Camp Kinder Ring is a Jewish Summer camp located in Hopewell Junction, New York. It is run by The Workmen's Circle/Arbeter Ring. Image File history File links Metadata No higher resolution available. ... For a discussion of Jews as an ethnicity or ethnic group see the article on Jew. ... Summer camp is a supervised program for children and/or teenagers conducted (usually) during the summer months in some countries. ... Hopewell Junction is a hamlet (and census-designated place) in Dutchess County, New York, United States. ... The Workmens Circle Logo The Arbeter Ring (אַרבעטער־רינג) (Workmen’s Circle) is a Yiddish language-oriented American Jewish fraternal organization loosely connected to the Humanistic Judaism movement. ...

About

Kinder Ring was founded in 1927 by The Workmen's Circle/Arbeter Ring following the loss of its previous summer camp, Camp Kinderland (then also located at Sylvan Lake), to the Communist-affiliated International Workers Order. Camp Kinder Ring has many families which have been attending for up to 4 generations. The camp offers campers a wide array of activities such as sports, arts and crafts, and lake activities while also educating them about Jewish traditions and culture. Many campers and staff return year after year due to the emotional attachment they feel with the camp, the greatest example being beloved waterfront head Joel "The Hawk" Hochheiser, who has been working at the camp for nearly 50 years. The Workmens Circle Logo The Arbeter Ring (אַרבעטער־רינג) (Workmen’s Circle) is a Yiddish language-oriented American Jewish fraternal organization loosely connected to the Humanistic Judaism movement. ... Camp Kinderland is a summer camp located in Tolland, MA. The camp was founded by secular Jews in the early 20th century. ... This article is about communism as a form of society and as a political movement. ... Original logo of the International Workers Order (IWO), 1930-39. ...

Camp Kinder Ring is a nonprofit 501(c)(3). A non-profit organization (often called non-profit org or simply non-profit or not-for-profit) can be seen as an organization that doesnt have a goal to make a profit. ... 501(c)(3) is a provision of the US tax code that provides exempt status, for Federal income tax purposes, for some non-profit organizations in the United States (see 26 U.S.C. Â§ 501(c)(3)). The term refers to: Section 501. ...

Camp Kinder Ring is Accredited by the American Camp Association The American Camp Association (formerly known as the American Camping Association) is a community of camp professionals who, for nearly 100 years, have joined together to share their knowledge and experience and to ensure the quality of camp programs. ...

Traditions

Kinder Ring's traditions include 4th of July carnival, KR of the Week/Year, Maccabean Games, Olympics, Torchbearer, Behind the Scenes, all-whites shtiller ovnt (Yiddish for "silent evening") to celebrate the Friday evening advent of the sabbath, and the setting of candles onto Sylvan Lake symbolizing the end of another summer. Other traditions include popular Jewish singers like Rick Recht. New traditions are created every year, evident by the first annual KR Softball League during the summer of 2006.

Maccabean Games

Maccabean Games, or Mac Games, are held every year in the first half of the summer. Campers are split into two teams named after important and influential Jews in history. Over the course of 4 days, campers compete against one another. The emphasis of Mac Games is team spirit, teamwork, and fun, rather than winning. Past Mac Game teams have included Sholom Aleichem, Marc Chagall, Abba Kovner, Hank Greenberg, Sandy Koufax, Steven Spielberg, Bette Midler, Henrietta Szold, Bella Abzug, and Simon Wiesenthal. Sholem Aleichem ‎, Russian: ; March 2 [O.S. February 18] 1859 – May 13, 1916) was a popular humorist and Russian (geographically, Ukrainian) Jewish author of Yiddish literature, including novels, short stories, and plays. ... Marc Chagall as photographed in 1941 by Carl Van Vechten. ... Abba Kovner Abba Kovner (1918-1987) was a Lithuanian Jewish Hebrew poet, writer, and partisan leader. ... Henry Benjamin Hank Greenberg (January 1, 1911, New York, New York – September 4, 1986), nicknamed Hammerin Hank, was an American professional baseball player in the 1930s and 1940s. ... Sanford Koufax (IPA pronunciation: /kofæks/) (born Sanford Braun, on December 30, 1935, in Brooklyn, New York) is an American left-handed former pitcher in Major League Baseball who played his entire career for the Brooklyn/Los Angeles Dodgers, from 1955 to 1966. ... Steven Allan Spielberg (born December 18, 1946)[1] is an American film director, producer and screenwriter. ... Bette Midler (born December 1, 1945) is an American singer, actress and comedienne, also known to her fans as The Divine Miss M. She is named after the actress Bette Davis although Davis pronounced her first name in two syllables, and Midler uses one. ... Henrietta Szold (December 21, 1860 – February 13, 1945) was a U.S. Jewish scholar and Zionist leader. ... Bella Abzug Bella Savitsky Abzug (July 24, 1920 – March 31, 1998) was a well-known American political figure and a leader of the womens movement. ... Simon Wiesenthal, KBE, (Buczacz, December 31, 1908 – Vienna, September 20, 2005) was an Austrian-Jewish architectural engineer who hunted down Nazi war criminals, after surviving the Holocaust. ...

