Blog

For those who are first-time GUCI parents or have always wondered just what your campers’ letters home mean, we thought it would be helpful to provide you a GUCI glossary of terminology used around camp. Enjoy! The camp logo is the Torah wrapped around a tree. It...

By Mitch Toher, URJ GUCI Counselor Children connect with the world around them in ways that vastly differ from adults. They find extraordinary value in what others have grown accustomed to, see beauty in what others now gloss over, and relate to what others no longer...

By Sarah Silver, URJ GUCI Camper Home is usually defined as the comfortable place where you feel at peace, often your house. Although this is true, it is not what I personally think of when someone asks me to define the word. My definition is Goldman Union Camp...

An original poem written by URJ GUCI Campers Sophie, Evie, Maliya, Abe, Isa, Eden, Sadie, Katie, Rebecca, Josh, Lev, Alex, Sienna, Emma, Ross, Sarah and Charlie   Chorus: We are from the garden We are from the flood We are from the angels singing, "All you need...

By Sydney Kolker, URJ GUCI Camper Bunk Night is a special night that occurs twice each session. Campers look forward to the creative night planned by their counselors. The night in which Bunk Night takes place is a surprise for the campers, and each unit gets their...

By Orly, URJ GUCI Camp Dog Dearest GUCI humans, My name is Orly, and GUCI's Senior Assistant Director Rachel Waldorf is my human. I am so excited to be here with my new bestie Shemesh, whose humans are the Klotzes. All the other humans here are so cute and are always...

By Sarah Silver, URJ GUCI Camper Candles flicker; illuminating faces singing with all their heart. Prayers echo as a community chants as one. Sweaty bodies jump in unison as song leaders make their way through the crowd. Campers twist and turn to the beat of Israeli...

By Monica Valentini, Former URJ GUCI Camper and Counselor The past 11 summers with GUCI have been irreplaceable, unmatchable, and profoundly meaningful. I have had experiences that guided me to where I am now and have met the people who have had the most significant...

By Leah Jacobson, URJ GUCI Counselor 1) Finding huge Jewish Community At home, some people may have larger or smaller Jewish communities and GUCI gives us the opportunity to know immediately from the beginning that we all share the bond of being Jewish. 2) Forging...

By Abi Cox, URJ GUCI Counselor Camp is SO much fun, all of the memories that are created and the friendships that are made is what keeps us coming back year after year. Camp is a place that every camper is able to freely express their true self and learn how to grow...

By Debra Freyman Klevens, URJ GUCI Parent Originally posted on Medium.com I am often quick to judge people based upon my perceptions, but when you truly stop and try to get to know a person is when the real beauty begins. As my daughters prepared for sleep-away camp,...

By Hannah Zeidenstein, URJ GUCI Counselor Whether this is your first or sixth summer coming to camp, everyone always looks forward to the signs on the front of their buildings. Counselors put in a lot of thought and hard work into making sure our cabin theme is...

By Ashley Schlaeger, URJ GUCI Song Leader and Counselor If there's one thing GUCI knows how to do, it's harmonize. For me, personally, one of my favorite days on camp is Shabbat. Shabbat at camp is an incredibly special time. Each week at camp, we are separated by...

By Jeremy Klotz, URJ GUCI Director Dear friends: Today marks the first Shabbat of Goldman Union Camp’s 2017 Kallah Aleph (first session).  There is a wonderful spirit in camp today.  After a demanding and intensive staff orientation, our campers are here, the cabin...

By Maddie Weikel, URJ GUCI Counselor Despite this being my eleventh summer on camp, I felt nervous when I drove down Moore Road at the beginning of June. At the end of last summer, I knew that most of my closest friends would not be at camp this year, but I was so...