Welcome to the gluten-free travels of C. Lee, Ceelee and Celi or as they are known to the NJY family; the Gluten-free Yak triplets. This is their diary as they travelled around the world talking NJY Camps gluten-free program. To see more pictures you can go to our facebook page NJY Camps Gluten Free Program.
October 25-26, 2014
Gluten and Allergen Free Expo
Hi.
It’s me Celi. I spent last weekend at the
expo which was held at the Mass Mutual Center in Springfield, Massachusetts and
it was AWSOME. First of all there was so
much food. I didn’t know what to try
first. I was so happy it was two days so
I would have enough time to try everything.
I met some really nice new vendors who have wonderful kosher products.
One gave me a full ready to use pizza crust!!
We
were right next to my friend Oonagh, the chef.
I met her last year at the Healthy Villi event. It was nice to catch up with her. She has a new cookbook out which she was
showing.
I
saw a lot of my other good friends there too.
Stacey from GiG was there. Did
you know GIG is 40 years old!? She told me there was going to be a big
celebration. Two of our veteran sponsors
were there Namaste and Udis. Aleias, who
joined us for their first year as a sponsor, was also there. They are all so nice to me.
I
got to meet Patricia Teague who wrote the children’s book Gilda the Gluten Free
Mouse. She was so nice. She gave me a signed
copy of her book and let me take a picture with her.
I
got to talk to a lot of parents at this expo.
I wish they had brought their kids with them because I love talking to
kids. I like to show them pictures and
stuff. I got to talk to some but I wish
there were more. Maybe next time.
September 6-7, 2014
Gluten and Allergen Free Expo by Ceelee Yak
Hi All. I hope you had as relaxing a summer as my brothers and I did. But now it’s back to work. Personally I am excited to go to the fairs and meetings this year and meet all the people and of course, taste all the GLUTEN- FREE food!!I recently went to the gluten and allergen free expo in Secaucus, NJ. It was AWSOME !There were sooo many vendors. I saw three of our sponsors there: ( Namaste, Kinnikinnick and Udi’s) Actually Udis is one of the sponsors of this WHOLE event . Kinnikinnick introduced me to their new vanilla wafer. MMMM it was good.Saturday was SOOO busy. I was very happy that Barry Saias came to spend the day and talk because I just kept talking and talking. There were so many people. They all were very happy to see an overnight camp like ours. Many of them were interested in coming to the family weekend in the spring. I even saw a few of my camper friends who stopped by to give me a hug and tell me how great their summer was. It was so busy I forgot to get a picture with them.
Sunday was a little quieter but
not much. I actually had time to walk
around the vendors and see what was there.
I got to spent some time with my friends Dr Verma and Patty Bierly from
Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia and Stacey Juhnke from the Gluten Intolerance Group Stacey was very helpful when I asked her
about some of the kosher vendors that were there. I wanted to make sure they were certified by
them. And they were!! I love new vendors for camp!!
I was exhausted when I got home
but I had so much fun. I think this is
going to be a GREAT season of events.
July 13, 2014
Visiting Day at Camp by Ceelee Yak
Although it was not a gluten-free
event, I got to go up to camp for parent visiting day. What a crazy day! First you watch when they
open the gates how the parents run. Guess
that is why they refer to it as the “running of the parents.” They run to their children and the lakefront
to get a good spot to spread out their chairs and picnics. 
I spent the day at a table meeting alumni and
campers. My friend Brea came over to
give me a hug so we took a picture together.
The whole day was meeting and chatting with alumni. One really nice thing was to hear the campers tell their siblings that they could not bring the food that they brought into the bunk. They had it outside so anyone who had Celiac or other food allergies would not get sick. I also found out that the camp sent an email to make sure that anyone coming to visit needing a gluten-free meal at the barbecue would get one. It was a wonderful day.
June 27, 2014
Re-Accreditation Day At Camp – The Journal of C.Lee Yak
Hello. I had the good
fortune of going to camp last Friday for the visit with the Gluten Intolerance
Group (GIG). They were coming to
reaccredit the camp’s gluten-free kitchen.
