News

Keep up with all the lastest new of Camp Ramah in Wisconsin via our blog! 
Check it out at www.ramahwisconsin.typepad.com!

RAMAH BIKE TOUR OF ISRAEL
SAVE THESE DATES!
MAY 15 - 24, 2011
Join us for Ramah's first Israel Bike Tour: five unforgettable days of cycling from the spectacular Western Galilee to the Golan Heights.

• Raise money for Ramah programs for children with special needs.
• Learn about the history and geography of the Galilee as we cycle in the footsteps of the Halutzim (pioneers).
• Spend a memorable Ramah-Shabbat and experience the warmth of Lag BaOmer in the North.
• All transfers, lodging in comfortable hotels, and most meals included....talk about hassle-free!
• The entire ride is fully supported for your comfort and safety and will be carefully planned by an experienced Israeli biking company to assure a fabulous experience.
• The trip is intended for ALL RIDERS, and will motivate you to train prior to the trip (who couldn't use some of that?). On average we will cycle between 20 to 50 miles a day (depending on terrain). There will be more challenging options for those who are interested.
• Option of extending trip for two days of Ramah-guided touring in Jerusalem and Tel Aviv (without bikes).
  

Experience Israel Like You Never Have Before and Create Even More Ramah Memories.
To receive further information: ramahisrael@jtsa.edu 

Ramah Camps Open 2010 Summer Season!

June 2010/Sivan 5770

Dear Friends of Ramah,

As Ramah begins the 2010 summer season, the Ramah directors and I would like to thank you for your support of the Ramah Camping Movement.

Ramah camping is strong! Our camps will provide powerful experiences to thousands of our young leaders this summer:

• More than 9,000 campers and staff will attend our eight overnight camps, three day camps, and Israel programs.
• More than 120 campers will participate in the inaugural season of Ramah Outdoor Adventure, Ramah's first specialty camp, located in the Colorado Rocky Mountains.
• More than 1,500 university and graduate students will work as counselors, teachers, and specialists, along with an additional 200 professionals--rabbis, cantors, social workers, psychologists, doctors, nurses, Jewish educators, coaches, and others.
• Approximately 30 rabbinical, cantorial, education, and other graduate students from JTS, as well as others from Ziegler and other graduate schools, will be senior educators at Ramah.
• More than 200 mishlachat members will strengthen the connections between our camp communities and Israel.

With the help of many Federations, foundations and the Foundation for Jewish Camp, and with the extraordinary efforts of our camp professional leadership and boards of directors, we have been able to meet the needs of the overwhelming majority of families seeking a Ramah experience for their children. It is not too late to support this effort. Please click here to contribute to a Ramah scholarship fund.

Among the many inspirational accomplishments of Ramah, our special needs programs deserve particular mention. Through Tikvah and other special needs programs, Ramah camps provide a summer experience for children, teens, and young adults with learning challenges, emotional disorders, and other developmental disabilities. This summer, more than 200 young people and 45 families will participate in Ramah's 13 special needs camper and family programs.

Ramah Programs in Israel is having a very successful year, with more than 1,500 participants in our various programs. This summer's Ramah Israel Seminar will have approximately 300 participants--10% more than last year. Almost one-third of Seminar participants opt to begin with an intensive week of travel and learning in Poland; in addition, we are delighted this summer to introduce a second Seminar option, Seminar Yarok, which is focused on the major advances in environmental conservation taking place in Israel. Together, Ramah and USY will send more than 560 of our high school students to Israel this summer for travel experiences in the context of intensive Conservative Jewish education.

During this past year, 48 students participated in our high school semester programs in Israel, either for four months on Tichon Ramah Yerushalayim (TRY) or for two months on USY High. And throughout the year, Ramah Israel Institute brings synagogue family groups and Solomon Schechter and other day school eighth-grade groups to Israel for two-week educational experiences.

Ramah continues to thrive as a result of our partnerships with Conservative Movement organizations: synagogues; Solomon Schechter day schools; Women's League and the Federation of Jewish Men's Clubs; USY, Nativ and KOACH; and Ziegler, Machon Schechter, and JTS. Ramah also partners with other Conservative Movement affiliates throughout the world, including the NOAM youth movement; the NOAM-Ramah summer camp in Israel, Masorti Olami, Marom and Marom Olami; the Conservative Jewish summer camps in Argentina; and Ramah Yachad in Ukraine.
As we embark upon our 64th summer of intensive Jewish education within the fun, informal atmosphere of excellent summer camping, all of us at Ramah feel privileged to have this opportunity to influence the lives of more than 9,000 participants in our various camps and programs. We greatly appreciate all the support from our partners.

Todah rabah, and kayitz na'im!


