Local News
Camp Massad and BB Camp adjust – again – to Covid restrictions
By BERNIE BELLAN After a summer in 2020 that saw our two Jewish sleepover camps have to cancel all overnight stays for campers, this summer, our community’s camps are preparing for the worst and hoping for the best.
While some children may be unable to attend camp with their friends – which undoubtedly comes as a huge disappointment once again, this year both camps had prepared contingency plans quite some ago in anticipation of the possibility of not being allowed to have regular overnight camps.
In some instances, instead of children attending camp on their own, this summer families are being invited to come out to both camps and spend a few days together either on Town Island (BB Camp) or Sandy Hook (Massad).
Recently I spoke with the directors of both camps to find out what they have planned for the summer and whether there is any possibility that there may be a normal sleepover camp at all this coming summer.
Jacob Brodovsky and Lexie Yurman are Co-Executive Directors of BB Camp, having assumed their official duties on January 1 this year (and, as we noted in an article in our Feb. 3 issue – are the first married couple to be in charge either of BB Camp or Massad).
Jacob and Lexie said that, while they aren’t optimistic that the Ontario government will lift all restrictions that have been imposed as a result of Covid, there are still reasons to be hopeful that they will be able to run some form of Second Session, AC and LTP programs at the camp this summer. When I asked them whether there is any chance the popular day camp program – which sees children brought out to camp each day by boat from Kenora, could be offered, the answer was, “We’re still waiting to see how things will look in June and July.”
As well, I asked what would happen if the Ontario government keeps the border closed to visitors from other provinces – as is currently the case, and while Jacob and Lexie indicated that is a huge concern, the planning process began long ago, long before the border was closed – so naturally the hope is that by July the border will be reopened.
In the meantime though, Jacob and Lexie have developed a program known as “BB Bed & Breakfast”, which has already garnered a terrific response, they said. As of May 5, 140 individuals were on the waitlist for 3-night stays at BB Camp with registration slated to launch at the end of May, hopefully once there is some clarity re the border. On hand to work with families will be almost a full complement of BB Camp staff, Jacob said, which will be from 60-70 in number. “The idea is to get our staff trained, and our island open so if and when the time comes that we can pivot back to our conventional overnight camp programming, we’ll be ready to do so at a moment’s notice”.
Here is material taken from the BB Camp website that describes what BB Bed & Breakfast will offer:
Treat your family to an all inclusive getaway where you will learn new skills, immerse yourself in the outdoors, and grow closer as a family. We’ve taken the best parts of a traditional sleep-away summer camp program to offer a unique and unforgettable family cabin rental experience.
Parents are welcome to join their kids in camp activities, or catch up on remote work while our camp staff buddy up with their children for the day. There will also be adult-only programming offered throughout your stay.
Enhance your stay at camp with a family canoe trip following your family camp session! Choose from a 2 or 4-night canoe trip. Our staff will lead you through the whole process from packing out your own food and equipment, to navigating, cooking, and properly setting up a camp site.
Conquer the climbing tower, learn to stern a canoe, or play on our giant water inflatables, the choice is yours! Families will sign up for activities and be able to customize their stay to their liking. Our friendly staff will be there every step of the way to ensure you leave camp rejuvenated and reconnected to the wilderness!
Take advantage of our beautiful island location by adding a fishing excursion, or enrol your children in Swimming Lessons taught through our partnership with Aqua Essence. Again, the choice is yours to make BB Camp everything your family is looking for in a summer escape!
Available activities will include:
Nature Hikes
Paddle Around the Island
Outdoor Cooking Lessons
Judaic Programming
+
Shabbat
Fishing Excursions*
Aqua Essence SwimmingLessons*
*Additional fees
The all-inclusive package that BB Camp is offering includes:
Breakfast, Lunch, and Dinner
Plus 3 Daily Snacks
Daytime Childcare
Access to ‘Work from Camp’ Spaces + WIFI
Adult and Youth Programming
Staff-led Cookout & Bonfires
Traditional Burning of the Bs
Camp Activities:
Ropes Course – Climbing Wall -Water Toys – Canoeing -Kayaking – Swimming – Arts &Crafts – Sports – Tripping –Archery
For more information on BB Bed & Breakfast check out the BB Camp website – www.bbcamp.ca, call 204-477-7512 or email info@bbcamp.ca
Danial Sprintz is Executive Director of Camp Massad (now in his 11th year in that position), while Drew McGillawee is Director of Planning & Programming (in his third year in that position).