I was excited to meet and talk to Cynthia Kupper, who is the Executive
Director of GIG and a Resident Dietitian. I had
some questions for her and was curious to see what she looks for when she
certifies a kitchen.
When Cynthia first arrived we went directly to
the kitchen to meet up with Chari Nacson, the supervisor of the kitchen for the past two summers. (Chari is on the left of me and Cynthia on the right) She gave us a quick run through of the
kitchen, introducing the cook and staff.
We went into the dining room and sat for a long time talking about new
products, the changes in packaging.
Chari was questioning if something is labeled GF do you still need to
read the ingredients. According to
Cynthia, starting in August, all companies that label gluten free have to abide by
the safe standards set down by the government. (Of course, you can still read ingredients but you should not need to do
so.)
There was a great deal of discussion surrounding new products and companies being acceptable to Gig for our usage. Cynthia went through the book with us. She asked a great deal of questions about our procedures and who ensures they are followed. She made some suggestions about adding procedures that were changed over the years and an explanation of why so that the next person who comes in will understand. We spent a great deal of time talking about campers with multiple allergies on top of having Celiac and how they are taken care of in camp. Chari showed Cynthia her “cheat” sheet of campers from each camp that is posted on the door. We then took Cynthia to the store room and freezer where all the product is stored. She liked that we have a separate locked cage for all of the dry good product. She offered some suggestions which we always love to get from her. Her suggestions always make our process so much easier.
We took her up to Cedar Lake at
lunch to see service. We stopped at the
canteen to show her what Chari does to ensure it is easier for camper with
Celiac to know what they can and cannot have at canteen without having to ask. It makes the campers more ”normal” when they
come as they just go to the counter and ask for what they want as quickly as
any other camper.
After observing CLC in action, we
went back down to NJW and watched their service. Cynthia finished up with a review and we were
finished. Another safe and successful
gluten-free season for camp.
May 30- June 1 ,20141
Gluten-Free Family Weekend
BY the Yak Triplets
Hi All. It’s me
Ceelee. This weekend was the gluten-free family camp weekend and it was
AMAZING!! About 100 people were
there. This was the FIRST time my
brothers and I ever got to go to sleep-away camp so we each took our own pictures of what we wanted to share with you. As you will see we are VERY different in what
we like.
So I 'm first and I took pictures of EVERYTHING starting with the car ride. It was a bit squishy as you can see. C.Lee wanted to see out the window so he kept pushing into me. Anyway I was told the ride was an hour but it didn't seem that long. I was so excited because this was the first time I was in Pennsylvania. We crossed the Delaware River but we couldn't stop to take a picture. 
I did so many things including an art project but one of the really fun things I got to do, which I don't get to do at home, is archery. This picture was right before everyone came and I was waiting. I was so excited I forgot to take a picture while I was actually shooting the arrows and I hit the target!!
This is the pool. I didn't actually go in because I forgot my bathing suit. I know that sounds funny as I came to camp but I didn't think it would be hot enough to swim and it was, especially on Sunday.
At night we got to sleep in a BUNK BED!! We never get to do that at home.
So of course I HAD to share that picture with you.
The whole weekend was so much fun. I wish I could go the whole summer. Thanks for sharing my trip!!
Hey it’s me Celi. This weekend was beyond cool! I did so many things. Sorry if some of my picture taking was not great but I was so busy that I didn't really look at them until I got home.
So they have this game called GAGA. Its like dodgeball but better cause you are in this pit so it goes really fast. As you can see I got out pretty quickly. We are not supposed to sit on the wall but I wanted a picture so I was told I could do it fast.
I got my sister and brother to come on the tire playground with me when we first got to camp. It is a great playground with lots of tires and a slide and things to hang on. I went here a few times.
Although it was not open I was really excited that when I do come to camp I can do woodshop. I LOVE to build stuff. I also liked the movie Shrek.
I was told that there are real scroll saws that we get to use with the staff. How cool is that?!
So this is the lake. Sorry about my hoof in the picture. I try to keep it out but sometimes I miss. Anyway the lake has all this fun stuff on it like the slide and the Rave and Iceberg.
