Ramah’s special needs programs turn a camp into a home

Like many children and teenagers, Michael Rosenbaum of Los Feliz sees going to summer camp as a highlight of his year.

He relishes the outdoor activities, cooking classes, swimming, dancing and games at Camp Ramah in Ojai. He enjoys connecting with his Jewish heritage through daily celebrations and songs, and he especially loves seeing his camp friends from previous years. And, since last summer, the 18-year-old has been thrilled at the opportunity to work at the camp as a cooking teacher’s assistant.

Tikvah/Special Needs, Ramah in the NewsNRC WebmasterFebruary 5, 2015Tikvah, JDAIM, Voc-Ed

Inclusion Comes from the Top – and the Bottom, and Middle

On a recent ten-day Tikvah Ramah Israel trip, twelve participants with disabilities, ages 18-40, were treated to a once-in-a-lifetime visit to a 1,000-soldier army base. Admittedly, other tour groups visit army bases; our group spent three hours at the MAZI/Bar-Lev base near Kiryat Milachi, where soldiers – in full uniform – with Down Syndrome, autism, and other intellectual disabilities are “just soldiers.”

Tikvah/Special Needs, Ramah in the News, Blog/ReflectionsNRC WebmasterFebruary 4, 2015Howard Blas, Tikvah, Israel, JDAIM

Ramah’s Tikvah Program for campers with disabilities offers summer fun in Jewish setting

“Having kids with disabilities is just as normal as having sports at Camp Ramah. It’s what we do,” said Howard Blas, director of the Tikvah Program at Camp Ramah.

That is great news for 18-year old Uriel Levitt of Silver Spring, who has Down syndrome, a genetic condition in which a person has 47 chromosomes instead of the usual 46. This summer will be his fourth one at the camp. “He’s got this amazing opportunity for growth and independence. He’s away from home for two months,” said his mother, Dina Levitt.

Tikvah/Special Needs, Ramah in the NewsNRC WebmasterFebruary 4, 2015Tikvah, New England, JDAIM, Voc-Ed

Celebrating a Judaism Worthy of Celebration

Bemoaning the future of the American Jewry has become a rite-of-passage. One cannot, it seems, be a serious Jewish thinker, without predicting the next would-be calamity that will undermine the Jewish people. Optimism is rogue, and pessimism is vogue. While I do not reject the gravity of particular trends, this paradigm simply does not work for me. The incessant lamenting of our volatility seem to ultimately promulgate apathy, and perpetuate the very instability it seeks to remedy. Imagine, for a moment, an optimistic Judaism; one that quietly deals with real threats, while loudly celebrating the beautiful fruits of our collective labor.

Children reunite at Camp Ramah’s Tikvah weekend

In January, 21 campers in the Camp Ramah in Wisconsin Tikvah program and 12 Atzmayim vocational participants traveled to a hotel in suburban Chicago to celebrate Shabbat together. They came from 15 cities in the U.S. and Canada to join their counselors and 11 grade friends for a wonderful camp reunion.

Tikvah/Special Needs, Ramah in the NewsNRC WebmasterFebruary 3, 2015Tikvah, Wisconsin, JDAIM, Voc-Ed

Camp Community Comes to Michigan

For as long as I can remember, Camp Ramah has been a central part of my life. In fact, I vividly remember standing in the kitchen with my mom when I was eight years old trying to figure out my plans for the upcoming summer. My mom told me it would be wonderful if I chose a Jewish camp. With friends at Tamarack and my older siblings at Ramah, the decision seemed almost impossible to make. But I did ultimately decide to go to Camp Ramah in Canada.

Ramah in the News, AlumniNRC WebmasterFebruary 1, 2015Reshet Ramah

JDate Seeks to Rekindle Long-Lost Summer Camp Romances

For those who went to sleepaway camp, there is a special nostalgia for that summer experience. Even romance. The company JDate will soon tap into that feeling in what will be the first Jewish camp-specific dating service. It’s called Ramah Date and will cater to alumni of Camp Ramah.

Alumni, Ramah in the NewsNRC WebmasterJanuary 28, 2015Reshet Ramah, RamahDate

Camps promote inclusion, job skills with burgeoning vocational programs

Like many 22-year-olds, Ben Nadis has somewhat murky career goals. Though he likes his job at the Kroger near his house in Farmington Hills, Mich., he doesn’t want to work there forever. Maybe he’ll be on TV instead, he jokes — he’s not sure.

Tikvah/Special Needs, Ramah in the NewsNRC WebmasterJanuary 16, 2015Tikvah, Wisconsin, Voc-Ed

JDate partnership to help Ramah alumni kindle campfires of romance

Beth and Jeff Kopin are one of an estimated 700 married couples to have met at one of the Conservative movement’s Ramah camps. The Kopins, who fell in love at Ramah Wisconsin in the 1970s, went on to raise a flock of “Ramahniks.”

“There’s this family feeling if you meet another Ramahnik,” says Beth Kopin, who calls herself a “Ramah lifer” and splits her time between Chicago and Jerusalem. “There’s the communal experience of Shabbat singing, of keeping kosher, of being in a Hebrew musical, of exploring Israel together. It’s being part of a smaller tribe within a larger tribe.”

Alumni, Ramah in the NewsNRC WebmasterJanuary 16, 2015RamahDate