Honoring the past century of Camp Nah-Jee-Wah (New Jersey Women) and inspiring our future
By Debra Daitchman and Stacie Friedman
This summer marks an incredible milestone in the history of NJY Camps. It is the 100th anniversary of Camp Nah-Jee-Wah (NJW). Camp Nah-Jee-Wah was created by New Jersey women for New Jersey girls, and it remained an all-female camp for 45 years before becoming the co-ed camp for our youngest campers. There are so many people whose generosity of spirit and commitment to Jewish life have left an indelible mark on NJW. As we approach the centennial, it is an honor to highlight a few of these extraordinary individuals. We thank each of you for helping to make NJW the special place our youngest campers call ‘home’ today, tomorrow, and for centuries to come. In 1920, NJY Camps was founded as the Young Men’s and Young Women’s Hebrew Association Camps for Jewish boys. The boys camp, Cedar Lake, opened in 1921. In 1924, the Young Women’s Hebrew Association, recognized that there was a need for a camp for Jewish girls, Nah-Jee-Wah (New Jersey Women) was founded and the rest is herstory.
Making an Impact Through Generosity
Through the ebbs and flows of 100+ years of building Jewish community, NJY Camps continues to shine today. Earlier this year, Paula Gottesman, one of our board members and longtime supporters, gave a historic gift to NJY Camps. She launched the Gottesman Gesher campaign, a $2M matching campaign to enable the expansion of programs, enhancement of facilities, and the empowerment of more young Jewish lives through the unique experiences NJY Camps offers. This summer during our 100th anniversary celebration of Camp Nah-Jee-Wah we will be honoring Ms. Gottesman. Paula’s generosity and passion is a testament to her investment in the future of Jewish camping.
Paula’s gift is not only historic in its size, but it enables us to engage other donors and allows us to leverage her gift to amazing heights. We cannot thank her enough for her contributions to camp. We look forward to recognizing her at a celebratory event this summer commemorating NJW’s anniversary, this auspicious day in our history.
During our celebration, Paula will be joined by other incredible women who have helped sustain NJW over the years. Dr Lynne B Harrison, a long-time NJY Camps supporter, and dear friend of Paula Gottesman will attend. Dr Lynne B Harrison, namesake of the Dr Lynne B Harrison Science Center and Science Fair returns to camp each summer and continues to support camp to ensure that we have the most up to date and exciting science equipment for our campers as she wants to inspire the next generation of scientists and help enhance their passion for STEM. Both Paula and Dr Lynne are shining examples of women in philanthropy who give generously to both the Greater MetroWest Jewish day schools and Jewish camping. We are forever grateful to them for their continued generosity and hope that they will inspire others to follow in their footsteps in supporting Jewish causes for generations to come.
Women in the History of NJY Camps and Camp Nah-Jee-Wah
The NJY Camps boardroom was historically an all-boys club, but in 1987, Merle Kalishman, a former scholarship Nah-Jee-Wah camper from Brooklyn broke the glass ceiling and became NJY Camps’ first female board president. Merle has been a member of the NJY family for over seven decades and we are privileged to have her actively involved with camp including with our Past Presidents Advisory Council. In our board room we have a wall of board presidents, and you cannot help but marvel at the number of men that preceded Merle and then followed her for another thirty years. In 2021, NJY Camps elected its second female board president, Ms. Suzanne Albin-Tucker. Suzanne, a lawyer by trade and a dedicated Jewish communal leader, ushered NJY through our re-opening after Covid. Suzanne, a past president of her JCC and board member of numerous Jewish organizations, provided stable leadership during unstable times including an array of mental health and financial challenges created by the pandemic. We were so fortunate to have her strong leadership during those challenging times. As current board president, Stacie Friedman, is our 3rd female board president and for the first time in our history we had two back-to-back women presidents. This is a tremendous achievement and something for NJY Camps to be truly proud of. Stacie is an asset to our agency with years of lay leadership experience. She is the former board president for the JCC of Central NJ and is currently part of the Harold Grinspoon Foundation’s LEAP program. We are so privileged to have a strong leader like Stacie at the helm of our agency and ushering us into the future.
We would be remiss if we did not mention a few other extraordinary women in the history of Camp Nah-Jee-Wah. Anne Tursky took over the reins in 1988 and served as the full-time Camp Director for 25 years making her the longest serving Nah-Jee-Wah director. She has been the Director of Alumni and Board Engagement at NJY Camps since 2013. Anne is an NJY lifer who gives the best camp tours imaginable and kvells every time one of her former camper’s children enroll at NJW. She takes great care in celebrating alumni milestones and planning a variety of events and reunions to keep the alumni connected to camp while she eagerly awaits the next generation to become campers. You will not find a more dedicated former camp director. It gives her an immense amount of pride that the current NJW Director, Carrie Youngs, was one of her own campers and eventually her Assistant Director and has been at camp for over 20 years. They say that great leaders don’t amass followers but inspire others to become leaders themselves and Anne and Carrie are a great example of that. Anne would be quick to point out the support she received early in her career from inspiring Jewish women both at NJY and throughout the Jewish communal landscape.
Celebrating 100 Years at Camp Nah-Jee-Wah
As you can clearly see, people come to camp and have a very hard time leaving. We pride ourselves on the longevity of our camp relationships and the fact that we have many multi-generational families at camp.
We cannot help but marvel when looking at the 100-year history of NJW and see how far we have come as an agency. We were not without struggles and bumps along the way, but seeing where we are today; it is truly remarkable to witness how many incredible women have contributed to making NJW such an extraordinarily special place. NJW is co-ed now and represents a camp for the youngest NJY campers. These young people are set on a path to develop their Jewish identity and enhance their Jewish pride.
NJW remains a place that was founded by proud NJ Jewish women for Jewish children. It is a place that continues to develop future Jewish leaders. May the women who pass through our doors be inspired by the many women who helped us become the remarkable camp we are today.
Debra Daitchman is the Associate Director of Development at NJY Camps. Through her volunteerism, Debra is actively involved in the Greater MetroWest Jewish community where she resides with her husband and three children.
Stacie Friedman is the Board President for NJY Camps. Stacie has spent many years serving in various lay leader positions to better her community. She and her husband, an NJY alumnus, have three children who all attended NJY Camps.
If you are interested in attending the Camp Nah-Jee-Wah 100th anniversary celebration, please contact Debra at debra@njycamps.org