Olympics

Olympics are held every year in the second half of the summer. Campers are split into teams named for two countries. Over the course of 4 days, campers compete against one another. As always, emphasis is based on team spirit, teamwork, and fun, rather than winning. Olympics hold the most famous events in camp, the Rope Burn, the Decathlon and the Triathalon. Past Olympic teams have included Ireland, Argentina, Poland, Monaco, England, Spain, and Kenya. For other uses, see England (disambiguation). ...

Torchbearer

This KR tradition was started in 1971. It is known as the greatest honor one can receive at Kinder Ring, showing one's love and dedication to Camp Kinder Ring. During the Opening Ceremonies for Olympics, past Torchbearers come back to camp to help pass on the honor. Every summer a Torchbearer is named before the entire camp and lights the Olympic flame, as in the real Olympics. Some past Torchbearers are Joel "The Hawk" Hochheiser, Cathy Murphy, Seena Parker, Kayte McGinlay , Michael Baran, Dr. Barney Zumoff, Marc "Z" Zelmanowicz, Ruth Baran, Barbara Levine and Josh Stone.

KR Landmarks

The tradition of Camp Kinder Ring can be seen in the places in camp which make it so special. The Shack and the Clubhouse, the Jewish Heritage Palace, and Social Hall are well known as older distinct places in camp. These are joined by the newer landmarks, including the Adventure Center, Water Trampoline, the Iceberg, and the recently renovated lower basketball courts.

Administration

Asst. Director: Vicki Windman

Head of Boys Side: Norm Levine

Head of Girls Side: Ilene Joachim

Administrative Assistance Engineer/Boys Side Support Technician: Jordan Mayblum

"Miscommunications"

Below are several emails between Norm Levine, the Head of boys side and a former employee in which several "miscommunications" (as they were named) appear. All of the following messages appear in their full and original form. Was there a miscommunication? You Be The Judge:

Original Message-----From:+++++To: norm@campkr.comSent: Mon, 26 Nov 2007 5:11 pmSubject: summer 2008Dear Norm, I've been speaking with several of my friends who have all told me that many of them were asked back to camp for next summer.I'm hoping to come back for next year but I didn't recieve a letter. I'd just like to check with you and make sure one way or the other so I know. I think it goes without saying that I'd love to come back for a 10th summer at Kinder Ring but if you could get back to me when you get a chance to let me know I'd greatly appreciate it. 'Til we return again, JM

(On or around 11/26/07) HEY +++++ ! Good hearing from you. Hope all is well and you are having a good year at school. We did send out our first batch of letters to counselors and specialists that we would like to invite back to camp. Not everyone got one of these letters. Based on the current number of campers enrolled we had to limit the number of offers we could make. We have fewer campers signed up at this point than we had last year so we can't hire additional staff at this time. Based on seniority, as well as evaluations, we sent these letters to the highest ranking of our staff. As time goes on, if more campers do sign up, we will need to add more staff. We know how much camp means to you and how you would love to return, but for now we have to wait on it. If we don't hear back from some of the counselors we extended these invitations to, or if the registration increases, we will need to fill these positions and we will contact you.I can only ask that you be patient and if something turns up we will be in touch. Regards,NORM

