..inte: Michael Rosenthal ..intr: Judy Rosenthal ..da: 1984 ..ca: ..ftxt: An Interview with Michael Rosenthal June 28, 1984 Transcriptionist: Lavina Paulsell Interviewer: Judy Rosenthal Arizona Jewish Historical Society Log For Michael Rosenthal Interview Pages 1 Introduction. Describes Mitzvah Corps and locating campers. 1- 3 Describes staff and how they raise funds, Rabbi Plotkin for the camp. 3- 4 Talks about programs offered at camp. 5- 6 Describes the feelings of the counselors and himself toward working for the camp. 6 Conclusion and location of camp. Michael Rosenthal Interview This is Judy Rosenthal. I'm interviewing for the Arizona Jewish Historical Society, Phoenix Chapter. I am speaking with Michael Rosenthal in his office at 310-B S. 24th Avenue. Today is June 28, 1984. Judy: Michael, I know that this summer you've been involved in a community service project called Mitzvah Corps. Could you tell us what Mitzvah Corps is? Michael: Mitzvah Corps is a summer camp run by the Southwest Federation of Temple Youth, which is made up of high school students from Arizona, Mew Mexico, Nevada and El Paso, Texas. What we do is fund raise and organize the high school youth into running the summer camp for underprivileged children from Maricopa County. Judy: How do you find the children who go to the camp? Michael: We go through agencies like Valley Big Brothers and Child Protective Services and the Human Resources Department. We tell them we are looking for kids between eight and twelve years old who come from a low-income family. They do the screening for us and provide the kids. Judy: You mentioned Valley Big Brothers. Is this camp for boys only? Michael: No, it's boys and girls. Judy: You've told us the ages of the children who are campers and the ages of the children who are staff--the young people who are staff are high school? Michael: They're high school age people. They're the counselors at the camp. The interesting thing is that in most summer camps your counselors are paid to be counselors, but at this camp, because it's Mitzvah Corps, the counselors pay to go up to camp. That's where we get an awful lot of our operating money from is from these SWFTYites who pay to go up to be a counselor. Judy: You also mentioned fund raising. Are there areas other than the fees the staff pays? Where do you get those funds? Michael: Yes. Each one of the youth groups from around the states is asked to fund raise in their own town, in their own Temple, to help defray the expenses of Mitzvah Corps. Judy: What are the kinds of things that they do? Michael: In El Paso they wrapped presents for Mother's Day at a shopping mall and made $800. Some of the other things are slide presentations to various groups. The Scottsdale youth group holds an annual rummage sale. Judy: The funds that they raise, for instance the $800, that's over and above what each counselor pays for themselves, so that's plus monies. Michael: Exactly. Also the Rabbis help us to raise money. Judy: In what way? Michael: For instance, Rabbi Plotkin this year solicited about $2,100 from private contributions. Judy: That must be a very big help. Do you get any help in the community? For instance, do places where you buy things give you discounts? Michael: Yes, they do. First, because we're a non-profit organization, we don't have to pay the state sales tax. Also, retailers who are Temple members often give us a good deal on the merchandise that we buy because of the nature of the camp. Judy: What kind of programming goes on in camp? Michael: Basically, it's only three-and-a-half days long and we try to pack into it as much as possible. We try to give them a summer camp experience that they normally wouldn't be able to afford and probably never had as a child. It includes canoeing, overnights, basketball, swimming, archery, arts and crafts, hiking; all the fun stuff you do at a summer camp. Plus, we have educational things for them. One of the programs is, we bring up speakers to talk to them. These are people who come from the same neighborhoods and areas that these kids come from and who come up and tell them that they stayed in school and went on to get an education and ultimately got a good job and were able to better themselves and get out of the situation that they were in when they were kids. Judy: How do the young people relate to the speakers? Michael: Our older campers listen quite intently. For the younger ones, I don't think it affects them as much because it's hard for a nine-year-old to start thinking about his career plans and his college plans. But you never know when some time down the road that nine-year-old might get a bad grade in his class and then think about what was said to him last summer up at camp and try to better himself. Judy: The counselors are from a religiously oriented group, the youth groups of their Temples. Is there religious programming at camp for the campers? Michael: No, there's absolutely none. It's totally secular. There really is not much religious programming for the counselors, either. During our orientation we go over the Jewish aspect of doing good deeds. which Mitzvah is all about, and the fact that this is actually living Judaism in progress. But they're all still very aware of that anyway. You made me think of something when you asked about the religious aspect of it. I'm often asked, "Why is this camp not for Jewish children?", and, "Why don't we just work with Jewish people?" The fact is that we do go out and look for Jewish kids to come to camp--there aren't that many; there are many more non-Jewish kids who are eligible for camp than there are Jewish kids. But we feel that you don't have to limit yourself to just working with Jewish people. The whole world is our home and our community and we have a responsibility to everybody else and not just the Jewish people. And, also, by helping the other people maybe, someday, we might need help--the Jewish community might need help--and they'll think back and they'll remember all of the things that we've done for them. Judy: Michael, I'd like to ask you a two-part question. What do you feel that the counselors get from Mitzvah Corps and then I'd like to ask you what do you feel you have gotten personally from being involved with Mitzvah Corps? Michael: On the last night of camp,, we sit around a candle and everybody shares their feelings on what happened over the weekend. Most of the counselors really feel that they've grown from the experience. They get a chance to see what it's like to live on the other side of the fence, because the campers talk to their counselors and tell them what home is like and all that kind of thing. They get an awakening to other people, to what it's like to be poor. They also learn an awful lot about what it takes to become a counselor. They learn a lot about what Mitzvot really is, because they're not just giving money or they're not just giving time, but they're giving time and money and it takes an awful lot of energy to do that. I think that, as a result of that, because it is such a good program and the campers are so grateful, that the counselors get a very good feeling for the mitzvah that they did. It's a very nice reward to them. What I get out of it is the same thing that I just described that the counselors get out of it, plus the satisfaction of being able to put it all together and watching it work. It's really a very large program. We serve almost three hundred campers and about seventy counselors and other miscellaneous staff, so it's almost a small city that we run there. The beautiful thing about it is that the chemistry is so perfect; this is the easiest thing to raise money for that I've ever come across. People are very willing to donate food, money, clothing, just because it is such a wonderful project. It almost runs itself. It's just a marvelous experience over all. Judy: Michael, thank you very much for allowing me to come today and interview you about Mitzvah Corps. You have helped us all understand it that much more and appreciate it that much more. Thank you. Michael: You're welcome, Mom. [End of interview.] NOTE: These sessions are held at Camp Charles Pearlstein in Prescott, Arizona. [end of transcript]