Camp Rising Sun

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Contents 1 History 2 Famous Alumni 3 See also 4 External links

Camp Rising Sun, commonly referred to as CRS is an international scholarship summer program supported by a non-profit organization, The Louis August Jonas Foundation.

Camp Rising Sun is an 8 week program designed to provide an inspiring summer opportunity to teenagers (ages 14-15) selected for their character, leadership potential and promise from over 30 countries.

These teenagers compose a highly diverse group of gifted, highly motivated young people and promote personal growth, leadership skills, a service ethic, and intercultural understanding.

Currently, CRS has extended to 3 different locations. Red Hook, New York provides young men a Camp Rising Sun experience while the girl's camp is several miles away in Clinton, New York, USA. Both programs are organized and funded by the Louis August Jonas Foundation, Inc. These locations provide the campers an opportunity to create a community in a rural setting without much influence by the media, peers, etc that usually surround them today. Camp Rising Sun Europe is the newest of the 3 locations and was founded in 1996 for young women located in Stendis, Viborg County, Denmark, organized by the George E. Jonas Foundation and by the Camp Rising Sun Alumni Association of Denmark.

The organization strongly believes that there is much to be learned through experience and interaction with other campers. Campers are strongly encouraged to take leadership positions and initiatives in the community while being challenged to explore beyond their limits, in other words, "step out of their comfort zones".

Staff plays a major role in challenging students and making them reflect on their experiences in order to develop promising young people from diverse backgrounds a lifelong commitment to sensitive and responsible leadership for the betterment of their communities and the world.

The founder of The Louis August Jonas Foundation once said, "Most people see the children of today, We see the children of tomorrow." Camp Rising Sun aims to provide a life long experience to those children of tomorrow.

06:27, 30 March 2007 (UTC)Luna.koizumi

[edit] History

The Louis August Jonas Foundation, Inc. was created in the early 20th century by George "Freddie" Edward Jonas, son of a successful businessman Louis August Jonas. This Foundation was created to operate Camp Rising Sun. "Freddie" ran the camp personally for many years, and the camp has consequently from the beginning been uniquely idiosyncratic among summer camps.

Around the turn of the 20th century, Louis August Jonas created an international business that produced and sold felt hat material. The business was quite successful and the Jonas family amassed a fair amount of wealth. Using the resources and connections of his father's enterprise, George Edward Jonas (son of Louis and commonly known as "Freddie") started an experiment in international living called Camp Rising Sun. It was a residential summer program for intelligent, perhaps somewhat unusual, boys. Originally it focused solely on boys from the US, mostly from the New York City region. The program took on its current international focus shortly after World War II to include students from all regions of the world. In 1989 a program for girls was started in Clinton, New York, eight miles from the boys program. Both programs continue today in addition to new initiatives in Europe and around the world. [[Image:http://lajf.org/images/HLogo1.jpg ]] Freddie died in 1978 leaving his fortune to the endowment of the Louis August Jonas Foundation, Inc. (Rhinebeck, New York) that now operates Camp Rising Sun and administers the International Scholarship Program.

The program participants range in age from 14-16 with approximately 60 girls and 60 boys attending the New York programs and another 50 girls in Stendis, Denmark. Each year a handful of participants return to the camp and help carry on the traditions from one year to the next.

Selection for the program comes in many forms. In the New York City area many schools and, typically, the school guidance counselors have relationships with the Louis August Jonas Foundation and nominate candidates who submit applications and attend interviews. It is the same in other parts of the United States of America where Alumni function as Selectors while maintaining close relationships with target schools. In other parts of the world the process is often very different. Candidates may learn about the program from its alumni, education journals, and other resources.

[edit] Famous Alumni

Camp Rising Sun has been a host to a wide range of distinguished individuals.

• Darren Aronofsky
• Pete Seeger
• Greg Giraldo
• Itamar Rabinovich (Israeli ambassador to the USA)
• Samuel R. Delany
• David Botstein
• Hameed (Herukhuti) S. Williams

[edit] See also

• summer camp
• Red Hook, New York
• Clinton, New York
• Stendis, Viborg County, Denmark
• Democratic school

[edit] External links

• Camp Rising Sun, The Louis August Jonas Foundation
• Camp Rising Sun Europe