Are your ready for the summer? Jewish Children’s Regional Services got off to a head start at its Jewish Roots of Summer Camp Gala on March 11 at the Ritz-Carlton Hotel.

The theme was a celebration and recognition of the importance and role that sleep-away Jewish summer camp has had on young lives, with the JCRS Summer Camp Scholarship Aid program funding these experiences for more than 77 years.

Leaning into summer fun and frolic, the ballroom was decorated like a pine forest where tents, Adirondack chairs and camp games, including corn hole and giant Jenga, were part of the setting. A candy canteen was a thank-you gift to patrons for them to “shop” on the way out.

A “Bug Juice” cocktail was a hit, as was the Soul Revival band. Making a special appearance was Macy Hart, who was the founding director of the Henry S. Jacobs Camp in Mississippi, which received JCRS summer camp scholarship funds.

The raffle kept in theme with the grand prize package of a Gulf Coast Glamping trip package with a four-night stay in Ocean Springs, Miss., a Captain Eddie/St. Bernard Charter, a Swiss Army watch and a set of watershed dry bags.

JCRS was established in 1855 as an orphanage in New Orleans and is currently the oldest existing Jewish children’s social service organization in the U.S., as well as the only regional Jewish child welfare agency in the country.

Gala co-chairs were Loel Weil Samuel and Diana Mann. Mark Rubin is executive director of JCRS.

Fun Fact

In 2022, JCRS awarded 418 children summer camp grants totaling more than $237,000.