Ramah Camping Movement Receives Grants from National Foundations (June 2009)

We are pleased that we have seen increased charitable giving to Ramah camps in recent months. Funds from foundations and individual families will help our camps:

• provide scholarship assistance for families with financial need;
• build new facilities, develop new programs, and renew and repair infrastructure;
• raise the level of staff training and professional development; and
• maintain and expand our programmatic network for Jewish youth with special needs.

The AVI CHAI Foundation has just awarded a major new grant to the National Ramah Commission to strengthen Hebrew language education at Ramah.

The Foundation for Jewish Camp (FJC) continues to be an excellent advocate for Jewish camping. RISHON, a new partnership between National Ramah and FJC, is providing $240,000 of incentive awards for Ramah campers in 2009, in addition to the numerous incentive awards received through Ramah families’ local federations.

The FJC Specialty Camp Incubator, funded through the generosity of the Jim Joseph Foundation, is supporting Ramah with over $1 million in funding as we prepare to open the first Ramah specialty camp, Ramah Outdoor Adventure in Colorado, opening for teens in summer 2010.

The Harry and Jeanette Weinberg Foundation is providing generous funding to help families with financial difficulty send their children with special needs to our Tikvah programs.

Through a generous three-year grant, the Legacy Heritage Fund is providing new resources for staff training and curriculum development at Ramah camps for innovation in Israel education.

The Jewish Funders Network is supporting a new Ramah programmatic initiative to teach our children about youth philanthropy and the importance of tzedakah.

And these are just some of the highlights!

We take great pride as recipients of these gifts, even as we continue to raise significantly more funds to strengthen and grow our camps, and expand Ramah camping. As demographic studies consistently demonstrate, Ramah camping is one of the most effective means of building Jewish identity. We believe that the unique religious, educational and recreational programming at Ramah is a proven formula for success.

We are very happy that so many funders recognize the outstanding success of Ramah and are investing in our future, the future of the Jewish people!

Rabbi Mitchell Cohen, National Ramah Director