This is the ropes course. It has three ziplines !! I wanted to go on it but they didn't have a small enough harness. I definitely need to get one for next time. The kids were "flying". There is a climbing wall and a vertical gym with a bell that you ring when you get to the top. So COOL !!
Ok. This is the dining room. It was so busy and the food was really good. I ate soooo much. We had an ice cream party and a camp fire where we made s'mores. Chocolate and marshmallows all melted together on graham crackers. MMMMMM.
On Sunday we had a barbeque with corn on the cob!! I wish the weekend just kept on going for the WHOLE summer! I did NOT want to go home!
Hello everyone. I know my sister and brother thought I was ridiculous with what I took pictures of but for me this weekend was the first time I was NOT in the minority but rather the majority. I wanted to document that for myself. So my pictures are less activity and more about the idea of someone like me who has Celiac going to an overnight camp. I would never have thought that possible. I also thought it was great to meet all the medical staff of the Celiac Disease Center at Columbia University who came and to sit in on their sessions.
I hope you enjoy my pictures.
I moved into the storeroom which I was given permission from the Food Manager to visit. Actually, he was very happy to answer anything I wanted to know.
Here is what I learned...all the gluten-free food that is non perishable is in a locked cage. Then there is a freezer for whatever needs to be frozen and in the actual gluten-free kitchen there is a fridge. I thought it would be fun to sit among all the sponsor's donations.
This was a picture from one of the sessions that I went to with the medical staff at the Celiac Disease Center at Columbia University. It was very interesting. This particular session was on the Neurologic manifestations of Celiac
Disease. It was just so great to be able to talk to these really knowledgeable staff.
My sister and brother think I spent my whole weekend "in school" as they call it but I did other things. At the ice cream party I played with this group of girls who were so much fun. They were with one of the counselors, Jenna who was celebrating her birthday. It was really special when Jenna told me that she was gluten-free like me.
My sister and brother think I spent my whole weekend "in school" as they call it but I did other things. At the ice cream party I played with this group of girls who were so much fun. They were with one of the counselors, Jenna who was celebrating her birthday. It was really special when Jenna told me that she was gluten-free like me.
My sister and brother and I really enjoyed the relaxing nature of the weekend. It was nice to have the choice to be busy or just sit and enjoy. In this picture you can see what we chose to do at this moment.
Well we hope you enjoyed our pictures. The weekend was truly a unique blend of fun and education. Personally the fact that, again, I was in the majority made it a truly exceptional opportunity.
My sister, brother and I hope that more families will be able to join us next year and wish you all a great summer !!
Walk For Celiac by Ceelee Yak
Saturday
I went to the Third Annual Mid-Hudson Valley Walk for Celiac. I was so excited about the event as I have
never been to a walk for ANYTHING before.
The only bad part was I had to get up soooo early to get there by 8:15
am to set up. Fortunately I got to sleep
in the car on the way since I have a driver cause I cannot reach the gas pedal.
Anyway
I was a bit worried when we first got there because it looked like it was going
to rain any minute. Luckily, we were
under a tent with the other vendors. I
was in between two food vendors…actually when I think about it, the Arbonne table
and NJY were the only non-food vendors. Anyway registration started at 9 am but
the walk was not until 10 am so people could walk around the vendors. The first Mom who came up to me was Kate and she was so excited to see me. She said her husband had found us online but
she was disappointed that they could not come to the gluten-free family weekend
May 30. I told her there were other family
weekends and the gluten-free kitchen was always open. She took our postcard with
all the dates. The kids, Jack and Aubrey, were excited too. We took a picture together which you see up above.
I didn't need to worry about the weather cause at about 9:15 the sun came
out and it never really went back in. That
was great BUT it was soooo HOT!! My fur was frizzing!
I
met a lot of people throughout the day who were so happy to know that we did
this. Many families took our information
and were thinking about taking their families to camp. A few times people told
me they were TOO OLD for camp. I told
them you are NEVER too old for camp.
It
was a wonderful event. I don’t know how
much money they raised but they had A LOT of people.
