Ramah Partnership with Sacred Spaces

March 2022 / Adar II 5782

The number one priority of Ramah camps and Israel programs is—and always will be—the safety and protection of the campers under our care. Ramah’s new partnership with the Aleinu: Safeguarding Our Children campaign, a program of Sacred Spaces, demonstrates our commitment to this priority. This partnership will help us to continue the important work we have already been doing in the area of child safety, providing an additional framework for our ongoing review of standards of practice and how we train our staff.

The Aleinu campaign provides youth-serving organizations with the tools to implement ten best practices for child protection. It also enables organizations to track their progress and facilitates collaboration and sharing with peer organizations.

We are proud to be a part of this national campaign and excited to share that the work at Ramah has already begun. The National Ramah Commission has hired two Sacred Spaces Coordinators, Monica Shapiro and Michelle Sugarman (bios below), to serve as liaisons, guides, and mentors to Ramah camps and their designated staff members. Along with Judith Belasco, Executive Vice President of Sacred Spaces, Monica and Michelle presented the foundations of the Aleinu campaign to Ramah professionals at a movement-wide leadership conference earlier this month.

If you have any questions, please feel free to contact me.

Shalom,

Amy Skopp Cooper, National Ramah Director

amy@campramah.org

Monica Shapiro has been an active member of the Ramah community for many years, serving as a yoetzet at Ramah California and the Director of Camper Care at Ramah Galim. In addition to her work with Ramah, Monica has volunteered her time serving as the New Frontier Youth Commissioner for USCJ and as an active member of her synagogue's USY parent committee. Monica continues to support the emotional well-being of others as a psychiatric social worker, where she spends her time providing behavioral health services to adolescents and adults. Monica and her husband, Scott, have embraced the Ramah community; their three children love Ramah, having spent more than a decade involved in the Ramah Camping Movement. Monica is excited to join the National Ramah team to support the Aleinu campaign.

Michelle Sugarman is an Assistant Director at Camp Ramah New England. Originally from Scranton, PA, she was a long-time camper and staff member at Camp Ramah in the Poconos. She spent 26 summers there, including twelve as the Assistant and then Associate Director. Prior to starting at Camp Ramah New England, Michelle was the Director of the North American Office of Academic Affairs of the Hebrew University of Jerusalem. She completed her BA in Jewish Studies and MSW at Temple University. Michelle is excited to be working with the National Ramah team on the Aleinu project and can’t wait to get started.