Staffing Camps

Although I had previously attended two camps, tour and year course as a chanich, it wasn't until I became a madrich on Kesher 09 that I really began to feel passionately about the movement. Despite always knowing that I wanted to do year course and take camp, Kesher 09 taught me about the greater society that lies within FZY. Being a leader on camp was a pretty daunting thought at first and although I had participated in Hadracha training I was uncertain of what to expect and how the chanachim would respond to me.

Although I was nervous the support I received from the entire tzevet allowed me to strive to be the best I could be. For that I want to say thank you, without your support I would neither be writing this blog nor running for mazkir.

The tzevet was made up of a mix between first and second year madrichim, the second years were always there for moral support which helped make camp less unfamiliar. As well as this simple reassurances ensure confidence amongst the tzevet. Due to the work those second years did for me I was convinced that I had the responsibility to be on camp the following year to pass on my knowledge.

One of our major issues currently is our loss of madrichim between the first year of camp and the second year. There are many reasons why people do not do two years of camp, and it is expected that some people will not enjoy the experience of taking camp and therefore may not want to reapply the following year.

A common reason used to justify not being on camp for a second year is the need for internships and work experience over the summer months. Of course these schemes are vital when looking forward at the future and trying to discover what there is to do with ones life. FZY would obviously prefer if people were to staff camp and then do work experience or staff camp post work experience. However due to the overlap in time frame of internships and camps there is often difficult choices to be made by individuals.

I see in the future of FZY an opportunity. We as a movement take over four hundred chanichim from all over the country to Israel every year. As well as this we can have exposure to nearly two hundred more, who participate on camps. This is one of FZY's greatest resources and we should be exploiting the opportunities in front of us. By adding a line in the application forms for camp and tour that asks parents directly if they would be interested or available to offer unpaid work experience to the staff of camps. These links can then be followed up and madrichim can be allocated to different placements given the preference of industry. By creating a database of businesses who have links with FZY, no matter how minor, we can create permanent links to these organisations, which hopefully bring not only success for our members but also our movement.