St. Louis One Happy Camper Program Frequently Asked Questions

The first step is to register the child at camp. In order to be eligible for a grant, the child must be registered at a Jewish summer camp listed on the Foundation for Jewish Camp’s website. Once campers are registered for camp, parents should apply for the grant using the online application system at OneHappyCamper.org. Once the child’s registration at camp has been confirmed and the grant application has been approved, funds will be paid directly to the camp listed on the application and will be credited to the family in the form of a tuition deduction. If the family cancels the child’s registration at camp, the funds will be returned to FJC and the partnering organization.

Yes.

Yes. One Happy Camper program grants are non-needs based grants. This is not a scholarship. As such, receiving a grant does not preclude the family from receiving scholarship aid from another source. To view an online directory of over 80 scholarships, please visit JewishCamp.org/Scholarships. Camps also maintain their own lists of scholarships and can provide additional assistance.

Families should allow up to four weeks for their child’s camp to receive confirmation of the grant approval. Once the child’s camp registration has been confirmed, FJC can release the funds to the camp in the child’s name.

Adults who attended Jewish overnight camp as children are more likely to be more Jewishly engaged at home and in the community. They are 21 percent more likely to believe that being Jewish is very important; 30 percent more likely to donate to local federation and 25 percent to a Jewish charity; 55 percent more likely to feel very emotionally attached to Israel; 45 percent more likely to attend synagogue monthly and 26 percent to be members; and 37 percent more likely to light Shabbat candles.

The PJ Library and FJC have partnered to offer One Happy Camper incentive grants called PJ Goes to Camp. PJ Goes to Camp is designed to serve as an extension of the PJ Library experience, inviting their families to consider overnight Jewish camp. Since each child can only receive one OHC incentive grant, the PJ Goes to Camp program is available to any PJ Library family member not currently being served by a community-based program. Children fortunate enough to live in communities like St. Louis whose Federation sponsors an OHC program will receive a grant from their community sponsor. In these cases, PJ Library serves as an exciting synergistic opportunity, enabling professionals to leverage the successful communal inroad of the PJ Library program to raise awareness of Jewish camp and of the One Happy Camper program. For more information on PJ Goes to Camp, contact Jennifer Lotsoff at 314-442-3867.