Hero Saves Jewish Girls Retreat

The recent July heatwave hit hard at the Jewish Girls Retreat, an overnight girls camp in Troy, NY run by Rabbi Avraham and Nechama Laber under the auspices of Chabad of the Capital District.

The retreat has 90 campers of various Jewish backgrounds, from all over the US and Canada, and is situated on the Sage College campus building and dormitory, which are not air-conditioned.

During past summers, campers have been able to find relief from the heat with a fans and water activities, but as temperatures soared during the second week of July, camp nurse, Ellen Zagorsky Goldberg reported that many campers were in danger of dehydration or heat exhaustion, despite measures to drink extra water. With Shabbos approaching and the dormitory temperature at 100 degrees, the head staff frantically searched for a suitable air-conditioned refuge for the 130 campers and staff. Area hotels, colleges, and even the Mayor’s office were contacted with no quick solution in sight.

On Friday morning, Rabbi Avraham Laber entered the office of the nearby Italian Community Center. Although Rabbi Laber had no previous communication with the Italian Center, he presented the problem to the receptionist and inquired about using the facility as a cooling space. The receptionist immediately called their president, Jim Margo, who rushed from his home to meet Rabbi Laber. After hearing the situation the camp faced, Mr. Margo graciously offered the Italian Center’s large kitchen and a number of spacious air-conditioned rooms for the camp to use. “I was stunned,” Rabbi Laber said. “It was a miracle.”

Mr. Margo told Rabbi Laber that he wanted the Retreat campers and staff to have the most comfortable Sabbath as possible. When Rabbi Laber mentioned the girls bringing sleeping bags, Mr. Margo told him that there were 75 new cots locked in a Red Cross trailer in the Center’s parking lot. Recently, the Italian Center had partnered with the American Red Cross to serve as an official emergency center. “I’d offer the cots to you right now,” Mr. Margo told the Rabbi, “but County officials need to certify that the Red Cross equipment will be used only for an emergency situation.”

While the staff began mobilizing the campers to carry out a quick and smooth relocation to the Italian Center, President Jim Margo was busy on the phone with city and Red Cross officials. In no time, he had succeeded in securing the authorization to open the trailer and distribute the cots to the girls. “I wasn’t sure if Jim Margo was a person or an Angel of G-d,” Laber said.

As food and supplies were moved from Sage College to the Italian Center, Rabbinic staff member, Rabbi Yossi Schulman, koshered the kitchen with his blow torch. Mr. Margo didn’t blink an eye when he saw this strange operation in the Center’s kitchen. He smiled and said, “that’s fine. Just do whatever you need to do.”

Thanks to the Retreat’s dedicated staff members who come from as far as England and South Africa, they managed to bring all food and supplies, set up the kitchen, and move the girls in before Shabbos. “Once we set the plan in motion, it ran like a military operation,” Laber reports. The campers celebrated a lively, cool Shabbos with songs, discussions, learning groups, and games in the comfort of the spacious Italian Community Center.

“There was a tremendous sense of unity and gratitude among all the campers,” Mrs. Nechama Laber said. After Shabbos, thank G-d, the heat wave broke somewhat, and the camp moved back into the dormitory for another week of creative art workshops, movie-making, trips, and Jewish learning.

The Jewish Girls Retreat, now in its sixth year of operation, has expanded tremendously from its modest beginnings with twenty-five campers. “In previous years, the college campus was a perfect location for our camp,” Mrs. Laber remarked. “This year is our biggest year yet, and we’ve simply outgrown the facilities.” The camp’s current location doesn’t even have a kitchen, so the food for 130 people is prepared in various locations and transported. “The heat wave was a wakeup call for us to realize that we need a home of our own,” Mrs. Laber said.

The camp is currently seeking funds and supporters to acquire their own campgrounds for summer 2012. To learn more about Jewish Girls Retreat’s unique program or to make a donation, please visit www.jewishgirlsretreat.net.