Our Reach and Impact
Growth and Reach
What began as a single-camp initiative has grown into a national program now reaching 41 camps across North America. Kayitz Kef partners with Ramah camps, JCC camps, Jewish day school camps, synagogue-based programs, and youth movement camps including Young Judaea, Habonim Dror, HaShomer Hatzair, Bnei Akiva, and Chabad.In its early years, Kayitz Kef focused primarily on camps able to commit to extended full immersion programs. The disruptions of the COVID period prompted a careful rethinking of delivery models, enabling camps with differing structures, resources, and populations to engage meaningfully in Hebrew immersion without compromising educational integrit.
Today, Kayitz Kef also works through cohort-based and collaborative frameworks that support shared professional development, peer learning, and mentoring, leveraging economies of scale while honoring each camp’s unique culture. In parallel, Kayitz Kef collaborates with partner organizations to offer one-time initiatives and shorter-term engagements that serve as entry points and on-ramps to deeper involvement.
For summer 2026, Kayitz Kef is partnering with 46 camps, including Ramah day and overnight camps, JCC camps, Jewish day school camps, synagogue-based programs, and youth movement camps such as Young Judaea, Habonim Dror, HaShomer Hatzair, Bnei Akiva, and Chabad. These camps reflect a range of immersive approaches, from full immersion tracks to Hebrew-rich environments woven throughout camp life. What unites them is a shared commitment to Hebrew as a living language and to creating environments in which language is learned through participation and lived experience.
Each year, Kayitz Kef trains more than 150 Israeli counselors and Hebrew-speaking staff, many in partnership with the Jewish Agency, reaching thousands of campers annually.
Proven Impact
Kayitz Kef’s impact is grounded in sustained practice and supported by both external evaluation and ongoing data collection. In 2021, an independent study conducted in partnership with the Areivim Philanthropic Group and Rosov Consulting examined the outcomes of Kayitz Kef’s Hebrew immersion work at Camp Ramah Nyack, comparing campers in the immersion track with peers in the general camp program.Findings indicated that immersion campers were perceived by parents as more comfortable using Hebrew, more positive toward the language, and more oriented toward Israel and Israelis than campers outside the immersion experience. Parents of immersion campers were also significantly more likely to attribute their child’s positive feelings about Israel and Israelis directly to the camp experience.
Since that study, Kayitz Kef has expanded significantly, allowing these outcomes to be observed across a broader range of camps and contexts. During the 2025 season, ongoing surveys and structured feedback from camp leadership, Hebrew coordinators, and Israeli counselors across 41 camps consistently pointed to increased camper comfort engaging with Hebrew, greater familiarity between
American campers and Israeli staff, and stronger visibility of Hebrew as a natural part of daily camp life. While these data do not measure formal language proficiency, together they provide strong evidence that Kayitz Kef’s approach reliably creates durable conditions for Hebrew use and sustained engagement with Israel and Israelis across diverse camp settings.