1/7/08 Norm, I hope all is well with you and that you had a happy holiday season. I wanted to talk to you about something that has been on my mind over the course of the last few days. I learned that ----------- has been offered a job as a counselor this summer. After thinking about it for a while, I felt the need to tell you how I felt about this. I am not writing this letter to tell you that --- doesn't deserve a job, he's a great friend of mine and I'm sure he would do an excellent job as a counselor. However, that being said, I don't think it's fair that he received a job offer over me even though I came back last summer and he didn't. I have proven that I am dedicated to Kinder Ring and believe that this passion for camp was reflected in my work for the ultra boys under Zach last summer. You know how much Kinder Ring means to me and I am disheartened to learn that loyalty isn't being rewarded in this case. Please get back to me at your earliest convenience. Sincerely, +++++++ (on or around 1/8/08) Hey ++++++++ ! Thank you for your warm wishes. Same to you and your family. Hope all is well and you are doing good in school.The decison that we made not to offer you an invitation to return to camp was performance based. You were assigned to the office last summer because you did not rank high enough among the rest of your division. Your office evaluation was not good. We also gave you every opportunity to make an impression as a counselor working with the Ultra boys, and there were some occasions where you showed you were not ready for that task as your actions were rude, insensitive, and immature. Yes, Zach did say that you had passion at times and some very good moments. But that does not cut it. You have to be dependable and trustworthy when working with young children, and at this time we don't feel that you have those qualities. Your loyalty and dedication to camp was never at question. I do know how much Kinder Ring means to you, but it's your general lack of good judgement that bothers me and it is for that reason that we can not offer you a position as a counselor at KR for this summer. Loyalty does not always get rewarded, hard work does.Had --- opted to come back to camp last summer he would have been given a counselor position. There is no reason to deny him that same offer now. I know this is not the "warm and fuzzy" answer you were hoping for, but it is honest. I also hope you take this and grow from it. You do have some wonderful qualities. You just need to learn how to channel them and make them work to your advantage. Fondly, NORM

Norm: Thank you for responding to my e-mail, and you're right, it was not the response I was hoping for. I understand at times my actions this past summer were immature and at moments I did use improper judgment. Nevertheless, even though some would think differently, every camp morning I would wake up eager to work in the office and with the Ultra Boys when the opportunity presented itself, with the mind set of doing the best possible job. I understand your thoughts, but I really wish you would reconsider. Throughout this school year I have seen myself mature, as I have been faced with various life changing situations. I believe I have changed as a person, and I only wish I could show Kinder Ring just how much I’ve grown over the year. Once again please reconsider your decision, because without Kinder Ring my summer would not be complete. Even if you still feel completely adamant about not offering me a counselor job, I would be prepared to take any other position, which would allow me to work at the camp and still show you that I have grown into a more mature person with a better sense of judgment than I displayed last summer. At the same time, there is nothing more that I would like be than a counselor so to prove my maturity, as counselor if, in any way, I over step my boundaries or do not completely represent what a Kinder Ring staff member should be, I will remove myself from camp. I fully understand your position and could see why you would have doubts about my abilities but I only ask after 9 years at Kinder Ring, that I be granted one more chance to prove myself, and show my peers, administration, and campers who mean so much to me that I posses the maturity and judgment to excel as a counselor this coming summer Yours Truly, +++++++

(1/10/08): HEY ! I understand everything you are saying, and would expect you to feel this way. But that is not going to change our decision about you, for at least this summer. Please understand that we do not enjoy not asking our former staff back to camp. Especially someone who has grown up at KR and spent some great years with us. It is a difficult thing for us to do. But in your case, we all agreed very strongly that this was the right decision and we will stick by it.If you would like to come back to camp in 2009, send me an e-mail after the summer, and we will see what we can do. Yours truly, NORM

(1/11/08) Norm Thank you for your quick response to my email. I understand why you would have your doubts about my ability to rebound from certain short comings last summer that I feel would be more than made up for if I were a part of Kinder Ring this coming summer. I'm disappointed that you feel so strongly about this and are unwilling to reconsider your decision. It bothers me that you are so adamant on not offering me the opportunity to come back to camp that I've seen so many others receive in the past after making decisions that I'm sure they regret.. I feel that if granted this opportunity to come back to camp, I could follow in the footsteps of many other counselors and staff who have made mistakes and were invited back. Once more I urge you to reconsider with the promise coming from me that I will do my absolute best to redeem myself for any mistakes that I've made in the same way that so many others have and will in the future. Sincerely, +++++++

(1/11/08) HEY ! Vicki, Ilene, and I all gave this careful thought when we agreed not to send you an invitation to return to camp. It wasn't a decision that was made without thinking it through. After your last response, we again did reconsider your request. Again we agreed that we would not be able to offer you a contract for this summer based on your peformance of last year. There's no easy way to say it, but your actions, motivation, and general behavior, really need to improve, and that is why we can't offer you a letter of hire for this year. In our first correspondence I stated, loyalty is not always rewarded, hard work is. Many other counselors that made mistakes were invited back, and we would consider having you return, just not this summer. I appreciate your persistence and your promise that your job performance will improve, but it's not going to happen this year. Respectfully, NORM

The Following messages are correspondence between Norm and a third party acting on the behalf of the employee:

Dear Norm +++++++ shared your e mail exchange and I want to thank you for responding to his questions on such a timely basis. That said, I have some very serious concerns and trust you will absorb them and respond to me in kind. Some perspective: You and I shared, what I believed to be, a very direct and gracious conversation in November. !

