Camp accepts special needs children on a case by case basis.
Session Lengths: 1 Week, 2 Weeks, 3 Weeks
Explore Camp Tawonga
The Camp Tawonga Story
Camp Tawonga is a Jewish, residential summer camp operating since 1925. Tawonga is American Camping Association Accredited and is located outside Yosemite National Park on 160 acres in the Stanislaus National Forest. Tawonga offers camp sessions as well as teen leadership, service learning and adventure travel programs for 2nd through 12th graders. Tawonga also offers weekend programs for individuals, couples and families.
Jamie Simon loves being the Camp Director at Camp Tawonga. She has worked with the agency for fifteen years in various capacities. She has a B.A. in Psychology and Women and Gender Studies from Sonoma State University. Jamie previously worked as the Prevention Education Director at United Against Sexual Assault in Sonoma County. In this role, Jamie traveled the country speaking with students and parents about sexual health. As Tawonga’s Camp Director, Jamie was a fellow in the Foundation for Jewish Camp’s Executive Leadership Institute and participated in the Bureau of Jewish Education’s Shofar Fellowship. She also served as co-chair of the Foundation for Jewish Camp’s Leader’s Assembly, a national conference for Jewish camp professionals. She loves working with youth, spending time with her friends and family, and is an avid fan of the San Jose Sharks.
"Hosting Shlichim during the summers remains a wonderful experience for our family. Each year we meet dynamic and fascinating young Israelis with whom we maintain contact long after the summer has gone. Our kids are the greatest beneficiaries of the experience, finding in the Shlichim individuals who they come to regard as older siblings. It is an event we look forward to every year with good reason and plan on continuing for years to come."
- Soberman Family, The Jack and Pat Kay Centre Camp, Prosserman JCC
Connecting with Israel
“Although it was so new, Israel brought upon me a familiar sense of belonging much like what I feel at Camp Chi every summer. The ability to be in a place where one feels so free and proud to be a Jew is a feeling that makes me so proud to be involved in my Jewish heritage.”
- Joshua Krawitz, 17, Camp Chi, JCC Chicago