Popular summer camp files for Chapter 11 bankruptcy

With camp remaining a pivotal childhood experience for multiple generations of American kids, the summer camp market in the U.S. is a thriving industry estimated at more than $4.6 billion in 2025.

The total number of kids who will go to some form of summer camp in summer 2026 is, according to one estimate, approximately 14 million.

While camps are broadly divided into day and sleepaway, there is what can sometimes feel like an endless array of different types of options beyond that: scouting and wilderness, sports, specialized interest-based camps for subjects such as STEM and visual arts and, of course, religion.

Jewish summer camp network Simad Holdings files for Chapter 11 protection

Given the important cultural role that summer camp plays in the Jewish North American experience, the Jewish summer camp market is another major segment of the U.S. summer camp industry worth approximately $700 million and attended by more than 200,000 children every year.

Even so, a major network operating more than 22 overnight and eight day camps in the Northeast of the U.S. just filed for bankruptcy in New Jersey Bankruptcy Court.

Related: Luxury campground files for bankruptcy, heads to auction

New York brothers Michael and David Shabsels, who are behind the summer camp company Simad Holdings, filed for Chapter 11 protection both personally and through their corporation.

The bankruptcy allows the camps to operate as planned in the upcoming summer season despite the heavy financial debt. The 30 camps in the Simad portfolio are, according to records included in the bankruptcy filing, attended by approximately 200,000 children and valued at over $466.6 million.

Simad owed, according to the filing, more than $100 million to cash advance firms and various other short-term lenders. 

The prices start at approximately $3,000 per child for day camps like Mohawk Day Camp and Camp Kiwi in New York and up to $12,000 for overnight camps like Camp Lavi in Pennsylvania and Blue Star Camps in North Carolina. While not affiliated with any Jewish denomination or cultural institution, the majority of camps in the network are based in Jewish cultural programming and chosen precisely for that reason by the families.

Simad Holdings has not released a statement on the bankruptcy filing or its financial situation, news of which sowed questions among families who booked stays at the camp for the summer and various counselors and other staff working at them.

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Summer camps in Simad network to continue operating in summer 2026 despite owners' bankruptcy

"These are simply some behind-the-scenes matters that are being sorted out, but nothing that affects our campers, staff, or program," Mohawk Day Camp Director Adam Wallach said in a statement to The Real Deal.

"I really don't know anything," a different representative for one of the camps said to a local news outlet. "I just know camp is moving forward as planned."

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Chief Restructuring Officer Assaf Ravid has been assigned operational control of Simad while it goes through the bankruptcy procedure; the New Jersey bankruptcy court gave the company until Oct. 2 to present a restructuring plan.

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