Camp Bauercrest has become an institution of Jewish camping, giving boys of New England and beyond an unforgettable experience year after year. What makes Bauercrest stand out is the focus on brotherhood and camaraderie while using the medium of athletics to teach and learn valuable lessons that apply both on the field and off the field. Combined with an experienced staff composed of professionals and past campers, Bauercrest is poised year after year to develop and strengthen our boys to be better athletes, leaders, and friends while having more fun than you can imagine.
Don’t take it from us. Listen to what our parents have to say regarding Bauercrest and the impact it’s made on their families:
Stacy P., Current Bauercrest Mom
“When we drove up and saw him standing outside his bunk, he was grinning from ear to ear. The first question out of his mouth was whether he could come back for the second month of camp. He hugged all his bunk-mates and counselors good-bye, told them all he was coming back for the entire summer next year, and we got in the car. He made us stop three times on the way up the hill so he could jump out and hug more campers, counselors and waiters. I had a lump in my throat the whole time. We got on the road and Max talked a mile a minute, recounting every detail. By exit 28, he was in tears, wanting to turn around and go back. It’s been a wonderful, crazy, emotionally-charged day. Through it all, I’ve been struggling to figure out why we were able to leave him two weeks ago without so much as a sniffle, and yet when we came to pick him up this morning, we couldn’t hold it together. Why wasn’t it this hard when he was leaving home? And then it occurred to me. That’s exactly what he did this morning.”
Karl Ravech, ESPN Anchor and Bauercrest Alumni
“There is no place in the world where you can be a complete stranger one minute and feel as if you’ve just found your family the next. As sports environments go, the crest ranks as one of the most passionate there is. Blue and White competition at Camp Bauercrest is the World Series and Super Bowl wrapped into one. The bonds you develop on the field and in the bunk are as strong as any you’ll develop over a lifetime. When you consider the age of the young men at Bauercrest, you realize this is where you form the foundation on which your character and personality will develop. These are the most meaningful years of your life and you will be a winner for having spent them on the hillside.”
Karl Ravech
Judy D, Former Bauercrest Mom of Three
“My heart is filled with great emotion as I write to you. For a long time, I have wanted to express my heartfelt appreciation for the many happy years that my children spent at Camp Bauercrest. They breathed, slept, and ate Camp Bauercrest both at camp and during the off-season. They would write papers about it for school and described it as their grounding influence in their lives. They would reminisce about the good times at Bauercrest while I silently say in the back seat enjoying the moment, knowing as a mother, that this experience was helping shape my child in a profound way.”
Late Gerald I. Wolpe, from the 65th Anniversary Celebration
Camper and Counselor in the 1930s and ’40s
“I first saw The Big House, Lake Attitash, and the rolling hills of Bauercrest over 70 years ago. For close to fifteen years, the sounds and sights of friends, the night sky, the camaraderie and lessons of camp filled my mind and heart. All of it is, of course, memory- including friends who are sadly now beyond physical touch. But so much remains a living memory. Bauercrest touched me every moment of my life and it continues to this day. The songs still reverberate in my ears; the sounds of laughter, competition, silly pranks, and serious concern about life’s issues were as much a part of my growth as formal schooling. Many of us took each other’s hands as children at Bauercrest and walked together into adulthood as lifelong friends. We remembered those days and inwardly or loudly avowed, “Camp Bauercrest, hats off to thee. To the glory, true we shall ever be.”
From the 65th Anniversary Celebration in 1995
Rabbi Emeritus, Har Zion Temple, Penn Valley, PA
Chairman, Center of Bioethics, University of Pennsylvania
Chairman, Rabbinical Assembly Committee on Caregiving