May 3 - 4, 2014
Key Staff Training
Hi it's me Celi. What a great weekend I had. I was invited to the first training event of
the season for our staff. It was held at
the Executive Director’s house and all the Camp Directors, Assistant Directors,
Associate Directors, Division Heads and the C.O.O. was invited.
The training focused on two major
areas…introducing the Jewish heroes of the summer and taking care of the campers.
During the Jewish hero piece we played a fun game and later broke into our camps
to plan programming for the summer.
The piece that I was really
interested in was taking care of our campers…especially ones with Celiac. Janet, the COO, ran a discussion on taking
care of the details. She gave out one of
those picture games where you have to find the differences between the two pictures. Then a discussion occurred about how it
translates to our campers. How do we
make sure the details are taken care of with every camper? We included all areas from activities to
food. Ideas were shared on how to ensure
our counselors, or as we call them the “front line”, really take time each day
to know and check in with each of their campers.
It was a wonderful kick-off to
the summer. Here are a few pictures with some of the key staff.
Me with the Round Lake Staff. Jen Rosh, Division Head is holding me. Aryn Barer, Director and Beth Roth, Assistant Director are next to us. We were talking about Round Lake and Gluten as RLC is NJY's camp for children with social and communication challenges.
May 4, 2014
 |
| Me with Sam Aboudara, Teen Camp Director, Amanda Weiner Teen Camp Assistant Director and Kari Grove, Director of Camp Nah-Jee-Wah. We were cheering Celiac Awareness Month !! |
Me with the Round Lake Staff. Jen Rosh, Division Head is holding me. Aryn Barer, Director and Beth Roth, Assistant Director are next to us. We were talking about Round Lake and Gluten as RLC is NJY's camp for children with social and communication challenges. |
Me with Daniel Hosiassohn and JK Schneiderman, Division Heads of Cedar Lake. In all honesty we were talking about the NHL playoffs when this picture was taken. Hey not EVERYTHING I do is gluten free !!
|
Katz JCC Kidsland Event
Journal entries by Ceelee and C.Lee Yak
Hi All. Yesterday was
AWSOME !! C.Lee and I were at the
Katz JCC in Cherry Hill attending their annual community-wide Kidsland Event. So many people. So many vendors. SOOOO much fun!! We had a table where we gave out tattoos and
fruit. We raffled a family camp
weekend. I met so many great
families. Lots of really young kids which I like as they are my height. We even met two of our new Hannah campers
for this summer. They were so cute and
excited to come. I also met a few alumni.
There were these two huge birds walking
around. Every vendor had an activity and was giving
away either food or fun things like flash lights and beach balls. I’ll let my
brother tell you about the food as he spent the whole day walking around and
checking it out. There were two HUGE rooms filled with different companies from
the community. PLUS some of the vendors did demonstrations. At the end of the day we had our picture
taken with BATMAN and he had his Bat Mobile too!! Well I am exhausted so I will turn it over to my brother.
Good morning. So my sister told you about the fun but I
wanted to talk about food. After all that is why I went. I walked around the event. A number of vendors gave out neutral food like raisins or chips. Unfortunately the vendors that gave out cupcakes and cookies did not have any alternative for me. They didn't even have anything in writing on their table about food allergens.
However
there was one highlight. We were next door to Shoprite and I was talking to
Ashley and she was telling me about their recent gluten-free event they had just had
at their store. They do a number of
events over the year and actually invite other vendors to come. She said the one they just had had
40 other vendors! I was so excited I
asked to be put on her mailing list.
A Little New Orleans flavor
Meli and Jason with CLC camper Ben Dias
Meli and Jason tattooing some of our new friends
HERE WE ARE WITH BATMAN !!
April 13, 2014
New England Celiac Conference
Hi it’s me Celi. It has been a crazy few days for me with the
Passover holiday but I wanted to tell you all about this past Sunday at the
Healthy Villi event in Massachusetts. It
was held at the Four Points Sheraton in Norwood. It started at 8 AM!!! Who gets up at 8 AM!! Well it seems the gluten-free world of Massachusetts does, so I
did too!