 At that time I was questioning ++++'s potential status as a camp counselor in 2008. Your response included the following main points: - Camp enrollment through the initial phase was significantly lower than you had hoped.- Offers extended to counselors had to be greatly reduced for understandable budgetary issues.- Difficult decisions, such as not inviting foreign based counselors, had to be reluctantly made. You added, that placing our "home grown" as counselors took precedent ( By the way, your web site indicates correspondence for Mike Dawson-of the UK- who is apparently returning).- The decision to not invite ++++++ was predicated primarily on this issue. However, you did explain that +++++++ did experience some issues o 

f poor judgment which resulted in some of the other counselors being offered a position ahead of him. All of this was understandable and you went on to add: -You and your colleagues had a great deal of loyalty to your "home grown" and because of Jordan's many years of experience at Kinderring you all were greatly disappointed over this "budgetary" issue. - You left me with considerable hope that this situation could change in Jordan's behalf - There were 2 situations which could occur: 1. Enrollment could improve 2. Some counselors offered positions might not return. - You added: It was your hope that you could in fact offer Jordan a position if either of those situations took place. AND.....HE WOULD BE CONSIDERED TO BE AT OR NEAR THE TOP if any of those situations occurred. In your e mail exchange with my son you stress the judgmental issues as the singular cause for this decision. Norm, I have a significant problem with this. While in the end I respect your right to execute personnel decisions, your communication to +++++ is almost diametrically opposite of your message to me in November. At that time you stressed that +++++'s

 judgmental issues WERE NOT the reason for this. In fact, you stressed this not once but repeatedly during that exchange. You added that you would "hate" for ++++++ to think that the decision was performance based. We both agreed that he does, however, need to learn from past transgressions. As you put it, that's part of his growing process. Based upon the message you so clearly gave me I emerged with the hope that such "growth" could occur in the capacity of counselor with an extra year of age and wisdom of experience within him. Now, aside from the inconsistent communications I outlined, I have other issues with inconsistencies. Jordan tells me that there have been multiple instances where other counselors were retained or re-hired after transgressions far worse than his: - Drunk driving resulting in police arrest 

-A counselor who walked through the camp openly drinking alcohol. - An individual, fired three different times, and still invited back - A counselor actually punching an 11 year old camper(a post script: I am keenly aware of who this counselor is and I am hard pressed not to ascertain that such inconsistencies do not reek of favoritism) +++++ is frank in his admission that he did have judgmental opportunities but wants to work on them within a similar context. I realize I'm biased but I am quite impressed with the message he sent to you in his e mails. I think that represents significant growth on his part!

 . ++++++ has been a member of the kinderring family since the age of nine. Every year he was considered a credit to the camp even becoming "camper of the year" in 2003. +++++ starts college in the fall and this would possibly be his last year at Kinderring. I would be extremely disappointed if he was not awarded the opportunity to fulfill this portion of his life. More important, he would not be offered the opportunity to show and experience his growth since last years "incidents" (regardless of the fact they pale in comparison to the other examples I mentioned above). Finally, I consider this personally disturbing. I paid enough money in tuition to Kinderring over the past decade to finance a significant portion of Jordan's college education. In my profession I am responsible for an operation of over two-thousand people. Treating each and every individual consistently is of paramount importance. Based on the above examples I see considerable inconsistencies. On top of this, my original questions concerning this matter were answered in a manner that is totally inconsistent with what you presented to my son. I carried that original message to him and now my own credibility could be in question. Norm, I apologize for the length of this e mail but consider this issue to be extremely important. I am hoping you take the time to consider my message and respond as I do not yet consider this to be a closed issue. Regards 

