This month, members of Camp Ramah in New England’s Tikvah Program returned to their home communities in New York, Delaware, Pennsylvania, Connecticut, Massachusetts, Rhode Island, Tennessee, Florida and California. Unlike their neurotypical peers who have
In Azeem Kayum’s moving book, Wrestling with the Goddess, his mom writes, “Azeem does not want your sympathy. He wants your friendship. He wants to be accepted for who he is. I want all of you to realize that any one of you can be hit by a car today and become disabled. Would you like to be… Read more...
Camp Ramah has been serving campers with special needs for over forty years. These include Ramah camps in Massachusetts, Canada, Wisconsin, New York, Georgia, California, Pennsylvania and Illinois, which offer programs for campers with a range of special needs. Some offer overnight camping… Read more...
Disabilities: What the Ancient Rabbis knew At a
Aaron Rudolph’s drive to work from his home in West Hartford to the Walgreen’s Distribution Center in Windsor is usually uneventful. Having special needs and landing a meaningful job often poses more of a challenge. Rudolph is one of the lucky ones. A story in the Hartford Courant five years ago… Read more...
Becoming a Bat Mitzvah has the potential to be affirming, celebratory, and a wonderful welcome into the Jewish community as a whole and into the community of Jewish women in particular. Yet, planning a Bat Mitzvah can be confusing and stressful, given the various practices accepted and the options… Read more...
Are you completely sick of me yammering about camp? Well, you’ll be glad to know that this is my last
Campers, families, counselors and others touched by Ramah’s Tikvah program for special needs youth converged Sunday at Camp Ramah New England to mark the groundbreaking initiative and four decades of impact. The Tikvah program, established at Camp Ramah New England in 1970, and now active… Read more...
Avi Friedman Matthew Bander, left, of Brighton, is a former Tikvah camper who attended the 40th anniversary celebrations at Camp Ramah New England on Sunday. He is pictured with Emily Perlmutter, a friend of his and the program. PALMER, MA — Campers, families, counselors and others touched by… Read more...
Helping to give special needs kids a fun summer By Cindy Mindell For several years, the New England Region of the Federation of Jewish Men’s Clubs has raised money to support the Tikvah Program at Camp Ramah in New England, one of the first summer programs for Jewish campers with special needs…. Read more...
Summer camp - both day camps and overnight camps - offer opportunities for children to learn new skills, form friendships, experiment with new interests, and learn new things about themselves. Children with intellectual disabilities are increasingly participating in these programs. But truly… Read more...
This has been a very exciting “off season” for the Tikvah Program — with the magic of our community continuing, even if we can’t be at camp. As many of you know, I am one of fourteen Jewish educators from across the country selected to join the first cohort of Jim Joseph Foundation Fellows (JJFF)…. Read more...
Howard Blas is a social worker and special educator who primarily teaches students with special needs and circumstances in Jewish Studies and for bar and bat mitzvah. He is Director of the Tikvah Program at Camp Ramah in New England. Howard’s work has appeared in publications such as The Jerusalem… Read more...
Photo courtesy of Ken Turkewitz, New England Region Federation of Jewish Men’s Clubs, Tour-de-Shuls Chair 2009 Riders and supporters from Camp Ramah gather at last years race. NEEDHAM — Over two years ago on a Sunday afternoon, Stephen Baum found himself heading south on his weekly bike ride…. Read more...
It is always difficult to pinpoint the highlight of any visit to Israel. For ten Tikvah Program participants and alumni, who participated with Tikvah Director Howard Blas and two madrichim on a recent
Thirty-eight years ago, many people worried that having campers with special needs in a normal Jewish summer camp would be a disaster. Would those campers bring down the level of Hebrew and Jewish knowledge? Would the speciality staff know how to work with them? Would the regular campers not return… Read more...
Specialized summer camp programs for disabled children began to emerge in the late 19th century and expanded in the 1930’s and 40’s [1]. Although it is not known when integration of children with developmental disabilities into “regular” camps began, it is likely to have been pioneered in camps… Read more...
The Tikvah Program at Camp Ramah in New England, now celebrating its 37th year, continues to grow and evolve, offering the Ramah experience to people of many ages with a wide range of special needs. Last summer, we initiated a program to hire
A dozen members of the Tikvah Program at Camp Ramah in New England and their chaperones visited Israel from December 20, 2006 January 3, 2007. Howard Blas, director of Ramah New England’s Tikvah Program, expressed his feelings about this special experience. The trip was a dream come true. This was… Read more...
Camp Ramah, the camping branch of the Conservative Movement of Judaism, has provided special needs populations with an exciting camping experience for over 30 years. The Tikvah (meaning hope in Hebrew) Programs are located in Massachusetts, Wisconsin, California and Canada and serve Jewish… Read more...