For Heather Sunderlin, mother of nine-year-old twins, Camp JCC has it all. She works full-time as the director of employee services at Wall, Einhorn & Chernitzer; her husband, Rich, is in the Navy and is often away for weeks; and she wants her sons Dylan and Tyler to have active and fun-filled summers.
Three years ago, Sunderlin signed her kids up for Camp JCC, and has done so each summer since. “As parents, we don’t want our kids sitting around watching TV and playing video games all summer,” she says. “They go at it so hard at the JCC, they are tired after a day of camp.”
When her employer, Marty Einhorn, recommended the camp, Sunderlin checked it out. A non-Jewish family, she loves that her kids are exposed to a multi-cultural environment. “They learn some Hebrew and a bit about Israel, but it’s mostly a traditional day camp.” The Sunderlins also know their kids are safe at the JCC. “The staff knows our kids, and it’s a secure, friendly environment.”
“I’m a very active kind of kid,” says Tyler. “I like coming here because I’m not a video game kind of person. I swim and do outdoor things like putt-putt and all kinds of camp activities. And when the weather’s bad, there’s still a lot going on inside.”
His twin brother Dylan fully agrees. “Camp gets me outside, and there are lots of activities to choose from. I really like the Gaga pit!”
Besides a two week trip to Myrtle Beach, the Sunderlins will come to camp all summer, as well as Summer Extension in August. “It’s a no brainer,” says Sunderlin. “The JCC has everything for my boys at one place; they’re happy, and so am I.”
For more information about Camp JCC, visit campjcc.org or call the Simon Family JCC, 321-2306.
The Simon Family JCC is a constituent agency of United Jewish Federation of Tidewater.