Creative Online Camp

When COVID-19 forces summer camps to cancel, our overnight retreat included,
we’re open at JGU for an exciting, innovative and inspiring experience for you!

An 8 Week Summer program for girls entering grades 3-11
Monday-Friday, June 29-Aug 20, 2020

JGU Creative Online Camp

Exciting Daily Schedule

4-5 hours online (with an afternoon break) of daily themed activities with valuable leadership lessons, art classes with Chana Laber, and a choice of Creative Clubs with professional instructors. Plus special guests from around the world!

Daily
Night Activities

Night activities offer encounters with contemporary Women of Valor, inspirational entertainment, and teen-led games.
Each week features (specific programs TBA):

Musical Mondays: An all-female evening of music and song with performers.
Talent Tuesdays: JGU girls share their talents and creations from the Creative Online Camp.
Wonder Women Wednesdays: Meet and greet remarkable Jewish women from around the world.
Thinking Thursdays: A teen-led evening of creative thinking, fun, and friendship (for grades 6+ only).

T-shirt

(Within the USA. Extra shipping charge may apply internationally.)

Want more info?

Please fill out this form to receive the rates and registration form.

Allow Us to Reassure You if These are Your Concerns About a Virtual Retreat:

“It definitely won’t be as fun.”

Virtual meetups can become quite interactive and lively. Also, we will offer a wide array of activities for all interests. Give it a try; you may be delightfully surprised! Your daughter can get a taste now of our exciting weekly online programs.

“My daughter can’t sit in front of a computer for so long; she will be bored.”

Fear not, the program will be so engaging that your daughter will not be able to simply sit! She will be cooking, learning art-techniques, performing a skit or puppet-show, singing in harmony with peers, building her confidence as a speaker and author, and discovering new talents and her inner leader. We will also ensure frequent breaks from the screen, as well as physical activities, such as dancing, fitness, creative movement, and going outdoors!

“My daughter won’t have a social life with the online camp.”

Socializing in person is not the only way we can connect, as we are certainly observing these days. It may be different, but it also opens up amazing new opportunities. Your daughter will have the chance to meet Jewish girls and incredible women from around the world! Our JGU online students, who have also been our campers, know that the love of JGU/JGR is a love that no “social distancing” can negate. At JGU, we nurture connections that transcend time and space through soulful activities that touch deeper than the physical.

This summer will truly be one of a kind as we adapt to these extraordinary times with equally extraordinary measures!

Please do not hesitate to reach out to us at JewishGirlsUnite@gmail.com with any thoughts, comments, questions, or concerns. We are here for you.

Meet Our Amazing Staff!

We are so fortunate to have an incredible team of creative, inspiring women gearing up for Creative Online Camp. Stay tuned as we add more instructors!

Nechama LaberCamp Director

Nechama Laber has been a passionate educator for girls for over twenty years. She has taught in day schools and Hebrew schools in Montreal, Brooklyn, Albany. She founded the Capital Region Bat Mitzvah Club in 1998 and the Bat Mitzvah Camp in 1999. Nechama and her husband, Rabbi Avraham Laber, are the co-directors of Chabad of S. Rensselaer County and the Jewish Girls Retreat.

Miriam YerushalmiDrama & Brain Gym Instructor

Mrs. Miriam Yerushalmi holds a double Bachelors degree in Psychology and Child Development and a double Masters degree in Psychology and Family Counseling. She has worked extensively with children (over 40 years) creating outreach programs using Drama and the arts to teach Brain gym: self-mastery brain training techniques with Torah Concepts.

Tzivia KayCulinary Arts & Song Instructor

Tzivia Kay is a mother who is known for her delectable food, a bilingual poet, singer, songwriter, actress, inspirational speaker, parodist, artist, producer and a performer for women and girls only. Tzivia writes inspirational songs to bring herself, her family and others closer to G-d.

Chana LaberFine Arts Instructor

Chana is a self-taught artist who has been creating since the day she can remember. She teaches art classes for children and teens and is passionate about sharing the gift of the creative process with others. Chana works with all kinds of mediums and including painting, illustrating, graphic design, typography, and really anything creative.