While the camp may not have held either of its normal two sessions last year, work at the campsite has continued apace nonetheless to improve facilities, in large part due to a grant from the Jewish Foundation earmarked for infrastructure improvements.
Of course, with the hope that vaccinations would allow some semblance of normal camp activity to resume, Danial Sprintz said that the camp board had been in constant consultation with Manitoba Health and various government officials to see whether there was any way sleepover camp could resume this summer.
The decision was made to cancel normal camp because there just wouldn’t be enough time to allow for proper planning even if Covid restrictions were to be lifted by the summer, Danial says.
I asked him though whether the cancellation of camp applied to Massad’s day camp as well (about which I had written last summer). And, although the day camp did prove successful – and complied with all provincial requirements for maintaining proper social distancing, Danial said it was very expensive to have to adhere to all the regulations that the province required – so the decision was taken not to go ahead with a day camp this summer.
However, just as BB Camp is offering an attractive alternative for families, Massad is also offering its cabins for families to rent – anywhere from a weekend (Friday – Sunday) to a weekday experience (which can vary in length).
According to the Massad website, “Family rentals will include all the activities that Camp Massad has to offer as well as food and a personal family cabin equipped with comfortable amenities.”
Those amenities include: Tennis Courts, Basketball Court, Soccer Field, Volleyball Court, Archery Range, Tetherball, Nature Trails, Canoe and Kayaking on Lake Winnipeg, Fire Pits and Art Studio, as well as swimming in the Heated Outdoor Pool, Daily Adult and Youth Programming, Optional Child Care, Judaic Programming, and Wifi. Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner, and 3 snacks each day will be provided.
But, rather than attempt to offer a second session for regular campers in August – which is still BB Camp’s hope, Danial says that August will be devoted to providing training for camp staff. “We’ll have gone on for two years without staff getting the chance to get any training,” he says. “We want to make sure that they get that training for next year’s camp.”
Both camps have received a great deal of financial support, both from government and from non-governmental organizations.
Danial pointed to two specific programs from which Massad was able to receive funding: The “Green Team” program and the “Canada Summer Jobs” program. Both programs will enable Massad to pay their entire staff complement for at least part of the summer.
As well, both BB and Massad received funding from the Jewish Federation that will help to keep their camps operating this summer.
Danial also pointed out that both camps are able to offer financial help to families that might not be able to afford their family programs this summer. Some money, as it has in the past, is available through the “Sunshine Fund”, while other financial assistance has been made available from other sources as well. Interested parties should contact either camp about subsidies that might be available.
While July has already been heavily booked by families looking to spend some time together at Massad, the camp will actually be available to families beginning June 11.
When I asked whether it’s possible for a family to spend more than five days at Massad at one time, Drew McGillawee said that one family has actually booked two consecutive weeks at the camp.
And, despite all the hardship that Covid has caused both camps, Danial said that the difficult situation in which both Massad and BB Camp have been put has let to what he described as an “unprecedented level of cooperation and planning” between the directors of both camps (which helps to explain why both camps came up with almost identical family camp programs for the coming summer).
As Danial noted, it’s not only the camps that have been working together, “all Jewish community organizations” have been working together closely in ways that they had never done before.
For more information about Camp Massad’s summer rental program for families either call 204-477-7487 or email info@campmassad.ca .
Both camps have detailed information about their upcoming summer family programs on their websites.
