225 Boys, Girls at Arizona Camp

By COLlive reporter

225 sons and daughters of Chabad Shluchim are spending their mid-winter vacation at the Tzeirei Hashluchim camp in Oracle, Arizona.

Geared for Lubavitch children who, for the most part, conduct their religious life in secular surroundings, the camp is highly anticipated by the children and parents alike.

Boys ages 8-12 enjoy 120 acres of wooded land at the C.O.D. Ranch with this year’s staff headed by Zalman Shimon Wolf and Yossi Unsdorfer.

Simultaneously, girls ages 7-11 enjoy the beautiful campgrounds at the Triangle Y Ranch with Chaya Deren and Rivky Yaffe as this year’s head staff.

This is the 13th winter camp organized by the Shluchim Office, directed by Rabbi Gedalya Shemtov, and the Shluchim in Tucson, Rabbi Yossie and Chanie Shemtov.

Kids from Guatemala, Costa Rica, New Jersey and Brazil are spending 10 days together with like-minded children, what they do not get to do in their Shlichus hometowns.

“This camp’s goal is making them proud to be on Shlichus,” said Moshe Pinson, who oversees the camp and led this year’s fundraising efforts amid hardships.

“We were low financially but are very happy that we pulled through, Baruch Hashem. We even gave some scholarships thanks to some Bais Shmuel members,” Pinson added.

The campers came prepared to be rejuvenated and to return to their posts as Shluchim and Shluchos of the Rebbe.

“The chayus, fun and Chassidishe atmosphere they experience in camp is something that will remain etched in their minds forever,” one staffer told COLlive.com.