Anyway it was a day-long
conference with lots of speakers. Dr
Alessio Fasano of Massachusetts General Hospital was one of their major speakers. I met him after he spoke and he said he had
heard about our camp. That was really
cool! Unfortunately he was in a rush to
get back to the hospital so I could not get a picture with him, but maybe next
time. I did get a picture with my new
friend Ooonagh Williams. She is a chef. She was doing a session on
Easter and Passover gluten-free desserts, which I went to. She had stopped by our table earlier and was
asking me questions about Passover. She
is so funny. Anyway she asked me to come
to her session and taste her Passover deserts.
She actually gave out a WHOLE plate full of Passover and Easter cakes and sweets plus the recipes to everyone who attended her session. MMMMM she made a
really great Passover almond cake. And,
of course, everything was gluten-free. She talked about food allergies, food labelling and being an advocate for yourself when it comes to purchasing products that say gluten free on their packaging.
I saw two of our sponsors at the conference. Kinnikinnick and Cedar's were both there handing out samples. I stopped by to tell Kinnikinnick how much I love using their graham crackers to make s'mores at camp and, of course, I stopped by to grab a Cedar's hummus snack pack.
I saw two of our sponsors at the conference. Kinnikinnick and Cedar's were both there handing out samples. I stopped by to tell Kinnikinnick how much I love using their graham crackers to make s'mores at camp and, of course, I stopped by to grab a Cedar's hummus snack pack.
During the day I met a lot of
interesting family combinations. There
were families where it was one parent or the other that had Celiac or one of the
kids had Celiac. I met one family where
EVERYONE in the family had been diagnosed with Celiac. I think in all there were about 250 people
there. It was a really nice day.
 |
| This was me in front of the welcome table. |
 |
| They served us a gluten-free breakfast and lunch. I was so excited I took a picture on the buffet table!! |
 |
| This is my new friend Oonagh Williams. Along with being a Chef, she is also a food writer focusing on gluten free and other food allergies. You can follow her on facebook at glutenfreecookingwithoonagh |
April 6, 2014
My Favorite Time of Year by CeeLee Yak
I just LOVE this time of
year. It is getting warmer. The trees finally have buds, which mean
leaves are not far behind. BUT what I
really love about this time of year is Passover. Why?
Well first it’s a great Jewish family
holiday. Next week all of us together
celebrating around the seder table. The
great family tradition of trying to figure out what’s going on because we all
have different versions of the same Haggadah (seder book), doing what my
relatives refer to as “new math” as we add up and multiply all the plagues and,
of course, the negotiations with my Dad to “sell him” the afikomen so we can
end the seder. Of course there is also
all the fun songs too.
HOWEVER…my FAVORITE part happens
the week before the seders when we go to the supermarket. This is the time of year when there is so
much more gluten-free food in the supermarket. This is when my siblings and I get to pick
out all the delicious deserts and snacks we want. We get to fill up both of our freezers (we have a
second one in the garage) and all the cabinets.
It is the one time of year Mom says yes to everything!! My siblings had other things to do this year so I got to go all by myself. (of course they gave me their orders.) I was so excited that I decided to bring my camera.
This one was my favorite.
Just me COVERED in yummy gluten-free deserts!!
 |
Happy Passover everyone !!
My visit with Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia from the
journal of C.Lee Yak
Sunday I was asked to join NJY
Camps at the CHOP (Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia) event. It was their annual education day. The day was a combination of educational
sessions and a vendor fair. Our table
was at the very far end behind the buffet line.
I thought it would not be a great location but it turned out we were in
the prime location as everyone stopped by to chat. Families with children of all ages, even
teens, stopped by to talk about our camp.
Even the food vendors came over to talk about donating to our
program. Unfortunately we needed to
gracefully refuse as we only serve GIG certified products. Although they were gluten-free, we needed the
certification. There were interesting
sessions thought out the day on gluten in medicine, labeling and group
discussions broken by the age of the diagnosed child.
Our friends at NFCA (National Foundation
for Celiac Awareness) came over to talk.