Rabbi Mitchell Cohen, National Ramah Director
www.campramah.org

Expanding our Leadership Team

We are pleased to announce that beginning on September 1, 2009, Camp Ramah in Wisconsin is expanding its administrative structure. Rabbi David Soloff will become the full-time Executive Director of Camp Ramah in Wisconsin, Inc., responsible for strategic planning and partnering as well as ongoing development and expansion of Ramah programming. Rabbi Loren Sykes will join us as the new Director of Camp Ramah in Wisconsin and be responsible for the year-round administration of the camp. Lori Stark will continue in her role as the Director of Ramah Day Camp in Wheeling, Illinois. Benji Bearman will become the Chief Operating Officer and continue to oversee operations of Camp Ramah in Wisconsin and Ramah Day Camp. Linda Hoffenberg will become the Director of Institutional Advancement and continue to oversee development needs for both Camp Ramah in Wisconsin and Ramah Day Camp. Jacob Cytryn will continue in his role as Program Director of Camp Ramah in Wisconsin.

We are excited to welcome Rabbi Loren Sykes to our team! An alumnus and former staff member, Rabbi Loren Sykes served as the assistant director of Camp Ramah in Wisconsin from 1993 through the summer of 1996. During that time, he was a co-founder of the Rose Crown Minyan at Anshe Emet Synagogue. Loren became the founding executive director of Camp Ramah Darom in Clayton, Georgia where he built the camp into a leading institution in the Jewish South, created Camp Yofi: Family Camp for Jewish Families with Children with Autism, and developed a traditional family camp. Rabbi Sykes has an outstanding record of Jewish educational leadership and innovation and is the winner of the 2006 Covenant Award recognizing excellence in Jewish Education. In 2008, Loren was a Fellow in the Melton Senior Educators Program of the Hebrew University of Jerusalem and spent a year serving as the North American Director of the Florence Melton Adult Mini-School which is a project of the Hebrew University. Loren met Rebecca, his wife of fifteen years, at Camp Ramah in Wisconsin. They have three children - Elan (14), Mira (11) and Amalya (7). Rabbi Sykes was ordained at the Jewish Theological Seminary in 1993.

This is a wonderful opportunity for Ramah Wisconsin as we position ourselves to take on the challenges of our next period of growth and service to the community.

Below is an email from National Ramah Director, Rabbi Mitch Cohen

A Ramah parent recently told me that among all the great things about Camp Ramah, perhaps the best was that her children "...feel like Ramah is their second home - Who could ask for more than that for their kids?" This was one of the nicest comments I have heard, as it captures the essence of what Camp Ramah wants for all of its campers and staff - for them to feel at "home" in our summer communities. At camp they feel safe and nurtured, surrounded by adults, teens, and peers who care about them and create a wonderful community feeling.
 
In the current climate of economic uncertainty, parents have to decide, more carefully than ever, how to allocate financial resources, and what experiences they can afford for their children. In making these choices, there is nothing more important than instilling good values. Camp Ramah teaches compassion, kindness, and friendship, all within a context of Jewish tradition. When we send our children to Ramah, we are making a long-term investment in their future, an investment that, for most of our graduates, continues to pay outstanding dividends long after their camper years, as they grow into young adults, and throughout their lives. Simply put, Ramah complements all the lessons of home.
 
I am passionate about Ramah, together with tens of thousands of Ramah alumni, staff, campers, parents and supporters. We believe that a Ramah experience is one of, if not the best assurance of strong Jewish identity and Jewish leadership for the future, as well as an outstanding environment for individual growth.
 
Among other critical reasons to send our children to Ramah: 

1. Ramah builds community. Parents have myriad choices for summer experiences for their children. There are excellent camps and travel programs which offer one week, 10 day, or other short term sessions. These may be good experiences, but they do not necessarily create community. At Ramah we believe that the length of time spent at camp is essential to building community. Relationships with peers and staff members take time to develop. So much more growth takes place when everyone feels comfortable with each other and with their surroundings. Ramah camps offer that stability that creates community for our campers. At Ramah, our campers feel "at home." 
2. Ramah offers an inspiring Jewish program. Judaism and a love for Israel are woven into the fabric of daily life. Our children learn that Zionism and Jewish religious life and culture can be relevant and fun. The role modeling for our children is extremely powerful. The sports instructor, the bunk counselor, and the arts director, all young Jewish adults committed to the mission of Ramah, find ways to manifest this mission through daily activities.
3. The Ramah experience lasts through the crucial teen years.

When choosing a summer camp, parents often focus on what might be the most fun for their 8-, 10-, or 12-year-old child. Parents really should take a long term perspective, and consider where their children will be when they are 15 or 17. At Ramah, campers typically return as campers through the high school years, travel to Israel with Ramah, and return for at least a summer or two as staff members. In 2008 our retention rate across Ramah camps was 84%. Equally important, 80% of Ramah staff members were campers at Ramah! I believe that one of Ramah's greatest strengths is this retention into the crucial high school years and into young adulthood, when values are being defined and solidified, and when relationships are being established that often last for years into the future. As one young Ramah alumnus told me recently, "Even after two years at college, I still find that I have most in common with the Ramah people I meet, no matter which Ramah camp they attended. There's a whole group of us that get together on Shabbat, and it's so much fun."

