Our goal is for your child to have a successful summer interacting with other campers, participating in fun activities, and gaining independence. If your child has an IEP, 504 plan or if you think they could benefit from a little extra help, Chaverim might be a good fit! If your child does not currently have any behavior intervention plans, but you believe they would benefit from a 1:1 counselor during the Camp Shalom day, then Chaverim is for you!  We will soon begin accepting interest forms for youth entering Kindergarten-6th grade for Fall 2024 for summer camp.  Camp Shalom and the Chaverim Program accept participants of all backgrounds to join us!

Children ages 18 months through Kindergarten are part of our Katan Preschool program, if your child falls in this age group please reach out to [email protected] to connect with them regarding inclusive programming for our youngest campers.

At this time our program has currently filled.  However, we encourage you to join our waitlist by emailing [email protected]. As we work to hire additional staff we will do our best to accommodate as many participants as we can.

For additional Inclusion Programming at the JCC please visit out Inclusion Page.

Please Note: Your interest form does not guarantee a space in the program, this is a step in the registration process.  Registrations are processed and confirmed once we have a staff hired to support your child at camp.  

Contact the camp office at [email protected] or 408.357.7416 with any questions you may have.

Your camper will be paired with a 1:1 advocate counselor. This advocate will be with your child at all times and will be a friend and an advocate making sure that the rest of the cabin group is practicing inclusion and supporting your camper as needed! The program is also supervised by the Chaverim Coordinator. Additionally, the Inclusion Coordinator will work with families individually to decide if a 1:1 counselor, or a different accommodation is appropriate. (Other accommodations might include: coming to camp with a 1:1 aide your child is already working with; alternate scheduling; etc.)

Yes! In this case, Camp Shalom will pay for a background check. The aide would be held to the same expectations as the rest of the camp staff. Should you choose this option, Camp Shalom will waive the additional fee Chaverim weekly fee, only if the aide is able to attend the full camp day with your child.  

If you have an aide, therapist or other individual who you would like to work with your camper while at camp, but is not available for the full day, they are more than welcome to attend camp with you camper.  However, this must be arranged with our Chaverim Coordinator in advance, but  your camper would still then require a 1 on 1 aide through the Chaverim Inclusion Program for the full camp day.

Children who are entering Kindergarten in the 2024-2025 school year may either enroll in the Katan Preschool Program, or Camp Shalom’s school-aged program.

Katan: Join the 5-year-old age group at the APJCC Preschool’s summer program, Katan, which is being offered in two sessions: June 17th- July 19th, and July 22nd- August 15th. This program is run by our fully qualified preschool educators, and is the right fit for children who thrive with consistency and the opportunity to be in a stable group of peers and a more structured program.  For this option, you can register for half-day (8:30am-12:00pm), full-day (8:30am-4:00pm) or extended day (8:30am-5:30pm).

Camp Shalom: Our summer camp for school-aged children is a more fast-paced program, offering enrollment by the week from June 10th-August 16th for those entering Kindergarten. This option is led by summer camp counselors, and is a great fit for children who are more mature and can keep up with a busy activity-filled day and new peers each week. Camp Shalom runs 9:00am-4:00pm daily, with the option to add Extended Care from 4:00pm-6:00pm.

*Please contact the Preschool at (408) 357-7417 or camp office at (408) 357-7416 for further information on which option is the best fit for your child.

Eligible Programs for Youth 1st-6th Grade

1st Grade – Sabra, Focused, STEAM Younger
2nd Grade – Yalla, Focused, STEAM Younger
3rd Grade – Yalla, Focused, STEAM Younger, STEAM Older, Sports & Swim
4th & 5th Grade – Kadima, STEAM Older, Sports & Swim
6th Grade – STEAM Older, Sports & Swim (Sababa is not eligible for Chaverim program)

If you have any questions regarding specific programs for your camper, please email us at [email protected]

You will communicate primarily with the Chaverim Coordinator. They will contact you by phone with any urgent issues. Your child’s counselor will also communicate with you to share details of your camper’s day. We’ll also make sure that you can share important information about your camper with the Chaverim Coordinator on a daily basis.

We are committed to being flexible and will work with you if your camper’s schedule needs to be altered.  There is no minimum number of weeks campers need to enroll.  We understand that camp can be a long day for your child, as such there may be half day options for certain programs.

In order for Camp Shalom to adequately serve our neurodiverse (ND) and physically disabled campers, we created Chaverim to provide an equitable and inclusive summer camp experience. The goal of this program is to seamlessly integrate ND and physically disabled children into the typical camp day with any accommodations provided. Chaverim campers are paired with a 1:1 counselor who focus on advocating the camper’s needs to the group counselors/leader, facilitating social inclusion and friendships, and supporting any specific needs their camper requires.

Chaverim counselors are hand-picked young adults (18+) who have passion and experience for serving ND campers. They are engaging, empathetic, inclusive counselors who LOVE camp and cannot wait to build relationships with their 1:1 buddy!

If you would like to share this opportunity with someone you know, please direct them to our open employment opportunities HERE.