Why did you start to implement the Promise in your Camp? In other words, what led to the decision to incorporate JYP into your programming?

Mindee Greenberg: We incorporate JYP into Dor L’Dor Summers when our teens are 16 and entering eleventh grade for their capstone year, or after six, seven, or eight years of camp.

This summer is so important, so we focus on Jewish identity from the beginning. For some of our kids, this is their last summer. If they’re not coming back as a counselor, it might be the last time that they are together at Cohen Camps. We want to capture everything that they’ve gotten from being part of a Jewish camp community to encourage them to do what they’re going to do in the future.

We always say that it doesn’t matter whether you join a youth group, or whether you do advocacy work, or volunteer; we want to find out what you are passionate about.

The Jewish Youth Promise is just a way of really letting them know that this is important to us, and that this is important for Jewish continuity – that their Jewish identity doesn’t end when they leave camp, but it continues along past this.

Barbara Stevens: Implementing JYP feels like an extension to who we are and what we stand for at the Cohen Camps, like tzedakah and giving back. Because camp is such a powerful environment in shaping Jewish identity, when they engage in this, they see themselves not just as participants in Jewish life, but contributors. Ultimately, incorporating JYP is planting seeds, and we just want to make sure that this next generation is developing values aligned with our mission and believing in themselves as Jews.

How long have Cohen Camps been implementing the program?

Mindee: Cohen Camps has been using the JYP program for five years.

How does the JYP curriculum align with the specific pillars of leadership you teach in your leadership curriculum?

Mindee Greenberg: The idea of tikkun olam and giving back is something that we incorporate both on our Israel trip itself and when we’re back at camp. This reflects the responsibility of tikkun olam, which is a core part of who we are and what we do by giving back to others and our communities.

The idea of Jewish continuity, and that we are all responsible for each other and for our continued growth is not just about us, but it’s about being part of this larger Jewish community. This aligns with our Dor L’Dor programming.

Have you observed the older teens who have taken the Promise “modeling” that commitment for the younger campers?

Mindee: I really feel that our kids are leaders in the community when they leave. They are stewarding the younger campers to follow their same path of leadership and Jewish connection in that way, because they know how important it is because of the camps Jewish values. JYP reinforces this idea in our young leaders.

Many of our programs, JYP being one of them, encourage participants to reflect on who they are and what their story is, while also teaching them how to share that story with others. Our campers learn to communicate their Jewish identity through storytelling, pictures, and other creative methods that they can then bring back to camp and use as counselors.

How do you train your counselors or camp leaders to facilitate JYP? Is it treated as a formal educational block or a more organic “bunk-side” conversation?

Mindee Greenberg: We facilitate JYP during a staff training week with our counselors first. We want our counselors to experience it first, so they can translate that same feeling when they facilitate the program with our campers. It’s a set educational program, but it’s part of this bigger picture of “who are you,” and “how do you share your story?”

We have our counselors go to their favorite place at camp, where they feel inspired, and that’s where they do their writing. We make it a meaningful experience for them and for the staff.

Barbara, with your focus on development, how do you share the “Promise” story with parents? Are they aware of the commitment their children are making and how to support them?

Barbara: Especially for this age group, I always bring the curriculum in during conversations with our parents. Through this program, they are planting seeds for a lifetime of behavior centered around giving back to the community, which is something I talk about frequently.

It’s not in every conversation, but it’s in many conversations. We talk about the why behind it. At camp, the kids are building friendships, confidence, and they are actively engaging in tzedakah through thoughtful reflections, decisions, and developing a sense of responsibility to the Jewish community and to Israel.

Mindee, with your background in social work, how do you see the act of ‘making a promise’ affecting a teen’s sense of belonging and self-esteem? Does the JYP provide an ‘anchor’ for them in an increasingly disconnected world?”

Mindee Greenberg: I think it helps ground teens, knowing that they have a purpose and they’re not in this alone. It’s balancing their personal story with the idea that they are part of a bigger community that is there to support them.

It’s really a challenging time right now for our community, and it’s important to remember that you are not alone. Once you’re a part of this community, it will always be there for you.

I think camp is one of the best places where this mentally comes through. Campers become such a strong family, and they’re there for each other.

How are you using JYP to keep alumni connected to the Cohen Camps’ mission? Does it serve as a way to bridge alumni into donors?

Barbara: I think it creates an opportunity to stay connected. It starts with bringing the families into the experience. Parents who are alumni see their kids participating and giving inspires meaningful conversations at home.

It strengthens the family’s own connection to philanthropy and Jewish life.

From a support standpoint, JYP helps to build a culture of giving that feels values-driven rather than transactional. We are not asking the parents or the alumni to give to a certain camp, but to be a part of shaping what their kids’ future looks like and becomes. As a community, we’re building this together and teaching the values that kids can carry on into their adult lives

It becomes both a programmatic experience and a compelling narrative for parents, alumni, and supporters to invest in.

If you were to recommend the Promise to another school or organization, what would you say?

Mindee: JYP is the culminating moment of everything our campers have done at camp prior. This is a way to encapsulate the values of Jewish life and camp into one moment that can then live on for the next 20 or 30 years, as that connection returns back to camp.

JYP is easy for us to do with our campers because it is a fully developed program that is ready to implement into our existing programming.

Barbara: Just from a development standpoint, this programming builds a culture of giving in an authentic way. It moves philanthropy from something abstract to something personal and fixed. For any organization that cares about making an impact beyond the immediate experience, Jewish Youth Promise is a natural and valuable addition.