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"66% of Jews who attended a Jewish camp considered their Jewish identity “very important,” compared to just 29% among those who never attended." - Foundation for Jewish Camp
We are a progressive summer camp and year-round community creating vibrant Jewish life for children ages 7-18. Our unique participatory, youth-led model creates a lively, profound and empowering experience, where campers can be themselves, build community, and bring the change they want to see in the world. Our camp is located in Cloyne, Ontario, Canada and our year-round community is active in Toronto.
Professional Staff
You’ll find Gesher staff at seminars and Ken events throughout the year, collaborating with counsellors to keep the Gesher community meaningful and magical.
Our Philosophy
As a youth-led community, we are founded on shared responsibility.
We recognize each individual and understand that everyone plays a vital role in shaping our community. Nurturing a community based on the principles of equality, democracy, and interdependence enables us to illuminate the world around us.
Since 1963, Camp Gesher
Since 1963 Camp Gesher has been part of the Dror Hachalutz Hatzair Zionist Youth Organization, merging two previous camps—Camp Revivim from Huntsville, Ontario, and Camp Kissufim from the Laurentians—to better serve the Jewish communities in Toronto, Montréal, and Ottawa. In 1962, the current site was purchased from Clarkson Duck Lake Lodge and named Gesher, meaning "bridge" in Hebrew, reflecting its role as a central connection for these communities.
In the summer of 1975, Camp Gesher was the first camp to test the merger of the Habim and Dror Youth Movements, which successfully led to their full merger in 1980. As a proud member of both Habonim Dror and the Ontario Camping Association, Camp Gesher fosters an environment for campers to grow as individuals and community leaders. The meaningful experiences and strong Jewish instilled at camp shape campers into the next generation of Jewish adults.
The transition occurred in stages:
Camp Revivim closed in 1961, and the membership moved to Camp Kissufim for the summer of 1962. Camp Kissufim closed after the summer of 1962, and the first summer at Camp Gesher occurred in 1963. The Hachalutz Hatzair name was dropped in 1963 and Camp Gesher was a Dror Zionist youth organization summer camp. In 1974, a historical joint meeting of parents, leadership and Shlichim of both Habonim and Dror local organizations took place in Ottawa, wherethey agreed to “operate as one Youth Movement which will combine the membership of both bodies.”
