Surprise Lake Camp

Surprise Lake Camp is a non-profit sleepaway camp and is located on over 400 acres (1.6 km²) in Cold Spring, New York (approximately 60 miles (97 km) north of New York City). The mission of Surprise Lake Camp is to "provide a high quality Jewish camping experience where children and young adults will be safe, have fun, and grow as they engage in programs and activities that enable them to learn values and skills that will help them lead fulfilling lives and be assets to their communities."

History

Surprise Lake Camp was founded in 1902 by the Educational Alliance to provide a summer vacation for Jewish boys from the tenements of Manhattan's Lower East Side. The first campers arrived via the New York Central Railroad. They hiked two miles into camp where they lived in tents for two weeks, were served food cooked outdoors, and washed in the lake.

In 1911, the 92nd Street Y became partners in running the camp, and the camp office was located at the Y for many years. In 1917, when the Federation of Jewish Philanthropies was created, Surprise Lake Camp was one of the initial member agencies. The camp then became incorporated as a New York not-for-profit in 1920, eventually leading to complete independence from its founding agencies.

Over the years, Surprise Lake Camp has been substantially rebuilt three times. In addition, its clientele and program have evolved as the Jewish community has changed. Originally established to provide summer vacations in the country for poor boys from the lower East Side, the camp has also gone through periods when it was dedicated to feeding undernourished boys, operated as a year-round camp which included formal education during the winter, committed to the personal development of children using a social group work model, and run as a general co-ed summer camp with special emphasis on scholarships.

One of the first campers was Eddie Cantor, who, upon achieving success as an entertainer, became one of the camp's most ardent supporters. Since then, Surprise Lake Camp has served thousands of young people, many of whom have achieved prominence, among them, entertainer Neil Diamond, talk show host Larry King, actor Jerry Stiller, rocker Gene Simmons, and former New York Knicks trainer, Mike Saunders.

Today, Surprise Lake Camp serves boys and girls from the Greater New York City area from 7 to 15 years of age. They have two four-week sessions and three shorter sessions which are generally filled to their capacity. Fees are set according to a sliding scale based on income and family size, with approximately 50 percent of the campers receiving reductions. In 2011, over $850,000 in total scholarships were provided, making Surprise Lake one of the most generous Jewish scholarships camp in the country.

From youngest to oldest, the units are Mountainview Boys ages 7–10, Mountainview Girls ages 7–10, Idyllwood Boys Age 11, Journey's Way Girls Age 11, Frontier Boys age 12, Highlands girls age 12, Timberline Boys age 13, Boulder Hill/Lakeview Girls age 13, Sherwood Boys age 14-15, Merrylane Girls age 14-15 and Work Program Boys and Girls age 15

Former Campers and Staff

Among SLC's first campers was Eddie Cantor, who, upon achieving success as an entertainer, became one of the camp's most ardent supporters. He was a member of the Surprise Lake Camp Board of Directors. For over 100 years, Surprise Lake Camp has continued to serve thousands upon thousands of young people, many of whom have achieved prominence in their chosen profession. The most successful former campers and staff include:

• Eddie Cantor
• Neil Diamond
• Joseph Heller
• Larry King
• Nancy Lieberman of the WNBA
• Walter Matthau
• Jerry Stiller
• Neil Simon
• Gene Simmons (of KISS)
• supermodel Haylynn Cohen
• comedian Joey Novick
• former New York Knicks trainer Mike Saunders
• former New York Attorney General Robert Abrams
• Larry David
• Cody Brotter
• Craig Miller sales guru of the Motorsports industry
• Fox News Journalist Eben Brown

External links

• Surprise Lake Camp website
• Surprise Lake Camp AB

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