We recently welcomed Bonnie Schwartz to our year-round Tikvah professional staff.  Bonnie, a clinical psychologist and Ramah Berkshires alumna, is the new Tikvah director for Ramah New England. We also welcomed Moshe Samuels as the interim Tikvah director for Ramah Rockies. Moshe has also served on staff at Ramah Canada and Ramah California, where he was Tikvah rosh edah.

Poconos Tikvah building under construction

Progress towards the inaugural Tikvah Residential Program at Ramah Poconos is well underway. Camp is busy processing applications, and thanks to mild winter weather, construction is ahead of schedule on the 7,200-square-foot structure that will serve as the bunk for Tikvah campers and also house programmatic space and a sensory zone. The addition of the new overnight program, combined with the Tikvah track at the Philadelphia-area Ramah Day Camp and the Tikvah Family Camp, means that Ramah Poconos will now offer a continuum of experiences for children and families with disabilities.

Orlee Krass, the new Tikvah director, says, "We are in the process of hiring staff and look forward to having madrichim with an interest in special needs education and a love for camp! Generous support from private donors, as well as from charitable foundations such as The Ruderman Family Foundation, has helped us succeed every step along the way. We cannot wait for opening day on July 19!"

Ramah professionals are taking part in many JDAIM activities this month in order to raise disability awareness and foster inclusion in Jewish communities.

• In "Reflections on Parashat Terumah," Adina Allen (Ramah Wisconsin) writes about how renovating and reconstructing the camp's Moadon Tikvah relates to the parasha's very detailed description for building the Mishkan.


• Howard Blas (National Ramah Tikvah Network) discusses a variety of themes related to inclusion in these posts:
  • "North Americans with Disabilities Meet Israelis 'Just Like Them'" describing JNF programs visited by participants in Ramah Tikvah trips to Israel
  • "Inclusion in the Workplace Too," about the importance and benefits of employing people with disabilities 
  • "Israel: The Original Covenant Classroom," focusing on programs in Israel serving people with disabilities
  
  
• "Vocational Training at Ramah Camps," by Daniel Olson (Ramah Wisconsin), describes how Ramah vocational education programs reflect Ramah's "commitment to allowing campers and young adults the freedom to try on different Jewish hats."


• In "The Love We Choose to Give," Rabbi Joel Seltzer (Ramah Poconos) reflects on Parashat Tetzaveh and the responsibility of Jewish leaders to include people of all abilities in our communities.

Events, Presentations, and Workshops

• Audra Kaplan (Ramah Darom) co-led a workshop designed for parents of children with disabilities to learn about Jewish camp. In addition, Ramah Darom co-sponsored a disabilities-themed movie in the Atlanta Jewish Film Festival as well as a benefit for children with autism spectrum disorder.


• Orlee Krass (Ramah Poconos) taught about best practices of inclusion at the Songleader Boot Camp national conference in St. Louis, MO.

• Elana Naftalin-Kelman (Ramah California) and other Tikvah staff members will participate in "Celebrating Our Jewish Community: An Inclusive Sensory-Friendly Family Day," a program co-sponsored by the Greater Los Angeles Federation.

• Rabbi Joel Seltzer (Ramah Poconos) co-led "Jewish Textual Views of Disabilities" with Gabby Kaplan-Mayer. Gabby is the director of Whole Community Inclusion at jkidphilly and editor of The New Normal blog. Her family participates in the Tikvah Family Camp at Ramah Poconos.

First Place Video, Camper Category

The summer Ramah experience is a highlight of the year for our Tikvah participants. During the rest of the year, many face the challenge of social isolation. Ramah camps provide a variety of opportunities to help meet this challenge.

Beginning in 2010, The Ruderman Family Foundation supported an effort by Ramah New England to bring Tikvah campers and staff together for a weekly "Shabbos Is Calling" videoconference for socializing, Jewish learning, and singing of camp songs during the ten months when camp is not in session. Ramah Wisconsin hosts a weekly "Shavuah Tov" videoconference under the guidance of Ralph Schwartz, director of special needs programs. Ramah Darom runs a monthly videoconference program, and Ramah California holds a videoconference every year before camp starts. This spring, Ramah Poconos hopes to kick off its new Tikvah program with videoconferences for staff as well as campers. Read more about this meaningful and important programming in "Shavuah Tov: A Year-Round Connection to the Magic of Camp" and "Shabbos Is Calling."

There are in-person gatherings as well. Every other year, Ramah Wisconsin holds a Tikvah/Amitzim Shabbaton; Ramah Canada Tikvah co-directors Casey and Adam Green recently coordinated reunions for the Tikvah boys and girls cabins (pictured below). 

Tikvah staff members at National Ramah Winter Leadership Training Conference

Tikvah staff members from several Ramah camps participated in training at the January 2016 National Ramah Winter Leadership Training Conference at Ramah California. The sessions covered topics such as behavior management, task analysis, and understanding sensory needs. The next Tikvah Network training will take place in May and is open to staff members from all Jewish camps. (See flyer below.)

Registration is open for Ramah programs for families with children with disabilities:

August 19-22, 2016

Blog: "An Impossible Dream Comes True"

• National Ramah received a $350,000 grant from The Ruderman Family Foundation to support the establishment of new Tikvah programs at Darom and Poconos; to expand vocational education programs at California, Canada, New England, and Wisconsin; and to continue the TIPTOE (The Inclusion Project: Through Our Eyes) inclusion-themed video contest for all Jewish camps in North America.


• The Leo Oppenheimer & Flora Oppenheimer Haas Foundation provided the National Ramah Commission with a grant of $220,000 over three years, enabling Ramah to expand the capacity of the National Ramah Tikvah Network.


• The expansion of opportunities to include teens with disabilities on Ramah Israel Seminar is being supported by a $25,000 grant from the New York Teen Initiative, which is jointly funded by UJA-Federation of New York and the Jim Joseph Foundation. The Jewish Education Project serves as lead operator of the initiative. Generous donations from Eileen and Jerry Lieberman further enhance our ability to make our Israel programs more inclusive.


• The 2015 Ramah Israel Bike Ride and Hiking Trip raised $450,000 from more than 3,000 donors for Ramah programs for campers with disabilities.