tiptoepressreleaseFOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
 

RAMAH CAMPING MOVEMENT AND RUDERMAN FAMILY FOUNDATION
ANNOUNCE WINNERS OF VIDEO CONTEST TO PROMOTE
INCLUSION OF CAMPERS WITH DISABILITIES

NEW YORK, NY (December 17, 2015)-The Ramah Camping Movement and the Ruderman Family Foundation are delighted to announce the winners of "TIPTOE (The Inclusion Project: Through Our Eyes)," an inclusion-themed video contest for participants from all Jewish camps. The goal of TIPTOE is to increase awareness of the inclusion work happening at Jewish camps across North America. The Ruderman Family Foundation will award a cash prize to the winners and make donations to the inclusion programs at the winners' camps.

View winning videos at http://bit.ly/1mcDnYf

Camper Winners
  • First place prize $500: Matthew Warshay (Providence, RI), plus $750 donation to Camp Ramah in New England, Palmer, MA

  • Second place $250: Shafer Gootkind (New York, NY), plus $500 donation to Camp Twelve Trails, Pearl River, NY (a day camp of the YM & YWHA of Washington Heights and Inwood, formerly Camp Yomawha)
Staff Member Winners
  • First place prize $750: Jennifer Kreinik (Scarsdale, NY), plus $1,000 donation to B'nai B'rith Beber Camp, Mukwonago, WI

  • Second place $500: Jonah Goldman Kay (Orlando, FL) & Itai Zwecker (Tel Aviv, Israel), plus $750 donation to Camp Ramah Darom, Clayton, GA
Campers and high-school and college-age staff members who participated in a North American Jewish summer camp program in 2015 submitted videos that showed their view of inclusion of children with disabilities in their Jewish camp. Representatives from the Ruderman Family Foundation and the Foundation for Jewish Camp selected the winners based on three criteria: demonstrating inclusion, creativity, and visual appeal.

"There is no better place to learn about the value of including people of all abilities in our community than at camp," said Jay Ruderman, President of the Ruderman Family Foundation. "Jewish camps, led by Camp Ramah, have begun to change the landscape of our Jewish community. These TIPTOE award winners have documented, in very personal ways, why the inclusion of children with disabilities at Jewish camps makes the camping experience more meaningful for everyone."

According to Rabbi Mitchell Cohen, National Ramah Director, "We are proud to have pioneered inclusion in Jewish camping through our Tikvah programs, and we continue to be inspired by the intentional approach to inclusion that is developing and expanding across Jewish camps in North America. The TIPTOE video contest demonstrates the powerful impact of inclusion on staff and campers throughout an entire camp community."

TIPTOE, a partnership with the Ruderman Family Foundation, is administered by the Ramah Camping Movement in collaboration with the Foundation for Jewish Camp and numerous camps across North America.
About the Ramah Camping Movement and the National Ramah Tikvah Network of Programs for Children, Teens, and Young Adults with Disabilities 

Ramah is the camping arm of Conservative Judaism. Together, our programs provide Ramah experiences for 10,500 children, teens, and young adults annually. The Ramah Camping Movement is a pioneer in the field of inclusion for Jewish campers with a wide range of disabilities. Since the first Ramah Tikvah program opened in 1970, a variety of programs for campers with disabilities-overnight and day camp programs, vocational education programs, and family camps and retreats- now operate in Ramah camps across North America. Regardless of their geographic location, families are directed to the Ramah camp that best suits their child's needs.

The National Ramah Commission of The Jewish Theological Seminary provides oversight, educational planning, and coordination on behalf of the network of Ramah camps throughout North America and Ramah Programs in Israel. For more information, visit www.campramah.org.

About the Ruderman Family Foundation

The Ruderman Family Foundation believes that inclusion and understanding of all people is essential to a fair and flourishing community.

Guided by our Jewish values, we support effective programs, innovative partnerships and a dynamic approach to philanthropy in our core areas of interest: advocating for and advancing the inclusion of people with disabilities throughout the Jewish community; fostering a more nuanced understanding of the American Jewish community among Israeli leaders; and modeling the practice of strategic philanthropy worldwide.

The Foundation provides funding, leadership, expertise and insight in both the U.S. and Israel, with offices in both countries. For more information, please visit www.rudermanfoundation.org.

FOR MORE INFORMATION, PLEASE CONTACT:
Nancy B. Scheff, Director of Communications
National Ramah Commission, Inc. of The Jewish Theological Seminary
nancy@campramah.org * (212) 678-8881

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