Camp Ramah Day Camp celebrated its 20th anniversary with a party at its Melrose Park home. The camp, which originated at Tiferet Bet Israel in Blue Bell with 54 campers and moved to the Mandell Campus in 2005, now has an enrollment of more than 300.
Read Morestand on the beach, surrounded by children and staff of the brand new Camp Ramah in Northern Calinfornia. We sway to the rhythm of our singing and the ocean waves, just yards away. The havdallah candles placed in the sand reflect the joy in our eyes, the smell of the spices mix with the sweet smell of the ocean... I have spent the last two weeks in heaven, as part of this beautiful place. We have created nothing short of a miracle here. Outdoor adventures, ocean explorations, and performing arts, each track of this new camp meeting each child right where they are, lifting their souls ever higher.
Read MoreThe camp season has arrived, and Ramah camps are either underway or about to begin another incredible summer of growth and fun. Over 11,000 campers and staff members, the most in our 70-year history, will participate. This year is truly historic, with the opening of Camp Ramah in Northern California, “Ramah Galim” (“Ramah of the Waves”), in Monterey Bay, south of San Francisco.
Read MoreThe National Ramah Spring Leadership Training Conference brought together 75 Ramah staff members last week, marking the beginning of the 2016 camp season. (View the highlight video). The conference, which was held under sunny skies at Camp Ramah Darom in Clayton, Georgia, featured tracks for rashei edot (division heads) and staff members of Ramah Tikvah (special needs) programs, as well as Daber Fellows, who will focus on bolstering Hebrew at Ramah camps. As always, in addition to its array of educational content, the institute was infused with ruach at every level, from tefillot to rikkud to the inspirational “Ramah Talks” that staff prepared to capture their Ramah stories.
Read MoreMore than 11,000 campers and staff will participate in Ramah's 70th summer season, which starts today with the opening of Camp Ramah Darom in Georgia and the Chicago-area Ramah Day Camp. Tomorrow is opening day for Camp Ramah in Wisconsin. Over the next several weeks, all of our nine overnight camps, five day camps, and our Israel Seminar will begin.
Read MoreFor 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.
Read MoreNew Investment from Donors and Foundations in 2015-16 Supports Camps, Israel Programs, and Movement-Wide Initiatives
Read MoreIn 1996, before alumni engagement was a buzz phrase in the philanthropy industry, a group of Camp Ramah in the Berkshires young alumni (recent college graduates) sought a place to play basketball with their camp friends. For many of them, playing on the courts in camp was one of their favorite memories as a camper and as a staff member. Without realizing it, this group of four teams of ten established the Ramah Berkshires Alumni Association’s basketball league – known as the RBA.
Read MoreI’ve led Kabbalat Shabbat many times before, but this time is profoundly different. As I sing out the opening words to Yedid Nefesh, I hear only the voices of a handful of Ramah directors amid a sea of 250 people. I look around and see newly-minted Ramah Israeli staff members opening a Masorti siddur, hearing Carlebach melodies, and sitting next to co-daveners of the opposite gender, some for the very first time in their lives. By the second psalm, even though the words are still new, more and more people start to join in, humming and singing along. At one point, moved by the power of the music, shlichim start to get up and dance, forming concentric circles in the middle of our makom teffilah. This is the training seminar for summer shlichim, Israeli emissaries who come to Ramah camps each summer through the Jewish Agency, and I hold the heavy responsibility of being the first person to introduce them to Conservative Judaism in a real, tangible way – the way they’ll come to know and love Judaism at camp in just a few months.
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