By: Carole Cohen
Working at The Special Children’s Center is one of the most amazing programs I’ve ever been apart of. I’ve made connections with both the children and counselors. Every day is similar, yet more exciting. Each counselor has one camper to take care of for the entire summer. We begin the day by greeting the campers while they leap off the busses with smiles on their faces. We grab our camper’s hand and bring them into the camp, located in the JCC. Everyone takes a chair and we sit in a big circle. Once everyone arrives, my favorite part of the day begins, “circle time”. This is when we all sing songs and give each camper a voice to express how they feel. The songs are simple yet beautiful and make it easy to understand the greatness of Hashem. Then, each child gets a chance to show everyone their favorite dance while everyone cheers them on. We then have time for snacks, and later on, we have an event. We’ve had a Yaakov Shwecky concert in Lakewood, a bird show, a bubble show, and so much more. My camper is someone I’ve known for a while so I was really happy to hear that I would take care of her this summer. Having the opportunity to support her growth and see her laugh is more gratifying than any other job I could have taken this summer. But, just because I am in charge of one camper doesn’t mean I can’t spend time with the other kids. Everyone is always together so I’ve been able to make relationships with most campers. They’re happiness and playful energy is contagious, which makes anything we do exciting.
None of this could be done without amazing camp heads: Frieda Chattah and Toby Kogel. How do they have the ability to make sure both the campers and counselors are taken care of? They made sure that the camp was under control and ensured a good time for everyone. Both of them are truly inspirational.
My highlight of the summer was Mock Wedding. Imagine a real wedding, with the chuppah, all the decorations, food, and makeup appointments. Well, it was all except the wedding berachot weren’t real. It was surreal. The staff and campers had their hair and makeup done. Dresses and suits were supplied. We had a morning dedicated to getting ready for the wedding. We arrived in West Deal Shul for the wedding. Yaakov was there to receive all the hugs from the kids and once we got into the building, we prepared to walk down the aisle with our campers. Two children were named the “hatan and chalah” . After the chuppah, we ran to the tent where the desserts were spread out so beautifully and the dance floor was ready for us. We danced for hours until the cake came out. A real, I don’t know how many layer, wedding cake. It was really magical.
Even though camp has ended, all of the memories are still with me. I’ve learned so much from these kids and hopefully, I have taught them something. So many people have told me that they could never do this job when I ask why they say that they are intimated or scared of what can happen. Some say they feel sad. What I’ve come to realize is that these kids don’t realize what is considered awkward or weird. All of the campers at the Center were constantly smiling and laughing. They hug each other and dance together. I loved seeing this every morning when we would dance in circle time or if we had a concert. I also wanted to say how amazing Yaakov and Jenine Shwecky were. Jenine came so many times throughout the summer and threw surprises at us like a concert from Yaakov, which are always awesome, and breaking into Ouris! All the counselors “broke into” Ouris one night and got free salads! Thank you Ouri! There are so many other people involved in the Children’s Center and I can’t fit them all on this page, but thank you to everyone involved. It changed me for the better.
(Carole Cohen is an active contributor to the Jewish Voice Young Journalists Initiative program)
