Emily Barnard
Why I Give Back to CRS - A Letter from Evan ...

CRS alum and LAJF Board Member, Evan Schwartz, shares why Camp Rising Sun has remained such a meaningful part of his life, and why he continues to give back, year after year.

Click to read his personal year-end note and gift match announcement! Please consider making a gift to LAJF and Camp Rising Sun before 2025 ends. Go to lajf.org/donate to give now.

Why I Give Back to CRS - A Letter from Evan Schwartz
Emily Barnard
Be the Roots that Support Ethical Leaders - ...

LAJF and Camp Rising Sun are fortified by strong roots that stretch back 95 years. What began as a summer camp in 1930, is now a global movement that has grown generations of ethical leaders. Click to read the full end of year letter from our Executive Director, Barry Fulton.

Be the Roots that Support Ethical Leaders - Letter from Executive Director, Barry Fulton
Emily Barnard
95th Anniversary Reunion and Gala Photo Gallery

Thank you for celebrating 95 Years of Camp Rising Sun! From October 24-26, 2025, we gathered at the iconic TWA Hotel to celebrate 95 years of Camp Rising Sun—and the global community that has made it all possible. Click to view photo highlights from the weekend celebration!

95th Anniversary Reunion and Gala Photo Gallery
Emily Barnard
11th Annual NYAA Picnic in Central Park

This year was the 11th Annual CRS NYAA Picnic in Central Park! Thank you to the New York Alumni Association for hosting and for everyone who joined us. Click the post to check out photos from the event.

11th Annual NYAA Picnic in Central Park
Emily Barnard
95 Years of Impact: Liz Lee

Since 1930, LAJF and our programs, Camp Rising Sun and The Ethical Leadership Experience, have shaped the lives of more than 6,500 alumni from dozens of countries around the world. Across generations and continents, CRS and TELE alumni continue to lead with empathy, curiosity, and courage—bringing Rising Sun values into classrooms, courtrooms, creative industries, clinics, and communities. As we celebrate 95 years of impact, we’re spotlighting just a few of the many stories that show how a summer at Camp becomes a lifetime of meaning.

Here’s Liz Lee’s story—current Minnesota state representative of St. Paul’s Eastside district—who attended Camp Rising Sun in 2004.

95 Years of Impact: Liz Lee

Curriculum in Focus V: Building Your Own Structure

Curriculum in Focus V: Building Your Own Structure

For 90 years, the Louis August Jonas Foundation has been committed to helping young people grow intellectually, ethically, and globally through Camp Rising Sun, our full-scholarship, summer leadership program for teenagers from around the world. In the upcoming weeks, we will take a deeper look at our curriculum that has inspired, in so many young people worldwide, a commitment to compassionate and responsible leadership for the betterment of their communities and the world.

In this issue, we will focus on how our curriculum provides self-structured opportunities for project management and collaboration that contribute to a stronger community.

Statement of Solidarity with the Asian American and Pacific Islander Communities

Statement of Solidarity with the Asian American and Pacific Islander Communities

The Louis August Jonas Foundation stands in solidarity with the Asian American and Pacific Islander communities. COVID-19 has exacerbated anti-Asian sentiments and led to a stark rise in hate crimes directed at Asian individuals. We condemn the murders in Atlanta of 8 people—7 of them women and 6 of them of Asian descent. Their names are Delaina Ashley Yaun, Paul Andre Michels, Xiaojie Tan, Daoyou Feng, Soon C. Park, Hyun J. Grant, Suncha Kim, and Yong A. Yue.

Making Camp Rising Sun More Linguistically Accessible

Making Camp Rising Sun More Linguistically Accessible

Considering the diversity of our community, LAJF is taking steps to become more linguistically accessible. Considering the barriers that non-English speakers face when it comes to learning about, applying and going to Camp is very important. This LAJFellowship project will coordinate the translation of the key elements needed to learn about and apply to Camp Rising Sun to more than 15 languages. Having finalized the research phase, we are looking for volunteers that would like to help with the process of translating different resources. Learn more about the project in our blog this week.

Celebrating Changemakers: Meet 5 CRS Women who are Changing the World

Celebrating Changemakers: Meet 5 CRS Women who are Changing the World

From New Jersey to the Netherlands, from EMTs to climate justice activists, these alumni are changing the world. We will be hearing from five changemakers who are inspiring their communities in different ways, a continuation of and an addition to our series of Instagram takeovers over the last few months. And Kristen Chang ’14, Linda Barry ’16, Dominika Lasota ’18, Woohyun Kwen ’19, and Anneteke Adoga ’20 all certainly have a lot to say.

CRS Alumni Directory

LOUIS AUGUST JONAS FOUNDATION
6 RISING SUN LANE
RHINEBECK, NY, 12572, UNITED STATES
+1 (212) 686-1930
CONTACT@LAJF.ORG

The Louis August Jonas Foundation (LAJF) and Camp Rising Sun (CRS) have a long-held commitment to the principles of diversity, stemming from our mission. In that spirit, LAJF and CRS do not discriminate on the basis of race, religion, creed, color, sexual orientation, nation of origin, gender, sex, or gender identity.