I proudly showed them our staff training certification from them. A little later I asked to take a picture
with them at their booth and they loved it.
Michael Savett, who writes the gluten-free Philly blog, generously gave
me a lift so I could be seen in the photo.
I also took a photo with my new
friend Jane who is a girl scout. She was
selling the new gluten-free Girl Scout chocolate chip cookie, which was very
tasty. I am very glad that the Girl
Scouts finally realized the importance of making a gluten-free cookie. I hope they continue to gluten-free the other
varieties, especially the thin mints and tag-a-longs as I really want to taste
those. My friends tell me they are the
BEST!
Finally I took a picture with my
camp friend Jack Saias who has been attending NJY for few years. We are gluten-free buddies. Jack’s mom, Barrie helps out with recruiting
for our program when we are in Philly. Along
with helping us recruit, she recently became the day camp director at the JCC
of Allentown.
Family Fun Day at the JCC of
Scotch Plains – By Ceelee Yak
Hey Guys,
Celi and I had a BLAST Sunday at the JCC Family Fun
day. We spent the whole day talking to
people and helping NJY Camps run their photo booth. The theme of the day was Frozen, so our booth
had all the characters from the movie.
We must’ve taken over 200 pictures.
It was crazy busy but loads of fun.
We did get to take our picture
before the event. Here we all are: Celi
and me with Amy Weinberg, Associate Director of Camp Nah-Jee-Wah, Meli
Rozenbaum, Assistant Director of Cedar Lake ( she is holding Celi) and Jason
Hosiassohn, Assistant Director of Camp Nah-Jee-Wah ( he is holding me).
We also made a new friend who
just liked playing with us so Celi and I took a picture of him at our table. Celi asked me to add that
along with our camp materials, we had some gluten-free snacks to give out which
the families enjoyed.
March
13- March 20, 2014
My Remarkable Travels - The Journal of C. Lee Yak
Good Morning. I recently travelled to Russia with NJY Camps
to seek out campers while learning how someone who is gluten free makes their
way through daily life. It was a fascinating
experience. First of all travelling to
Russia I needed a special visa.
Fortunately I did not have an issue in obtaining it. Although I do not speak fluent Russian and
was only in the country for a few short days, I was still able to find my way
around and see some amazing history.
As I was in Russia for
Purim I went to a celebration with our friends from the JCC Nikitskaya. We
attended a Purim gala celebration at a Russian night club with a 1920's Theme.
There were children's entertainers as well as dancing and comedians
telling the story of Purim for adults.
The costumed guests enjoyed the
hamantashen. Unfortunately they were not gluten free so I had to pass but my
colleagues tell me they were delicious.
At the end families left with
mishloahmanit, which are in short … goody bags.
Although I could not pose with the performers, I thought you all might
enjoy a few pictures of the celebration.
The next day we had a meeting at the JCC Nikitskaya with some wonderful families who will be joining us at camp this summer. Kate, the chaperone for the past three summers and two of our campers from last year also dropped by to say hi to everyone.
As I missed the
Olympics, I thought I would “pose” with my new friends at the official store of
the 2014 Sochi Olympics.
As for the gluten- free part of
my journey. There do not appear to be gluten- free certifications such as GIG or
NFCA in Russia. I did not see any gluten -free notations on the menus. However,
many of the meals are interesting recipes of vegetables and fruits. Breakfast
is spreads of yogurts, fruit and vegetables. So for the most part many of the
meals here are gluten free but not certified.
This link is to a card in Russian that explains gluten - free food and
preparation. http://www.celiactravel.com/cards/russian/ People carry them and it allows them to tell
restaurants about their food requirements.
Hmmm makes you think about the United States and if something like this
would assist our food establishments.
Upon my return from Russia, despite my jet lag, I stopped by the American camping Association Tri-State Conference in Atlantic City. I attended a session on Food Allergies that was led by one of our camp parents. She was a bit surprised to see me when I went up to say hello at the end as our camp was a bit beyond what she was speaking about but as I explained to her one never knows if there will be some new tidbit that another camp is doing that can be translated into our camp. Plus it is always nice to see our camp families. I went through the vendor fair and tasted some gluten-free products. I was able to take one picture as I entered the vendor fair. I am standing with Amy Weinberg, Associate Director of Camp Nah-Jee-Wah and Laurie Epstein, an alumni of camp.