We live in challenging times. The most important decisions we make may be about the experiences we choose for our children - who will be their friends, who will influence the decisions they make, who will be their role models, and what values will they embrace. Summer camp is expensive, and choosing the right one can be daunting.

For so many reasons, now more than ever, choosing Camp Ramah may be the best decision that parents can make for their children's future.

For the disabled, Birthright trips are extra special

Article by Gil Shefler, November 9, 2009, from JTA

NEW YORK (JTA) -- Pamela Saeks thought her daughter Karly, who has Asperger's syndrome, would never be able to go on Birthright Israel, the program that offers Diaspora Jews free trips to Israel.

"For years she has been so frustrated that she can't be like other kids and go on an organized trip to Israel," Saeks said.

But in December, Karly will embark on a 10-day Birthright trip tailored for individuals with Asperger's, a form of high-functioning autism. The trip will take her from the shores of the Dead Sea to the verdant plateau of the Golan Heights.

The trip is organized in partnership with Shorashim, an organization aimed at strengthening ties between the Diaspora and Israel, and Koach, the college outreach group of the Conservative movement, and has been led by special needs educator Rose Sharon.

It will be the fourth Birthright trip suited to meet the needs of people with Asperger's.

The Asperger's trip is one of a number of specially tailored Birthright programs for those with disabilities. Birthright, which has brought some 220,000 Jews aged 18 to 26 to Israel since its inception in 2000, also runs trips for the hearing impaired, the developmentally disabled and wheelchair users, and has had one trip for blind participants.

By the end of 2009, at least 28 groups of people with special needs will have traveled to Israel on Birthright since 2003, according to Birthright.

The Birthright trips for the disabled visit all the major sites of a typical Birthright trip, but changes are made to suit the participants' unique needs.

At Masada, they do not ascend to the ancient citadel via the rigorous serpentine trail. Instead, they tour the Roman ramparts at the bottom of the hill and take the cable car to the top.

At Yad Vashem, the Holocaust museum in Jerusalem, organizers highlight the persecution by the Nazis of people with disabilities. And Asperger's trips hold discussions about the Nazis' persecution of Eastern European Jewry in classrooms located next to the museum to provide a better environment for participants to absorb the information.

Despite their popularity, the frequency of Birthright trips for the disabled is limited due to budgetary constraints.

"It's an expensive trip to run, and we can't do it again," Hillel's director of immersion, Andrea Hoffman, said of a trip for the mobile impaired. "People have asked us if we could get private funding and we have a lot of requests."

The costs of the trips for the disabled are higher for several reasons. Each group has a higher staff-to-participant ratio -- one to three on the Asperger's trip, for example, compared with one to 20 for regular Birthright trips.

In addition, some groups need specific and sometimes expensive facilities. Mobile-impaired groups need special buses that can accommodate more than 20 people in wheelchairs, and organizers have to scout every destination to make sure they are wheelchair accessible.

Laura Siegel, who went on a trip for the hearing impaired two summers ago, said the experience was transformative.

"I feel that this trip would leave a long-lasting impression for every deaf Jewish young adult out there in the United States, as it did for me," Siegel wrote JTA in an e-mail.

"We started out as strangers and ended up almost feeling like a family, and all it took was 10 days up close and personal sharing this amazing journey."

Lior Baruch, an Israeli special-needs teacher who has escorted three Asperger's trips and will take part in the one in December, said one moment during his last trip sticks out in his mind.

"A few hours after the group landed in Israel, they stood on the Armon Hanatziv promenade overlooking this view of Jerusalem," Baruch recalled. "You could see the excitement in their eyes. Some took nonstop pictures. Others called their parents. It was a touching moment."

Rabbi Elsye Winick, associate director of Koach and one of the organizers of the Asperger's trip, said that one of the most powerful moments on past trips came when her group met Israelis with Asperger's.

"It was an eye-opening experience," Winick said. "It was an experience to realize that on the other side of the world there were people just like them."

Jeffery Odols, who is deaf and took part in a Birthright trip for the hearing impaired, raves about the experience. He said it included many memorable moments such as visiting the Bedouin in the Negev Desert and savoring the "wonderful shwarma and falafel."

But the 22-year-old from Rochester, N.Y., said the trip's highlight was the friendships he forged with other deaf and hearing-impaired participants.

"We learned so much from each other -- our backgrounds, our struggles, our identities and our aspirations," Odols wrote. "It was interesting observing personalities blend in together."

After returning from the trip, Odols was inspired to enroll in a course in Middle Eastern studies. He said he hopes one day to help Israel improve its ties with its neighbors.

"Going on the Birthright trip actually opened my eyes," he said.