Week 1 of a new session at Camp Airy is like opening the first page of a new book — the characters are arriving, scenes are beginning to take shape, and the story is unfolding. Everyone brings their own experience, energy, and anticipation. Some are returning for a sequel; others are just beginning their first adventure. What sets the tone for the story ahead? Hospitality.

Hospitality at camp isn’t something you check off a list. It’s something you create, one small gesture at a time. It’s about how we make people feel. A warm greeting from a counselor, a bunkmate making space on a cubby shelf, a simple “Want to sit here?” at the first meal in the dining hall … these moments are small, but they’re everything. (By the way, it’s quite a lovely dining hall, but that’s a different topic for a different blog.)

True hospitality is proactive. It means noticing who’s hanging back and inviting them in. It’s taking the time to learn a new camper’s name. It’s being patient when someone forgets the schedule or asks where something is (again). It’s choosing kindness over convenience.

The tone we set during Week 1 can shape an entire session. When campers feel included, they feel brave. And when they feel brave, they try new things, make new friends, and discover new parts of themselves.

As we wrap up this opening week, we’re reminded that camp’s feeling of community isn’t something that just happens; rather, it’s something we create together. Hospitality isn’t just a value for the first few days. It’s a practice we carry forward all session (and all summer) long.

Each week, our Shabbat leaders Dan and Gerry spend some time at lineup telling us all about the middah of the week, and about the nomination process by which we recognize a “Mensch on a Bench.” Campers and staff alike can nominate anyone.

During Saturday morning Shabbat services, we take time to recognize nominated campers and staff who demonstrated the middah of the week. Those “mensches” (good, selfless people) are awarded certificates, a bracelet naming the value in English and Hebrew, and a photo opportunity together with the Mensch mascot doll.

Some of those images accompany this blog post. Congratulations to these HOSPITALITY mensches!

Please keep following what’s going on up at camp through our wide array of information — emailed updates from Unit Leaders and Division Heads, Facebook and Instagram posts, daily posted photos, and our microbursts via your Campanion app.

Shavuah Tov — have a good week,

Marty