New Grants for Exciting Ramah Initiatives
We are delighted to announce that over the last several weeks, the National Ramah Commission (NRC) has received various new grants of $1.2 million in order to develop the following initiatives:
Tikvah Vocational Education Expansion - To help provide employment for young adults with disabilities, both within our camp settings and throughout the year in businesses, Jewish organizations, and other venues.
Cafe Darom - new vocational education initiative at Ramah Darom
Professional Internships for College Students - To establish a Ramah movement-wide pre-camp internship program that will provide valuable workplace experiences for staff members by matching college-age students with employers within the extensive Ramah network of families, allowing them to return to camp for the summer.
Development of Supplemental Staff Training Materials Promoting Child Safety - To develop additional training materials and programs for year-round and summer personnel to prevent sexual harassment and abuse, including classical Jewish sources that support the values of respect, modesty, and safety. A new retreat to “train the trainers” will provide leaders from each camp the opportunity for direct engagement with these new resources.
Intensive Leadership Training for College Sophomores - To establish an additional staff training cohort, the Maslul Fellowship, an intensive leadership training program designed for rising young leaders from across the Ramah Camping Movement.
Ongoing Movement-Wide Initiatives
National Ramah Affordability Initiative - Due to the generosity of an increasing number of donors, NRC continues to provide each Ramah overnight camp with financial assistance to support campers from families with serious financial struggle. For the 2019 camp season, a total of $287,005 was awarded to 115 campers.
Tikvah Programs for Campers with Disabilities - With 112 riders, hikers, and volunteers participating, the May 2019 Ramah Israel Bike Ride and Hiking Trip raised approximately $540,000 for Ramah programs for campers with disabilities. Since 2011, these biennial trips have raised over $2 million from more than 10,000 donors. Corporate and family sponsors help underwrite the costs of this program so that almost all of the individual donations can support our Tikvah programs. Join us for our next trip, April 20-27, 2021 in Northern Israel. Registration opens soon!
Investment in Tomorrow's Jewish Leaders
The Ramah Camping Movement continues to thrive, serving more than 11,700 campers and staff members each summer. We are fortunate to benefit from a growing list of generous individual donors and philanthropic foundations to support the important work we do. These contributions strengthen our camps in numerous ways, help make Ramah financially accessible to more families, extend Ramah programming into life-long and year-round initiatives, and grow more overnight and day camps to serve even more Jewish youth.