Local News
First year medical student Tim Rozovsky founds new association for local Jewish medical students
By MYRON LOVE In the face of a concerning surge in antisemitism over the past nearly three years, I am happy to report a good news story in that regard. Tim Rozovsky, the founder of the new Jewish Medical Students’ Association of Manitoba, reports that he and his fellow Jewish students enrolled in the University of Manitoba’s Max Rady College of Medicine are not experiencing any significant issues involving antisemitism.
Hopefully, the matter of the notorious Med school Valedictorian who used his podium to attack Israel was a one-off.
“My goal in forming the Jewish Medical Students’ Association of Manitoba,” says the first year medical student, “was to create a safe, supportive environment for my fellow Jewish medical students.”
He reports that the current first year class at the school has eight Jewish students – an increase over more recent years – with maybe a dozen more in the other years.
For a new medical student, Rozovsky already has an impressive resume. He was born in Russia and grew up in Israel. After the completion of his army service in 2018, the then-22-year-old rejoined his parents, Dr. Katya and Alexander, who had moved to Winnipeg a few years before.
Prior to coming to Winnipeg, Rozovsky had completed a personal trainer program out of The Academic College at Wingate in Jerusalem. Some readers may know the young man from his work as a Master Personal Trainer at the Rady JCC.
Shortly after arriving here, he enrolled in a kinesiology program at the University of Winnipeg. He graduated with a BKin Honours in 2023 and did post graduate work at the University of Manitoba. Last fall, he received his MSc in Physiology and Pathophysiology – earning two gold medals, along with 32 awards and scholarships in the process.
Rozovsky says that it was his mother who inspired him to pursue a career in medicine. Dr. Katya Rozovsky is an associate professor at the University of Manitoba and an attending radiologist, specializing in pediatric diagnostic imaging.
(Tim also adds that his wife, Irina Gelzin, whom he married about a year ago, is training to be a nurse.)
Insofar as the Jewish Medical Students’ Association of Manitoba is concerned, Rozovky reports that the group gets together multiple times a year. One of its programs was a joint Chanukah celebration with the Jewish Physicians Association of Manitoba.
There was also a joint program with the Christian Medical and Dental Students’ Association of Manitoba.
“More recently, we have been helping prospective Jewish medical students with their applications,” he says. “Hopefully we will be able to get together over the summer with the incoming Jewish students.”
As to his own future plans, Rozovsky notes that it is too early for him to be deciding on a specialty. “My goal,” he says, “is to work hard and get good grades and become the best doctor that I can be.”
Local News
Gray Academy to Represent Manitoba at National Reach for the Top Competition
By NOAH STRAUSS Posted June 6) Gray Academy’s Reach for the Top team is headed to Moncton, New Brunswick, to represent Manitoba at the National Reach for the Top tournament.
Reach for the Top is a Canadian school league that quizzes teenagers on a variety of different topics, from science and history to pop culture. Reach started out in 1961 in Vancouver, where a local CBC station broadcasted the new show; it eventually became a national broadcast starting in 1966. Alex Trebek, who famously hosted Jeopardy!, started out by hosting Reach for the Top.
Gray Academy’s very own team, made up of Grade 7 and 8 students, will travel to Moncton, New Brunswick, to compete as Team Manitoba. By winning the provincial Reach tournament, they secured their spot in the national competition.
Faculty members at Gray Academy are very supportive of the program. The Jewish Post spoke with three different staff members at the school. Coach and high school teacher Danielle Miller says she is excited for the trip; although she will not be accompanying the team herself, shehas coached them all year.
“This year we had over 20 students come to the club to join us, they practice twice a cycle at lunch,” Miller said. Due to the large turnout this year, two teams had to be formed. At lunch practices, students split into two teams of four where each player has a buzzer. The two teams compete to see who can answer the most questions correctly.
One of the two teams did exceptionally well at various tournaments throughout the year and will be traveling to nationals as the sole team representing Manitoba.
Co-coach Micah Doerksen described Reach as a great academic competition where young minds are tested on various topics through quick,fast-paced questions.
