How My Son Finally Opened Up About His Little Brother With Special Needs

The first time I remember talking to Oscar about his younger brother Saul’s special needs, he couldn’t have been more than 5 years old. Definitely still in preschool. There was something–though I can’t remember exactly what–that Oscar thought Saul would like and he said, “Saul is going to do this!” and started flapping his hands and bouncing up and down. I lost it. I couldn’t believe my sweet little boy was making fun of his younger brother who has Fragile X, which is a genetic syndrome and the cause of intellectual disabilities that can include learning problems, autism, anxiety, sensory, and behavioral issues.

Read More
The Power of Gardens at Jewish Summer Camp

After a whirlwind year of graduating from Mount Holyoke, volunteering for four months in Nepal, and traveling for a few months in India, I landed somewhere I never thought I would be – Jewish summer camp. I grew up going to day camp at the JCC in Northeast Philadelphia, but spending eight weeks in the woodlands of Ontario with some 500 Jewish was certainly foreign to me.

Read More
Tikvah Means Hope

Our family spent last weekend at Camp Ramah in New England’s first-ever Tikvah Family Shabbaton. Tikvah is Ramah’s special needs program. It is unique among Jewish camps. Within the Tikvah program at Ramah, children with all types of disabilities are welcomed and supported. The Tikvah program is the main reason we selected Ramah for S’s first camp experience this summer.

Read More
What It’s All About – Lessons from the FJC Leaders Assembly

I was beaming with Ramah pride as I learned from and shared with camp professionals during the Foundation for Jewish Camp Leaders Assembly last week.

I was inspired by the many voices around the table, I was moved by the wide variety of camps that were represented, and I was encouraged by the number of people talking about inclusion.

Everyone wanted to think together about how to increase the opportunities for inclusion of children with disabilities at their camps.

Read More
Kerem Takes NYC (and White Plains, too)

“Kerem” is a cohort of young Ramah professionals in their 20s, all of whom are working at NRC or at our camp offices all around North America. Almost all of the positions filled by these outstanding camp leaders didn’t exist just a few years ago, so the existence of this cohort is a sign of the growth of many of our camp operations and National Ramah initiatives. The group is dedicated to professional development, Jewish nurturing, and social networking.

Read More