Volunteers from organizations such as One Family and Yaldeinu are sending terror victims to camp in Ontario this summer. Pictured from left are campers Sean Kuchnik, Yuval Dadon, Shir Benshimol and Shalom Katar (seated), along with organizers and volunteers Karen Breslin, Bernie Little, Pam Albert, Rhonda Wolf, Michael Ettedgui and Jack Benaim.
TORONTO – It’s a Monday afternoon and around a dozen teens are lounging by the pool, chatting amongst themselves.
Girls in bikinis dry themselves off as groups gather around the barbecue, concentrating on dressing their hot dogs.
These teens have many things in common. They enjoy barbecues, they like to socialize, they’re all from Israel and they’re all victims of terror.
And they were all going to camp in a few days.
For the past four years, the One Family Fund, a group that helps victims of terror in Israel, has been sending Israeli youths, aged 12 to 14, who have been affected by terror to Canadian camps.
This year, for the first time, they will be partnering with other organizations to reach more children.
One of these is Yaldeinu, a charity that helps Jewish communities worldwide. With the help of the International Christian Embassy Jerusalem, Yaldeinu is sending five children to Camp Gesher.
Another group of Israeli kids will be hosted by a number of Bel Ewart cottagers in an initiative organized by Ari Belzberg and Emanuel Greenberg.
Pam Albert, executive director of One Family’s Canadian branch, emphasized the sense of community that has developed through this project.
“This is a wonderful model. It shows how [different] organizations can work together. It’s a program where there’s no boundaries in terms of who can help,” she said.
Albert said the organizations’ motives were simple.
“I think we feel that our hands are tied here,” she said. “We’re sitting with an incredible life in Canada. We look at the lives affected by terror. It’s such a tangible way to give a real kid a hug, to help them.”
This year, One Family is sending 20 kids to Camp Timberlane, with the help of Bernie Little, head of fundraising and a Timberlane alumnus. Little raised some $70,000 for transportation and living costs.
“Aside from approaching friends, I approached alumni. The response was fantastic,” Little said. “People care. It’s very frustrating to be here. When you give to other charities, you don’t see where the money’s going.”
For the Israeli campers, the funding means that they can spend a few weeks just being kids, which is one of the reasons Rhonda Wolf volunteered with One Family.
“We want them to take their mind off everything. The majority of the kids are coming from Sderot,” Wolf said, referring to the southern Israeli town that faces constant rocket barrages from neighbouring Gaza.
“They can’t have a life outdoors in the summer. Israel is so beautiful, and they have to stay inside. That’s not fair. We want to show them the great outdoors.”
Chaim Avner, 14, has been coming to Camp Timberlane through this program for several years.
Four years ago, Avner’s father was killed in a suicide bombing in Jerusalem.
Apart from getting to travel, going to Camp Timberlane gives Avner an opportunity to be a regular kid in a safe environment.
“I love this,” he said of the camp. “I like the skate park, tennis, soccer. All the guys, whatever you want, they’ll do for you. If I’m upset, they come and help, they joke with me. All the time, you’re not alone.”
Michael Ettedgui, the founder of Yaldeinu, sees this as an opportunity to connect Israeli and Canadian campers.
“It’ll imbue in them a sense of peoplehood. There’s no doubt that they will remember the kindness they were shown by children their own age in Toronto. They’ll have real friendships with Jewish children in North America.”
Before the kids got on the camp buses, they spent a few days in Toronto staying with host families and exploring the city.
This is all thanks to community businesses and volunteers.
Roots gave free merchandise to each child, while Cosmic Bowling donated a night of bowling and a free dinner. Each camper also got a backpack full of camping supplies, which was donated from a bar and a bat mitzvah.
“The Israeli community here is very strong,” Wolf said, adding that volunteers don’t have to be Israeli, or even Jewish, to help. “Everyone that has children understands.”
The One Family Fund is also organizing a Sea to Sea charity hike in Israel. For more information,visit www.onefamilyfund.org, www.seatoseahike.org, or call 416-644-4955.
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