XXXXXXXX

Norm I sent the message below(above) to your home address on Saturday. In the event you have not received I am sending to your camp address as well as I am surprised I have not yet received a reply. My original message is included below. I should tell you that as time goes my degree of frustration over this matter is growing. The fact that I communicated the context of your original message to my son 2 months ago only for you tell him something diametrically opposite is absolutely reprehensible. He is confused and wounded. I re-read his messages to you where he is reaching out for forgiveness in a very humble manner. He spent NINE YEARS at that camp under the best of circumstances. You personally described his mistakes as not serious enough to withhold an invitation to return. He is not being given ample consideration for forgiveness. Others made much more serious transgressions-AND were invited back. This has left me to make determine that +++++'s treatment in this manner is absolutely unfair and un-equal. I do not intend to let this siruation rest.!

 if you choose not to reply kindly 

advise who, within the camp's organizational hierarchy, will indeed answer my questions.

thank you

Hi Doug, Just wanted you to know that I did get your earlier e-mail on Saturday. You should also know that I pride myself on always getting back to parents, campers, etc in a very timely manner. I'm just not sure what I can tell you that I haven't already explained in detail with Jordan. Usually when dealing with a staff member the correspondences go directly to them, not their parents. As a courtesy, and as is my nature, I have been responding to you, and I did return your call to my home a few months back. At this time I am holding off any further response until meeting with the rest of the administrative team who joined me in making this decision. Again, as a courtesy, I will get back to you shortly. I understand your frustration and as a parent can appreciate your concerns. NORM

Thanks for your response. Understand- I appreciate your policy of responding directly to the staff member. But,still, he is underage. Regarding your dilemma about what to tell me at this point; There is no dispute regarding our conversation in November. It was you, Norm, who emphasized to me that I should make sure ++++++ knew the lack of an invitation was NOT performance based but budgetary. Your subsequent communication with ++++++-as well as the subsequent hiring actions involving others-were totally inconsistent with yours to me. I'll look forward to your next communication

==

WOW

Structure

The camp is broken down into boys side and girls side, with each having its own distinct set of staff. Each "half" of camp is led by a Head Counselor. The head counselor is assisted by an Assistant Head Counselor. There are then 8 divisions, each led by a Groupleader. The groupleader has a staff of counselors, typically between 6 and 9 strong.

Summer 2007 Groupleaders:

Sophs: Michael Dawson and Laura Spencer

Juniors: Ricky Posner and Lauren Friedlander

Ultras: Zach Levine and Stacie Millman

Inters: Ben Browning and Emily Carpenter

Seniors: Eric Teisch and Jackie Friedlander

Supers: Scott Goldstein and Alyssa Hochstein

Teens: Marc "Z" Zelmanowicz and Lindsay Heit

Workgroup: Danny Lange and Nancy Sackstein

Assistant Head Counselors: Jeff Rothman and Bonnie Seidel

Summer 2006 Groupleaders:

Sophs: Sam Ross and Melissa Stein

Juniors: Zach Levine and Jessica Gutman

Ultras: Eric Teisch and Jackie Friedlander

Inters: Danny Lange and Emily Carpenter

Seniors: Scott Goldstein and Kayte McGinlay

Supers: Jared Finkelstein and Stacie Millman

Teens: Ricky Posner and Lindsay Heit

Workgroup: Greg Schwartz and Nancy Sackstein

Assistant Head Counselors: Marc "Z" Zelmanowicz and Sam Fishman

Summer 2005 Groupleaders:

Sophs: Eric Teisch and Kayte McGinlay

Juniors: Jordan Braver and Steph Slome

Ultras: Adam Tatz and Emily Carpenter

Inters: Danny Lange and Jackie Friedlander

Seniors: Mike Tirrell and Nancy Sackstein

Supers: Scott Goldstein and Stacie Millman

Teens: Ricky Posner and Lindsay Heit

Workgroup: Marc "Z" Zelmanowicz

Assistant Head Counselors: Noam Ben Tov and Sam Fishman

Famous Alumni

Barbara Boxer: U.S. Senator from California, cameo in Curb Your Enthusiasm Barbara Levy Boxer (born November 11, 1940) is an American politician and the current junior U.S. Senator from the State of California. ... Curb Your Enthusiasm is an American sitcom starring Seinfeld writer, co-creator, and executive producer Larry David as himself. ...

Jonathan Dankner: Actor- Catch Me If You Can Catch Me If You Can is a 2002 motion picture set in the 1960s. ...

External links

• Camp Kinder Ring Official Website
• Workmen's Circle/Arbeter Ring Website