Jewish Community News

News: February 2008

College housemates run weekend Jewish activities for Habonim Dror

Six Habonim Dror Camp Gilboa graduates share not only a history of  summer camp memories, but  also a kitchen and living room and common enrollment at U.C. Santa Cruz. Still connected by their childhood summers, today they  live together, attend college and  run educational activities for themselves and other local ma’apilim (older members of Habonim Dror).

One weekend per month, these young adults also run an activity for children in the Silicon Valley as part of Habonim Dror's year-round program, passing along  love for things such as Israel, Jewish culture, and tikkun olam (repairing the world).

Of the six members of the house, five grew up in Habonim Dror and now run the Silicon Valley Ken (literally “nest”).  Becca Rozo-Marsh, a sophomore who plays rugby and works part-time at a local pre-school, acts as the Rosh Eizor (area coordinator) for all of northern California, helping to plan activities in San Francisco and the East Bay, as well as the Silicon Valley. 
      Nitza Bernard wakes up at 4 a.m. for her job in a coffee shop before her sophomore classes, and is a student chair of Chabad on UCSC’s campus. 
         Junior Gailen Goldstein, known as G, is heavily involved in Shakespeare Santa Cruz, performing eight times a week.  However, in addition to acting, regular classes, and the Ken, she still finds time to work at a preschool, and even comes home to light Chanukah candles with her housemates. 
           Eliana Polon, a sophomore who acts as a writing assistant to incoming freshman, and Matt Brodsky, a junior neuroscience major, share the title of Rosh Ma’apilim, and are in charge of organizing events for the local members of Habonim Dror who attend UCSC and Stanford. 
    One of those people, Zaq Greenwald, a freshman who spent last year on Habonim Dror’s year-long Israel program, is also heavily involved in the Silicon Valley Ken and works closely with the members of the house while living on campus.
      All of these students juggle a lot in their normal lives, but working in the Ken is something they make times for. 
    “We feel a personal responsibility to keep something alive that did something important for us when we were kids,” Becca says.  “We want to create conscious, empowered leaders who will go on to change the world in positive ways.” 
      It is also an important aspect of their
lives as Habonim Dror members.  They live together, sharing expenses for groceries and utilities, and working hard to develop their relationships in an intentional way. 
       So far this year, they have done several tikkun olam projects as a group, including a beach cleanup in Santa Cruz.  By living out the values they learned growing up in Habonim Dror, they provide an example to the children they work with throughout the year. 
   As Eliana puts it, “We formed our relationships with each other when we were young and at camp together, and it has been really important in our lives.  We want to set an example for kids in Habonim Dror today.”

Through the hard work of these individuals, the Silicon Valley Ken is growing steadily, as is the number of campers at Gilboa each summer coming from the area.  Throughout the year, and for a month each summer, these kids will learn in an exciting and fun way while strengthening their friendships and values.  To learn more about Habonim Dror Camp Gilboa, visit the website at www.campgilboa.org or contact the office at (323) 653-6772.