High school guidance counselor Lindsey Leipsic said, “We have athletes, non-athletes, we have students who are really involved and students who are not as involved at school, and we have quiet leaders, and we’ve seen friendships be built in Reach.” Some of her favorite memories of Reach involve seeing students from across Winnipeg come to Gray Academy and bond with one another. Lev Chisick, who is competing at nationals, agreed, saying, “Moncton is going to strengthen our school spirit and make us a better team.”
As the junior team makes their way to Moncton, the senior team will head to provincials. Later this week, students from the senior team will travel to Virden, Manitoba, to compete at the provincial level. The team qualified after placing high enough at their most recent tournament, which took place at St. Paul’s.
Confidence is high as the school heads into these final tournaments. When Nath Goldenberg, who is also competing at nationals, was asked what he is most looking forward to, his answer was short and sweet:“Winning.”
Local News
Team Schvesters teammates Benji Harvey, Kim Gray once again among top ten fundraisers in this year’s CancerCare Manitoba Foundation Challenge for Life event
By MYRON LOVE This year’s annual CancerCare Manitoba Foundation’s Challenge for Life walk at Assiniboine Park is scheduled for Sunday, June 13 – and, once again, in terms of fundraising, Team Schvesters is sitting in second place overall – having raised just over $30,500 as of May 26 – which is $5,000 more than the team members had raised by the same time last year.
As well, team members Benji Harvey and Kim Gray are once again in the top ten among individual fundraisers. Harvey this year sits in fifth place, having raised a little over $16,000 as of May 17 – while Gray has raised just above $8,000 – putting her in seventh place.
Harvey reports that, -over the past 18, years participating in CancerCare Manitoba Foundation’s Challenge for Life, she has personally raised $180,000 for cancer research, while her team as a whole has brought in $367,000. In discussing her success as a fundraiser, Harvey says that she has made a lot of friends over the years and believes in giving back to the community.
The “Schvesters” are the Greenfeld sisters: Harvey and sisters Lesly Katz and Debra Lewis – the daughters of Lil and the late Ike Greenfeld. Two of the sisters are cancer survivors.
There is one other team member – in addition to Kim Gray. Judge Rocky Pollack first joined Team Schvesters in 2023. After a year away in 2024, he returned last year. Pollack lost his wife, Sharon, to cancer in 2014 after a multi-year struggle.
Nancy’s Nightingales has been a top 10 community fundraising team for Cancercare Manitoba and the Challenge for Life since its inception in 2008. As a team, they have walked together since 2006 when they walked 60 km in two days in the Weekend to End Breast Cancer.
Last year, the team – including Louise Raber, Joanne Katz, Rhonda Youell, Connie Botelho and Harriet Lyons – finished fifth in fundraising. So far this year, the team is again sitting in fifth place –having raised just under $12,500 (as of May 26) – a couple of thousand dollars more than last year, and just about $300 behind the fourth place team.
The Nightingales are named after a nurse who is a cancer survivor- and a friend of Louise Raber, Nancy’s Nightingales team leader.
“Our goal, as always, is to raise at least one dollar more than last year,” says Raber.
Team Jason’s Journey team leader Jason Gisser has experienced a more intimate and longer-lasting relationship with cancer than many of the other Challenge for Life participants. He was first diagnosed with cancer when he was 18. “I am a proud cancer fighter, having lived and battled a chronic cancer diagnosis for the last 23 years,” he said in an earlier interview. “I participate in the Challenge for Life not only to give back for the care and treatment which I have and continue to receive through CancerCare Manitoba, but to ensure that others do not have to endure the journey which I have endured.”
This is the ninth year that Gisser has taken up the Challenge for Life. His teammates are returnee Nora Fien, as well as friends Danial Sprintz, Wendy Martin White and Jason Roberts, also his mother, Judge Freda Steele. He has personally raised about $5,500 this year, while the team as a whole has raised just over $7,000.
“The Challenge for Life is great opportunity to raise valuable dollars for cancer research and treatment,” Gisser notes.
Readers can make donations to their preferred team by going online to CancerCarefdn.mb.ca and click on Challengeforlife.ca.
