Jewish summer programs offered to families

For one Jewish Edmonton family, having access to a summer program made an exciting experience for their children. “Kids really liked the activities in the aerial park and enjoyed mining the crystals and fossils. They are still talking with lots of excitement about the ice cream party they had and the magician show,” says the mom.

The Jewish Federation of Edmonton held a Summer Fun Series to provide opportunities for social connection and supporting needs, such as children’s activities and community engagement. Since many summer programs were unavailable because of COVID-19, the Federation stepped in with the support of a Family and Community Support Services (FCSS) grant from the Government of Alberta to organize activities.

We asked parents with children under the age of 12 what would be helpful. Based on their needs, we held the Pop-Up Camp Days. These pop-up days included a bike day, an art workshop and field trips to the Edmonton Valley Zoo and Camp BB. Summer student Shira Or led these activities, which saw an average of 30 kids a day or 122 spots over the summer.

The FCSS grant also funded the Family Activity Series, which held two events, one at the Snow Valley Aerial Park and the other at the Edmonton Corn Maze. The Shabbat Series offered two meet ups—Shabbark in the Park and the End of Summer Picnic.

Thank you to all families who took part in these very well attended activities.

One of the participants at the Snow Valley Aerial Park pauses while climbing. The aerial park was one of the summer programs offered by the Jewish Federation of Edmonton.