Cornerstone Fellowship 2010 Expectations
Who can participate in Cornerstone?
Application: Camps apply to participate in the Cornerstone Fellowship by having the camp director
complete an Action Plan and application. Camps are selected based upon their desire and
capability to affect change at their camp. Preference will be given to applications that indicate the
ability to evolve and enable change within the camp structure.
Fellows: Camps send a cohort of no less than five Fellows who will be third year bunk counselors
this upcoming summer. The camp must indicate an ability to distribute the Fellows to different
units throughout camp (for cohorts less than six, no more than two Fellows assigned to the same
unit nor should they be assigned to any travel programs unless reviewed with FJC). Each
potential Fellow submits an application to their camp. The camp collects those applications and
submits them as a group to FJC. This includes a one paragraph essay on why the applicant wants
to serve as a Jewish leader at camp and if they could enhance one Jewish component of their
camp what it would be. All Fellows who complete the Fellowship and their responsibilities at
camp will receive at $500 stipend.
Liaisons: Camps send a camp Liaison to lead the Fellows through the program. The
responsibilities include conference calls prior to the Seminar, attending the Liaison and Fellow
Seminars in May, supervising and supporting Fellows over the summer and reporting to FJC. This
person must be a member of the camp’s leadership team and needs to have been a staff
member at their camp for at least four years with supervisory experience. In this fashion,
Liaisons have a pre-existing relationship with the Fellows. Liaisons should have ample time in
their work responsibilities to serve as the Liaison over the summer. Therefore, it is not
recommended that Assistant Directors serve as the Liaison. Each potential Liaison submits an
application that includes a two paragraph essay on why they feel they would be a good leader for
the Cornerstone Fellows and what goals they have for their camp in participating in Cornerstone.
All Liaisons who complete their role in the Fellowship, their Cornerstone report and their
responsibilities at camp will receive a $650 stipend.
Pre-Summer Components:
Director Participation: Directors are required to participate in two conference calls; one with their
Liaison, their camp’s Faculty Advisor and an FJC staff person to determine their goals in
participation, and the other with their Fellows to articulate their goals for participation. First year
Cornerstone camp directors must commit to attending one day of the Fellow Seminar in May.
Fellow Seminar: This is a four day professional development Seminar in May designed by a team
of Faculty who teach how to create Jewish programs at camp and be a camp leader. These
sessions are built around pillars of excellence in Jewish camping that include emphasis on role
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modeling, relationship building, ritual building and ruach (camp spirit). There are also sessions for
learning how to integrate Judaism into a specific content area such as dance, drama or sports.
Courses are elective-based and online pre-registration is required in March.
Liaison Seminar: This Seminar occurs immediately prior to the Fellow Seminar. At the Liaison
Seminar, Liaisons are trained on how to design a Cornerstone Action Plan with their Fellows and
how to lead the Fellows successfully over the summer.
Faculty Advisor: Prior to the seminar, camps will begin working with a Cornerstone Faculty
member who will be advising their camp throughout the Cornerstone experience. This individual
relationship enables camps to be better prepared to implement programs best suited to each
individual camp.
Action Plan: The outline, completed by the camp director as part of the application process, will
be given to the Liaison and Fellows to use at the Seminar. They will then design a complete
Action Plan based on their learnings at the Seminar. When noted in the application, directors may
defer to Fellows and Liaison to determine certain areas of the Action Plan if desired.
Summer Implementation:
Weekly Meetings: Fellows meet weekly for at least one hour with their Liaison to reflect on their
learnings, support each other in the work they are doing and plan specific Cornerstone
programming for the camp. Each week, the group will join together to do their own Jewish
learning during these meetings to enhance their own Jewish identity and exploration.
Staff Training: Fellows prepare a training session for the entire staff during staff week on Jewish
programming and/or Jewish leadership development.
Buddy System: Directors and Liaisons work with the Fellows to design a buddy system between
the Fellows and the first year counselors that best suits the needs and structure of the camp. This
could be a one-on-one mentoring program, weekly group meetings or small groups.
Jewish Program Development: The camp commits to designing at least two new Jewish programs
or redesigning at least two existing programs to enhance the Jewish content and reflect the
camp’s goals and philosophy. One program must be with the bunk of campers the Fellows
supervise and the other may be for a larger group. These programs should be implemented once
during each session.
Faculty Advisor Visit: Each camp is responsible for gathering the Fellows together to meet with
their Faculty Advisor during their visit. All Fellows, Liaisons and the Director must be present for
the full duration of the Faculty Advisor’s stay. If camps would like to offer to host their camp’s
Faculty Advisor overnight, please notify FJC by April 7th. In order to host an Advisor overnight,
appropriate accommodation would need to be available. This includes a regularly cleaned private
room with private bath with clean linens and towels. If camps are not able to host, FJC
appreciates the camp’s guidance in suggesting local accommodations. With prior consultation,
some camps will be visited by an additional FJC staff member or AVI CHAI representative in order
to see how the program is being implemented across the field.
Ongoing Expectations and Compliance:
Communication: Liaisons are responsible for communicating with and responding to FJC staff and
Cornerstone Faculty through email, conference calls and/or other methods.
Reporting: Directors and Liaisons are responsible for collecting data as needed for FJC to
evaluate the impact of the program. Liaisons will be expected to prepare a Report on
implementation; Directors will then submit this Report via email after reviewing it. Directors also
answer a small set of broader questions on the overall impact of Cornerstone on the camp.
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Stipends: Camps are responsible for providing the stipends to their Fellows and Liaison upon
completion of the summer. FJC will reimburse camps for the stipends once FJC receives the endof-summer Report from the Liaison. In this Report, the Liaison must outline if any participants did
not complete their term of employment at camp.
Communications Compliance: Your camp’s participation in a Foundation for Jewish Camp (FJC)
Program offers an opportunity to increase community awareness and support of the work that is
being conducted by both your camp and FJC. Details will be provided in the Cornerstone
participant agreement letter regarding how to do so.
Timeline for application and dates of Fellowship:
Date
Event
25-Sep Camp applications available
23-Oct Camp applications due
24-Nov Camp acceptances are announced; Liaisons
and Fellows applications are available
14-Dec Liaison applications due
15-Jan Liaison acceptances announced
05-Feb Fellows applications due
05-Mar Fellows announced and registration is open
March TBD
Conference call with Director, Liaison and
Faculty Advisor to review Action Plan
March TBD
Conference call with Director, Liaison, Fellows,
Faculty Advisor (also with Shutafim Rosh
Mishlachat and ACHVA Fellows when
applicable) to review program goals
29-Mar Registration closes
23-May Liaison Seminar
24-27 May Fellow Seminar
26-27 May Director Day
03-Jun Action Plan augmented by Fellows due
June 21 - July 30 Potential Dates for Faculty Visits*
05-Aug End of summer Cornerstone Report due for
camps that end before August 15th
12-Aug End of summer Cornerstone Report due for
camps that end after August 15th
01-Sep Final Date for Stipend Release
*visits should occur no earlier than the second week of first session
and no later than first week of second session; weekdays only
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