Announcing the Winners of the TIPTOE 2014 Inclusion-Themed Video Contest
NEW YORK, NY (December 8, 2014)—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 top three winners and make donations to the inclusion program at the winners’ camps.
First place prize $1,000: Simone Rotman, Oakland, CA ($1,750 donation to Ramah California)
Second place $500: Jenna Freeman, Los Angeles, CA ($1,000 donation to Ramah California)
Third place $250: David Sharif, Los Angeles, CA ($500 donation to Camp JRF)
Campers and college-aged staff members who participated in a North American Jewish summer camp program in 2014 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.
“This contest proves that the people who really get the importance of inclusion are the ones who experience it first-hand,” said Jay Ruderman, President of the Ruderman Family Foundation.“The wonderful videos submitted by Jewish campers across the country show that the inclusion of children with disabilities makes the camping experience a better one for all campers.”
According to Rabbi Mitchell Cohen, National Ramah Director, “We received many inspirational and creative videos that clearly demonstrate the importance of inclusion at Jewish camps across North America. As we share these videos with the larger Jewish community, we hope that they will promote further discussion, raise awareness, and encourage all of our camps to become more inclusive.”
The top ten videos—the three winners and seven honorable mentions—can be viewed on the contest website, or by searching social media for #TIPTOE2014.
TIPTOE is a partnership between the Ruderman Family Foundation and the National Ramah Tikvah Network of programs for campers with disabilities.