camp Biluim Canada, Mont Tremblant, QC
Camp Hatikvah, Kelowna, BC
Camp Kadimah, Barss Corner, NS
Learn more about CHW and CYJ in the complimentary webinar below.
CURRENT PROJECTS:
JOLT Program (Jewish Outreach Leadership Training)
CHW supports the JOLT PROGRAM AT CYJ. JOLT, or Jewish Outreach Leadership Training, is CYJ’s flagship program for youth tikkun olam, or community outreach. Participants in the program complete a minimum of 20 hours of community service and have the opportunity to engage in active, social causes and receive hands-on experience volunteering in the community. The main educational objectives of the JOLT programs are: leadership, tikkun olam, development of Jewish identity, and developing ties to their kvutza/community. CHW is proud to be connected with CYJ and helping to make a difference in the lives of so many young adults.
Machane Lev March Break Program
CHW proudly sponsors a one-week, Jewish overnight camp
for children and youth who are LGBTQ2+ or come from LGBTQ2+ families/communities.
Camp Biluim Israel
CHW also supports Camp Biluim Israel. Biluim Israel is the final phase of Canadian Young Judaea’s Leadership Training Programs. For over 50 years the program has provided a unique summer experience for seventeen-year-olds, combining leadership development, seminars, nature hiking and touring. Named after the “Biluim” who settled Israel in the 1880’s, our “Biluimniks” explore varied Israeli lifestyles and at the same time discover their Jewish identity. The chanichim also experience the feeling of camp within the Israel setting.
Read more about CHW’s support of CYJ in the below article from a recent issue of ORAH magazine:
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CYJ TRIPS TO ISRAEL
Each summer, CYJ Biluim participants from across Canada visit CHW projects in Israel.
In July 2024, participants visited the CHW grant recipient HaGal Sheli.
In July, Camp Biluim participated in a half-day surf program with
CHW’s new partner, HaGal Sheli. They learned about personal
growth and success by learning to surf.
One of the participants summed up the experience on behalf of the group:
“As a member of Canadian Young Judaea, I have attended camp since I was eight years old! Biluim Israel was the obvious next and last step for me as a camper, but it seemed very out of reach for me. After my family received a needs-based scholarship, I was ecstatic! Biluim Israel was finally in the cards for me, and I started to prepare myself for this once-in-a-lifetime experience. Going to Israel after the tragedies of October 7 was unique, challenging, and the most meaningful weeks of my life. I met Israelis displaced from their homes in the North, soldiers who fought and were injured in Gaza, and spent time with Jewish teens like myself navigating this new world together. I can take the lessons I learned this summer with me in my everyday life. I have learned so much, grown so much, and I am committed to continuing to grow as a Jew, as a Zionist, and as a leader.”
See a short highlight video:
In 2019, participants visited the CHW Clara Balinsky (Montreal) Daycare Centre.
In what is becoming an annual tradition, Junior CITs took time out of their busy schedule to spend an afternoon volunteering at the Daycare. The Junior CITs had a memorable experience, singing and playing with the children and saw, firsthand, the positive impact of CHW’s fundraising endeavours on the lives of Israeli children. At the end of their visit, the campers were presented with a hamsa painted by the children.
Junior CITs Jamie and Nathaniel enthusiastically summed up the experience on behalf of the group:
“The children are so adorable! This has been such a fun and great experience!”
See more photos here:
