Funder Profile: Steve Wolf

"I was fortunate enough to have gone through my camp days at OSRUI with Debbie Friedman (z”l) as the camp’s song leader …The spirit and level of Jewish expression I participated in affected my Jewish identity in profound ways. It is still hard to find myself at any Jewish event without a reminder of those summers."

—Steve Wolf

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Steve Wolf chairs the Board of the first Reform Jewish overnight camp, URJ Olin-Sang-Ruby Union Institute (OSRUI) and is an active member of Temple Sholom in Chicago.

 

“My first experience with OSRUI came when my small congregation on the south side of Chicago hired a new young rabbi.  One of his early initiatives was to get all the ‘kiddos’ to go to summer camp.  My experience was great, and later I realized that it had an even greater impact on the congregation.  The combined impact of the new campers returning with music and a new appreciation for Jewish life transformed what we had back home, exactly as the rabbi had hoped.”

 

Steve has felt, from his earliest days as a camper through to today, that this kind of Jewish community bonding inspires Jewish engagement and develops leaders.

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Steve Wolf has served on the OSRUI Board for more than 20 years. He and his wife Barbara were critical to the success of OSRUI’s recent capital campaign to build Heichal HaTarbut Kaye, the new all camp theatre and worship space, generously contribute to camp scholarships, and have led the way for OSRUI’s new health and wellness initiative. They are inspired by the new generations of leaders and proud to support Reform Jewish camping.

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