We are pleased to introduce you to "Summer of Your Life" program, which was the first and has now remained the largest and leading program of its kind since 1994. "Summer of Your Life" was established by Sarah Gutman, educational counselor and certified tour guide for more than 40 years, and is operated by her and her sons, Shlomi and Nitzan Gutman.

"Summer of Your Life" is designed as a recruitment and support agency for both Israeli campers and staff members who are interested in contributing to the wider Jewish community as well as experiencing a summer away from home. Since 1995, delegations with hundrets of Israeli campers from the ages of 8 to 15 and highly qualified post-army staff members have been sent to a wide variety of Jewish summer camps all across North America.

Our agency consists of two primary divisions operating simultaneously. An outline of each division is clearly laid out below.

• The Campers' Division
• The Staff-Recruitment Division

The Campers' Division

With our extensive marketing experience and knowledge of both the Israeli and North American youth, we can guarantee a successful match between a camper and his/her host camp. This guarantee to our participants comes as a product of our exceptionally trained staff who take personal care of the formal and informal needs of their participants. Our main priorities include:

• Issuing flight tickets
• Issuing and organizing travel insurance with around the clock availability and support for all kinds of health insurance matters
• Preparing and escorting the campers upon the issuing of the tourist visa B1/B2
• Verifying all bureaucratic needs:
  • I-94 and other visa forms
  • Health and medical documents
  • Camp application forms

• Providing the campers with vital information about what to expect through several orientation meetings, which include:
  • Reviewing the camp's daily schedule and activities offered
  • Reviewing the camp's code of conduct
  • Discussing cultural differences and the importance of tolerance and sensitivity
  • Explaining the packing list with regards to the airlines' luggage limitations, weather, laundry procedures, camp facilities, etc.

Through the encounters at our orientation meetings our campers gain the understanding that they are representing the entire Israeli youth and people, and in accordance with this responsibility are expected to behave with the highest standards of conduct.

The Staff-Recruitment Division

The staff members of a summer camp are the beating heart of each and every camp, leading its spirit and atmosphere. With that being said, the process of choosing the right candidate for the job is one of the most important pre-camp tasks to fulfill.

Our agency is proud to choose our staff from a selection of thousands of fine candidates who apply each year. With this advantage we are capable of offering high quality, English speaking, spirited and dedicated counselors in the following fields:

• Waterfront: certified lifeguards, wind-surfing, sailing, canoeing, kayaking, water-skiing, jet-skiing, etc.
• Adventure training and pioneering: ropes course, wall-climbing, zip-line, nature, rocketry, etc.
• Art: painting and drawing, arts & crafts, cartooning, guitar, jewelry, photography, video, model airplanes, woodshop, candle making, etc.
• Sports: basketball, soccer, tennis, athletics, gymnastics, dancing, cheerleading, horse-back riding, etc.
• Sciences: kinesiology, astronomy.
• General counselors, Division Heads and other key staff
  

We are aware of the difficulties that arise in the recruitment process and are capable of offering you last-minute solutions in circumstances, such as unexpected cancellations or a request for a very specific specialty.

Our main duties and priorities throughout the recruitment process include:

• Issuing flight tickets
• Assisting the host camp during the processing of visas as well as supplying the camp with the required details needed to fill out and process the DS2019 forms from the JCC, through our user-friendly web-based management system
• Implementation of a comprehensive filtering process by:
  • Completing background checks for each candidate through the Israeli police department
  • Verifying each candidate's level of spoken English
  • Reviewing resumes and giving priority to candidates who have experience working with children
  • Requiring degrees of higher education where needed

Our filtering process purposely takes a significant amount of time, allowing us to carefully examine each candidate's dedication and motivation. Only after going through at least two personal interviews will the candidate be invited to attend the final step in this process, our pre-camp seminar.

Each candidate has a personal electronic folder on our database, allowing you, as the host camp, to personally and freely review each candidate at your leisure. You are then able to inform us of the particular candidates that you believe will suit your camp's needs.

If you decide that you prefer to meet each candidate face-to-face here in Israel, it will be our pleasure to plan and organize this for you beforehand, making sure you are provided with a comfortable and quiet venue suitable for holding meetings and interviews in.

We are extremely proud to announce that we have had a 100% success rate in obtaining visa approvals. We attribute this success to the "human quality" that our candidates possess so easily demonstrated in their interviews at the American embassy.
We look forward to being in touch and offering you our services. We are confident that the benefits of the unbreakable bond between Israelis and the North American Jewish community will further the enrichment of all of our Jewish identities.

Email:
sarah@camp.co.il
Phone:
Israel 011(972)8-940-7053
USA 1-973-488-7942
Fax:
011(972)3-684-9556

Respectfully,
Sarah Gutman
"Summer of Your Life"