Camp Arye
For campers ages 3-25 with special needs

Location/Time/Contact:
JCC College Avenue
1125 College Avenue, Columbus
8:45 a.m. - 3:30 p.m.
Jenn Mazurek, Director, (614) 559-6266

Camp Arye is for children, teens, and young adults between the ages of 3 and 25 with special needs, including physical, cognitive, emotional, developmental and learning disabilities. Camp Arye’s staff embraces each participant’s individuality, and supports campers in an effort to focus on their abilities and to challenge themselves to achieve both new and existing goals. New campers are assessed through the cooperative efforts of the Camp Arye Director and parents or guardians, along with input from school or private service providers.

We offer a variety of settings, either on or off the JCC’s main campus. Our staff to camper ratio of 1:3 ensures campers the opportunity for adventure and accomplishment with the safest supervision standards. Families may also provide their own aides if they feel their children will benefit from a one to one ratio.

Children transition between adaptive physical education, adaptive movement, music, Judaics, adaptive art, swim lessons, socialization and free swim. Theme days like Israel Day and Carnival Day are also scheduled throughout the summer.

• Ohavim: (campers ages 3-11)
  
  Our youngest campers travel in small groups to each activity. Groups are formed based on developmental and social skill levels.
   
• Lomdim: (campers ages 12-21)
  
  Older campers experience a variety of community and social outings on various field trips. Lomdim campers travel to daily activities in small groups and participate in weekly community field trips, which give campers the opportunity for community involvement.
   
• Shutifim: (campers ages 13-21, based at Camp Hoover)
  
  At Camp Hoover, campers receive a more rustic and intensive camping experience, which includes exploring the Hoover Reservoir, biking, hiking, canoeing, paddle boating and participating in a high ropes obstacle course. Field trips provide campers with an opportunity for community involvement. Campers have the option of staying at Camp Hoover for overnights! They can also go on the white-water rafting and/or Camp Wise trip with their counselors.
   
• Career and Peer Adult Experience: (participants ages 17-25)
  
  This program focuses on job training and participation in the community, while also providing a camp-like recreational atmosphere. Participants spend three mornings each week receiving career training, while participating in camp activities such as swimming, gym time and other recreational excursions, along with our traditional Shabbat experience. Campers also gain skills through “hands-on” food preparation and clean-up, skills that are addressed with regular trips to a local grocery store and cooking lunch daily. This unit has a minimum requirement of 7 campers, and campers must attend all 8 weeks of camp.
   
• Meuchadim/Mainstream Campers:  (available for pre-k through grade 8)
  
  Campers can be mainstreamed with a group from one of our typical day camps.  Mainstreamed campers have the flexibility of combining inclusion with their typically developing peers with optional pull out services (only at JCC College Avenue).  Consideration is given to matching personality types of other campers, as well as the primary counselor, to ensure the most successful experience while continuing to ensure our 1:3 ratio.