In this month’s Alumni Corner, we had the chance to speak with our new Yavneh Board President Debbie Katz. She was a camper at Yavneh for three years while growing up in Brookline – her years at Yavneh influenced her greatly! Debbie currently works as the senior development officer in major gifts at Combined Jewish Philanthropies of Boston. She lives in Needham with her two young children and her husband Doug, a psychologist at MGH. Her oldest daughter Lily was a Gurim camper at Yavneh this past summer.
We asked Debbie three questions – read below to discover her answers!
- What is Your Connection to Yavneh – “I am a former camper, board member, Jewish community member and professional, current family camper… and most proudly: a camp parent!”
- Favorite memory – “Kabbalat Shabbat services – I remember thinking how beautiful it was to have the service outside just before sunset. To see everyone dressed up and clean, knowing the fun of Shabbat dinner is yet to come, the calm and anticipation felt so serene. My daughter described the same feelings after returning from her first summer at camp this year.”
- Favorite Zimryah song – “Not sure I could pick one, but the real news is that I remember most of the words from over 30 years ago! My first year, our Kfirim Shir Aydah song was to the tune of We Beseech Thee from Godspell, which I always thought was funny! One of my proudest moments was being chosen to lead our Shir Aydah for Aryot, when we won first place in all three categories! …That was another terrific memory!”