Chana CotterArt & Puppetry Instructor

Chana Cotter is Jewish artist, who specializes in Judaic art creations that are perfect gifts for Jewish weddings, anniversaries, and other simchas. She is also a retired English teacher. Chana will combine her passion for education and art to teach puppetry making.

Rae ShagalowDIY Passion Projects Instructor

Rae Shagalov is the director of the Library Innovation Lab and the Gifted Program at Emek Hebrew Academy. She has the fun job of inspiring Jewish kids, women, and teachers to make their creativity and talents pop with Passion Projects and project-based learning. She is also a calligrapher and creates hand-lettered coloring books and Torah Art Journals.

Kerry Bar-CohnDance Instructor

Dr. Kerry Bar-Cohn has many passions. She is married and raising four sons in Israel. She is a Doctor of Chiropractic and spends a big part of her day helping people get out of pain. Kerry loves to sing and dance and one of her favorite creative projects is performing as “Rebbetzin Tap.” As Rebbetzin Tap, she has starred in 5 DVDs and performed for children and women around the world. She also founded the Facebook group “Kol Isha” and Instagram account “Jewish Creative Women.” She loves helping Jewish women grow and connect through creativity.

Tzirel Liba MitzmannSinging & Song Writing Instructor

Tzirel Liba is a singer and composer who has written over 100 songs on the full gamut of Jewish Life. She is the founder of ‘The Shabbos Queen Project’ a daily 3 minute message of Chizuk for women on upgrading all aspects of our Shabbos.
Combining her two passions The Shabbos Queen Project is now a musical shiur for women and girls creating a heightened awareness and passion for bringing Shabbos preparations into every day with joy!

Tzipporah ProttasDavening & Creative Writing Instructor

I’m Tzipporah from Connecticut, USA, perpetual student and teen staff at Jewish Girls Unite, with a passion for connecting to G-d and our inner selves especially through the power of our words! In this vein, I am excited to be a counselor and lead morning-prayer club (daily), and a creative writing club, as part of the exciting program. I have been developing my writing talent for many years, more recently with the mentorship of JGU, and was fortunate to apply it in various ways, which include short stories, essays, poetry, blogs, press releases, and collaborations on educational or inspirational resources.

Yakira ColishDebate Instructor

Interested in improving your persuasion skills? Want to be able to speak confidently in an organized and logical manner? Look no further! Debate offers the opportunity to achieve all that and more! I discovered the world of debate at age 12 and have since won first place at various local and regional tournaments. During my time as debate captain, I coached my team to 2 school victories and helped transform a team of new debaters into award-winning champions.
I am driven by the desire to show girls like you, how powerful their voices are. Throughout the summer I will be coaching 2 debate classes. One that focuses on debate technique and goes more in-depth about what it takes to be a great debater, and one that takes on debate through the lens of interactive games. Feel free to take both!

Ahuvah CoatesArt Instructor

Ahuvah Coates currently resides in Chicago,Illinois. She loves to use her creative talents to both raise her family and and facilitate others to express their neshamos through artistic creative medium. She holds a B.A in Fine Art and Psychology as well as an M.S in Early Childhood Education and Special Education. She has been working with JGU and JGR as an art coach for 3+ years. Her goal is to utilize art as therapeutic expression for both the body and soul!

Karen SartoDance Instructor

Karen Sarto was classically trained in ballet with the Royal Academy of London. She is also certified by the Imperial Society of Teachers of Dance for jazz, tap, folk, and ballroom dance. Karen is a sought-after choreographer and dance teacher for local stage and film productions, workshops, and retreats. She currently teaches dance and fitness classes for women and girls including classical ballet, lyrical jazz, tap, Israeli folk dance (Rikudei Am) and her signature, DanceFit! program. She loves to share the gift of dance!

My daughter is so busy baking, painting, creative writing and taking yoga and dance classes with professional instructors! It’s nice to see her so busy and social after four months at home!

Ronia Soroka, Mother

“JGU camp nurtures my daughter’s mind, heart and soul and brings out her artistic expression. She enjoyed the friendships and the warmth of the staff.”

Miriam Ilyayev, Mother & Singer

“We are integrating our JGR overnight summer camp experience with our innovative JGU online programs to offer the ultimate summer experience”

Nechama Laber, Director