March 18, 2014.
My
visit to Panama by Ceelee Yak
HOLA!
What a busy week I
had! But I was so grateful to be able to travel... I love meeting new
families and talk to them about camp!
For my first trip, I
visited Panama. The weather was awesome! I had the chance to experience warm days
in the middle of the winter, that's exciting!
The best part of my
trip was the visit to the Isaac Rabin School and Kol Shearith Israel
Temple, I met there with new families that are interested in sending their kids
to camp for the first time and I was able to answer a lot of questions.
But you guys know
what?! I met with a family that has a child with a gluten allergy, and
they told me that it isn't easy to find kosher gluten-free food there.
Actually it is very hard, so they loved the idea of having the opportunity of
sending their son to camp, where he can enjoy without worrying about
food!!!
In the picture you
will see me posing with Silvio and Meli from camp. They are both Assistant Director of Cedar
Lake, the camp for children entering 7-9 grade.
They both traveled
with me. The other picture is me trying
to reach the synagogue sign.
Can’t wait for my
next trip !!
March 17, 2014
Celi's Purim Celebration
Hi it’s me Celi. Yesterday morning I was at Temple Sharey Tefilo- Israel in West Orange, NJ. It was their annual Camp Purim celebration. I saw a lot of NJY campers and their families there. They came over to say a quick hello and tell me how excited they were to be coming back to camp. The Temple had a variety of rooms for the kids to play in, including a jumpy castle. I wanted to go in the jumpy castle but Amy, Associate Director of Camp Nah-Jee-Wah, Ed ( Amy’s husband) and I were very busy. We thought we would have time later but we never did. They, also, had a cooking area where they were making hamantaschen but we found out they were not prepared to make them gluten-free. Since I like to eat what I make I decided not to go there. Anyway I had a gluten-free hamantaschen from Katz, one of our sponsors, at home. But it was a lot of fun to see all the families. We were so busy chatting to our families and others, we realized we forgot to take pictures once we got inside, so I only have this one with Amy and the Temple sign.
March 9, 2014
Celi's First Month
 |
| Celi making a snow angel |
I was sorry to miss out on going
to Florida in February, but I know our Southern contingent did a great
job. I got to make a snow angel which
was loads of fun
 |
| Gez and Amy from NJY and Jen Vitti, our Camp America Rep |
I did get to London in late
February. I was there to attend the Camp
America staff recruitment fair. Of
course I took full advantage and stopped by parliament as well.
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| Photo bombing Len Robinson, Exec dir and Sir Cyril Taylor, Founder and CEO of AIFS |
While at the fair I met with Sir Cyril
Taylor, Founder and Chairman of AIFS (American Institute for Foreign Study) and
Dennis Regan, Senior Vice President of Camp America to talk about how we can
accommodate gluten-free staff as well as campers. The whole role-modeling is so important at
camp.
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| in front of Big Ben |
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| in front of Westminster Abbey |
I was in Boston in early March
attending the Children’s Hospital Celiac Support Group meeting. They were doing their annual spring event and
asked me to join as a vendor. I tried
one of the gluten-free whoopee pies …WOW was it great!! Our newest sponsor Cedar’s was there as well
giving out my favority humus and humus chip individual snack packs.. I met a
potential staff person for NJW there whose whole family has Celiac. She was so excited to find a camp that had a
dedicated, certified, kosher kitchen.
She has always wanted to do overnight camp but never thought she could.
I was at Phelps Memorial Hospital
Yesterday, March 9th to attend the WCSSG Monthly meeting. It was about the ABC’s of getting what you
want from school. Although I was a
vendor I was also able to sit through the meeting. I saw Amanda and Maureen
Diamond, one of our camp families.
Maureen represents UDI’s which we use at camp. Although it was a small event,
I met some nice families very interested in our GF Family Weekend, May 30- June
1.
Have a great day!
