Affiliated with Jewish Community Alliance (Portland, ME)
Day Camp
Our camp has a special needs inclusion program in which children are mainstreamed.
Session Lengths: 1 Week
The Center Day Camp Story
Established in 1949, Center Day Camp continues to provide a traditional Maine summer camp experience for campers on the wooded shores of Lake Sebago. Just 20 minutes west of Portland, Center Day Camp sits on 27 spectacular acres of woods, fields and shoreline. Generations of campers have spent their days lakeside, forming life-long friendships, learning new skills, and experiencing the magic of camp. CDC is a non-denominational day camp of the Jewish Community Alliance, welcoming campers ages 3-15 of all faiths, while exploring Jewish traditions. Center Day Camp is accredited by the American Camping Association.
Chris is excited to bring the Maine camp experience to Maine kids! He began his tenure at Center Day Camp in late November, just in time to open registration for summer 2020, and he looks forward to meeting alumni and new and returning campers and staff!
For eight summers Chris attended and worked at Camp Manitou, a residential camp in Oakland, Maine. He served as part of the leadership team and worked directly with campers and counselors from around the world. More recently, as the Camp Director at The Boys and Girls Club of Wakefield, he increased enrollment each summer, improved programming, developed community partnerships, and supported families through the campership initiative.
Chris is impressed by the history and community commitment of Center Day Camp, and is thrilled to be part of the CDC family. He is excited about being actively involved with JCC Camping, the Summer Camp Society, The American Camp Association (ACA), Maine Summer Camps, EPIC New England, and other camping organizations, as well as increasing programming opportunities and camp engagement activities in the off-season.
"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