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This past year, Eliot Spack attended the 70th reunion of Camp Tevya in New Hampshire, which he attended as a kid beginning in 1947.

"My oldest friends to this very day came from summer camp," said Spack, who currently chairs the Dave and Ceil Pavlovsky Endowment Fund for Jewish Education of the Jewish Federation of Greater Middlesex County, which offers $1,000 grants to Middlesex County children who are first time attendees of Jewish overnight camps.

The "Campership Incentive Program," a partnership of the federation, the Pavlovsky Fund, and the Foundation for Jewish Camp, is in its third year and has begun accepting applications.

Gerrie Bamira, the federation's executive director, explained that the idea of the grant program is to provide a way to offset the costs of a Jewish summer camp with the hope that these children continue attending in the years ahead.

"The federation is committed to Jewish survival and continuity. One of the proven ways to ensure Jewish continuity is through the Jewish camping experience," she said.

Spack agreed.

"The members of the committee believe that Jewish camping is a very important component in helping young people form a strong Jewish identity, particularly sleepaway camps," he said.

For Spack, it's the immersive, non-pressured environment of a Jewish summer camp that enables the young people to build these strong identities.

"Personally, I think its one of the most exciting opportunities for kids to live in a Jewish environment, 24 hours a day," he said, "where they're not necessarily soaked in Judaism all the time, but surrounded by a Jewish environment."

In the program's first year, 48 kids received grants, in the second, 36 did, and there are 50 grants available this year. The program is need-blind, though the camp must be a minimum of three weeks and day school students are not eligible.

Spack said that he is not sure how many of those children would have attended a non-Jewish summer camp or no camp at all if not for the grants, but said that for those who have attended camps with the help of the grants the responses from them and their families have been "extremely positive," and that some parents have signed up their second or third children for the grants.

Mindy Paris-Thurer, the public relations coordinator of the federation, said the campers are "thrilled" to have the opportunity. "They have an experience that they often don't expect," Paris-Thurer said.

Paris-Thurer recalled one instance where a boy gained greater confidence to lead services for his bar mitzvah after attending Jewish summer camp for the first time with the help of a grant.

The camp may be one of any denomination, but must be pre-approved by the Foundation for Jewish Camp.

This is not the only grant program that the Jewish Federation of Greater Middlesex County offers local youth.

The federation also offers special needs camp scholarships, a need-based grant for local Jewish youth up to 21 years of age to attend a Jewish summer special needs camp. The grant program, funded by the Stolzer Family, is now in its 10th year and distributes approximately $30,000 annually. The amount given per child is based on need and priority is given to single parent and low-income families.

There are also Israel teen grants, which gives $750 scholarships to local high school students to participate in a Zionist program in Israel for a minimum of three weeks. The program, established by Rudy and Mary Klein, is its 20th year and has helped send between 50 and 100 teens to Israel, according to Bamira.

The Washington, D.C. summer internship grant is awarded to one or two local high school students each year, who have demonstrated leadership and commitment to their community. Held in Washington for one week, the program allows the participants to become involved in community service projects, field trips, study Jewish texts and values, and hear legislative updates from leading expert on domestic and international policies. The grant, funded by the Sen. Laurence and Edith Weiss Fund for Leadership and Political Activism, includes room and board, kosher meals, field trips, and entertainment.

"The federation is proud to partner with longstanding Middlesex County families whose generosity and vision enable us to invest in our youth and in Jewish continuity in these varied and creative ways," Bamira said about those who have provided the funds to make such grants available.

For more information or to request an application, call the Jewish Federation of Greater Middlesex County at (732) 432-7711 or email Mindy Paris-Thurer at mparis-thurer@jf-gmc.org.