Ottawa Jewish Bulletin (August 2012)

Page 14 – Ottawa Jewish Bulletin – August 20, 2012
Camp B’nai Brith of Ottawa: Turned around and thriving
By Louise Rachlis
A few minutes before
heading to the mess hall, four
Israeli counsellors are
singing and dancing on a picnic table. Around them, hundreds of smiling campers in
white T-shirts are following
their lead to celebrate and
welcome the arrival of Shabbat.
There’s a lot to celebrate
at Camp B’nai Brith of Ottawa (CBBO).
“In a time when many of
our community institutions
are struggling, the turnaround of CBBO has become
a true success story on a
number of fronts,” said
Michael Polowin, chair of
the camp board. “Over the
past five or six years, we
have taken a camp where
registration had dropped for
years, a camp which was losing money and incurring significant debt, and turned it all
around.”
Chair for the past four
years and a board member
for six, Polowin is pleased
the camp’s improved financial position did not come at
the expense of one of
CBBO’s core mandates: to
provide financial assistance
to families who could not
otherwise afford to send their
children to camp.
CBBO was founded by
the men of B’nai Brith in
1936 near Dunrobin, Ontario, and moved to the current site near Quyon, Quebec, in 1946.
“When B’nai Brith as an
organization died, we had to
basically rebuild the board
and rewrite the bylaws,” said
Polowin.
A pivotal time was the
camp reunion in the summer
of 2006, which “changed
everything,” said Polowin,
who went to CBBO for 17
consecutive summers, beginning as a camper and ending
as head counsellor. “Suddenly, there were new people on
the board – new people who,
as former campers, were
thinking about the camp for
the first time in years …
They overhauled the finances
and made a plan to build registration.”
Among the dancing
Israeli counsellors lead campers in singing and dancing before the arrival of Shabbat
at Camp B’nai Brith of Ottawa.
(Photo: Louise Rachlis)
campers this particular Friday
evening were 27 excited
seven- and eight-year-olds up
for the CBBO Weekender
Program, an innovative way
to introduce young campers
to the joys of CBBO and
overnight camping. The
Weekender is staffed by wellexperienced counsellors.
After the dancing, there
were prayers in the dining
hall, candle lighting and a
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traditional Shabbat dinner,
followed by the camp play,
The Three Wise men of
Chelm.
Under Camp Director
Jonathan Pivnick, CBBO has
taken on a truly international
flavour with counsellors
from Germany, Ireland,
Wales, Australia, Hungary
and England, as well as
shlichim from Israel.
“It brings a new complexion and accent to the
camp,” said Polowin, whose
two children have grown up
through the camp ranks. His
son, Jacob, is head of
Pathfinders and his daughter, Laya, is a counsellor for
nine-year-old girls.
Forty per cent of the
campers come from Ottawa,
46 per cent from Montreal,
and the rest from Toronto,
London, Vancouver, Florida,
Boston, New York and elsewhere.
The camp has 1,800
Facebook friends from all
over the world.
Pivnick first came to
CBBO in 1969 as a camper
waiter. He has been camp director for eight years and was
assistant director for four
years.
“In 2008, we were 225
campers overall,” said
Pivnick, whose wife, Heidi,
is camp mother. “Now we’re
350. There has been tremendous growth and a real commitment from the board,
alumni and other CBBO
friends to make the camp the
best it can be.”
“It’s a place that means so
much to both of us,” said
Polowin, gazing across the
camp property with Pivnick.
“In many ways, what we’ve
done is save this institution
and ensured the future happiness of Jewish children for
years to come.”
Camp Director Jonathan Pivnick and Board Chair
Michael Polowin, ready for some ball hockey at Camp
B’nai Brith of Ottawa.
(Photo: Louise Rachlis)
The Sephardi Association of Ottawa
wishes you
Health, Happiness and Success for 5773
Shana Tova U’metuka
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at Shikun Oz, 57 Bateman
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Sunday September 16
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