URJ Camp Newman

URJ Camp Newman offers a wide range of activities, including get-to-know-you games, Shabbat song sessions and t’fillah, Israeli dance, and a Talent Show with camp songs. Families and campers can take part in yoga classes, a self-guided Star Hike, a self-guided Gratitude Nature Walk, tie dye challah covers, challah braiding, S’mores, and Havdallah and Siyum. The program also includes Free swim, the chance to climb the tower, story time in the staff lounge, quiet play time together with grandkids, and Newman’s “Its its” ice cream sandwich tradition.

• Ages: 7–17 years old
• Schedule: Mechina – Taste of Camp is a 4- or 6-day session, and the camp also offers 1-month (28-day) and 2-week (12-day) sessions within two main summer sessions (Session 1: June 9–July 5; Session 2: July 7–August 2)
• Price: Deposit: $400. Sibling Discount: $125 (does not apply to Mechina Sessions). Multi-Session Discount: $250 (does not apply to Mechina Sessions).

The Grand-Family Camp schedule includes a Friday program with welcome and registration from 3:00–5:00, kids meeting counselors at 5:00, adult orientation and mixer with refreshments at 5:15, dinner at 6:00, Shabbat song session/t’fillah, Siyum, and Israeli dance at 6:45, Shmira beginning at 8:00, adult schmooze at 9:00, and Shmira ending at 11:00. Saturday includes Early Risers unstaffed activities with coffee and cold snacks starting at 7:00, morning options such as a self-guided Star Hike and Yoga Class from 7:30–8:30, rolling breakfast from 7:30–9:00, Camp Fun from 9:00–11:00, Self Portrait Discovery from 11:00–12:00, lunch at 12:00, Menucha (quiet rest/play time) at 12:45, “Its its” ice cream sandwiches at 1:45, grown-up optional activities like Free swim or climbing the tower from 2:00–4:00, Personal Nikayon (shower time) from 4:15–5:00, Happy Hour/snacky hour at 5:15, dinner at 6:00, S’mores at 7:00, Havdallah and Siyum at 7:30, Shmirah beginning and Talent Show/Camp songs at 8:00, a facilitated conversation for grandparents titled “Keep your mouth shut” & other issues at 9:00, and Shmirah ending at 11:00. On Sunday, the schedule includes games, coffee, and snacks for grandparents and grandkids together in the early morning, breakfast from 8:00–9:00, a “Bringing Camp Home With You” closing program with story, tree planting, and creating a family tree together in family groups at 9:00, a closing circle at 10:00, and packing time at 10:15.

URJ Camp Newman was established in 1947 under the name Camp Saratoga, was renamed the UAHC Swig Camp Institute in the early 1960s, and moved to its current site on Porter Creek Road in 1997, when Camp Newman was established there. Camp Newman has a 70+ year history providing immersive Jewish learning and living on the West Coast and is part of the Union for Reform Judaism family of camps and youth programs. The camp serves over 1,400 campers each summer, drawing from over 80 congregations in Northern and Southern California, Arizona, Nevada, New Mexico, Hawaii, and Texas, and its Six Points Community Center has a capacity of 700 people at a time, drawing over 2,000 Jewish children and adults each summer and over 60,000 participant nights annually.

Mechina – Taste of Camp is a 4- or 6-day session designed for first-time campers entering 2nd–4th grades, and all Mechina, 2-week, and 4-week campers live in cabins. Camp Newman offers several payment options, including pay in full, a standard payment plan, a monthly payment plan, and an individualized payment plan. Following the Tubbs Fire in 2017, Camp Newman operated at Cal State Maritime Academy in Vallejo for summers 2018 and 2019, and in Summer 2021 it returned to Porter Creek, serving more than 715 campers and over 150 staff, faculty, and volunteers. In Summer 2020, the camp offered virtual options called Zoomin’ with Newman and TeenFest.

The camp’s stated mission is “inspiring a love of judaism 365 days a year!” and its Philosophy of C.A.R.E. is rooted in Jewish values: Community (Kehillah Kedoshah), Acceptance (V’ahavta L’reicha Kamocha), Role-Modeling (A’sei lecha rav), and Each and Every One (Betzelem Elohim). The leadership team includes Amanda Radman (Family Engagement & Registration Coordinator), Rachel K. Slaton (Director, Advancement & Growth), Rachel Mellman (Marketing Manager), and Rabbi Allie Fischman (Camp Director). Amanda Radman holds a B.A. in Jewish Studies & History from Indiana University; Rachel earned Masters in Jewish Non-Profit Management and Public Administration from USC; Rachel Mellman holds a Masters of Music in Vocal Arts from California State University – Northridge; and Rabbi Allie Fischman earned a Masters in Jewish Education from the Rhea Hirsch School of Education at Hebrew Union College – Jewish Institute of Religion and was ordained as a rabbi by HUC-JIR in May 2015.

Parent and camper testimonials describe experiences at Camp Newman, including comments that children have made lifelong friends, strengthened their Jewish identity, and enhanced their comprehension of the word “community,” that “something magical happens at Newman” and children return “peaceful and self-assured,” and that a camper “lost himself in a world away from home where he could just be himself.” A camper testimonial states that they love camp because of the friendships they make and the “loving and caring community” that enables them to have “a fantastic home at Camp Newman.”

Last updated March 28, 2026.