National Ramah Tikvah Network:
Vocational Training
The Ezra program is a 4- or 8-week vocational training program for young adults ages 17-24 that captures the passion and excitement of Camp Ramah. During the summer, Ezra program participants live at camp alongside 1,400 staff and campers. They fill their days with job site experience, life skill classes, recreational activities, and living Judaism. The Ezra Program allows participants to take their existing skills and enhance them in an independent Jewish community. Ezra participants live in communal, independent living quarters with peers under adult supervision. Participants learn lessons of responsibility, kinship, sportsmanship, and sharing. They receive job-training experience in a number of service areas throughout camp and are held accountable for their interpersonal relationships in the Ramah community. Program goals include preparing young adults for independent living and teaching them employment-related skills.
Tikvah campers ages 18–22 have vocational opportunities, with an emphasis on developing and improving job skills and independent living skills. Our beautiful new Tikvah building is not only a gathering place for Tikvah campers but is also the home to the Keepin’ it Kosh Café, where our participants take pride and ownership over the entire process, from selecting the menu, to preparing and serving the food, to cleaning up afterward.
Vocational education participants might also work in the office, nursery, kitchen, water ski dock, and tuck shop.
The Tikvah Vocational Education Program is designed to provide 17-21 year-olds who require extra support the opportunity to learn vocational skills within Ramah Darom’s supportive, joyful Jewish community. Participants work in different areas around camp, learning job skills, time management and teamwork, and enjoy traditional camp activities, such as swimming, boating, art and sports.
Tzevet Tzmicha (Staff receiving Tikvah support): Tzevet Tzmicha staff members contribute to the camp kehillah (community) and receive additional guidance and oversight in their summer roles. They typically work in specialty areas around camp and are assisted with scheduling, organization and social skills. Tzevet Tzmicha is intended for 18-21 year-old former Ramah Darom campers who received Tikvah support and have graduated high school.
Voc Ed Ma’avar is a transition program for young adults that bridges our camper and vocational programs. This experience provides young adults with learning, social, and developmental differences, an opportunity to participate in a vocational internship within the Tochnit Avodah (Voc-Ed) program, as well as recreational activities with Amitzim and other edot (divisions.) Our Voc Ed Ma’avar participants continue to benefit from a higher level of support related to independent living skills, vocational experiences, and social interactions.
Tochnit Avodah (Voc Ed) offers vocational training, socialization and a group living experience for young adults with learning, social, and developmental differences. Participants are placed in an internship where they work to contribute to our larger camp community and develop a broad range of skills that can be utilized and transferred to a variety of settings. The program provides numerous formal and informal learning opportunities, including a daily vocational skills class, activities of daily living, Jewish learning, and fitness and recreational opportunities. In addition, some participants from Tochnit Avodah move on to summer employment at camp and are provided with support, as are all staff who may benefit.
The Ezra Program offers vocational training for young adult campers ages 18 to 26. Individualized internship and mentorship opportunities include, but are not limited to, horse care, office/administrative work, and food services/hospitality. Ezra participants develop life and social/recreational skills through participation in age-appropriate camper and staff activities.
Ma’avar is a transitional program for Yedidim campers who are 16+ years old that bridges Yedidim and Tochnit Avodah. Participants in Ma’avar live in Beit Yedidim and participate in all the typical camp programming with the rest of their edah (division). Twice a week they manage and run Yedibean, a coffee shop for Camp staff. During these rotations, participants work on customer service skills, time management and teamwork.
The Tochnit Avodah Vocational Education Program is designed for young adults ages 18+ and gives them the opportunity to learn vocational skills at camp within our supportive, joyful Jewish community. Participants are staff members who contribute to the camp kehillah (community) while receiving the additional guidance and oversight to ensure their success in their summer roles. These individuals work in different areas around camp, learning job skills, time management and teamwork, and enjoy traditional camp activities, such as swimming, boating, art and sports.
The Ramah in the Rockies vocational education program provides adults (18+) with disabilities an opportunity to receive job training in a camp setting. Participants have the opportunity to work in one of several job areas to develop skills such as responsibility, reliability, and efficiency. As a part of a cohort, our vocational education participants meet several times a week to engage in life skills training, social skills training, and Jewish learning together. They live in staff housing with support staff and have opportunities to engage with each other and other staff members on a regular basis.
Wisconsin
Conover, WI
Audra Kaplan
Interim Director of Camp Wellness and Inclusion
(312) 606-9316
Meredith Weprin
Director, Atzmayim
(312) 606-9316
The Atzmayim Vocational Program is for high school graduates. Atzmayim, the Hebrew word for “independent,” is designed to strengthen social and vocational skills in participants with challenges and disabilities who are in their late teens and early twenties.
Atzmayim is intended to assist in transitioning to an independent living environment such as a college campus and developing the skills to select and engage in leisure activities at home.
The goals and objectives of the Atzmayim program focus on areas of personal development such as self-image, vocational skills, independent social functioning and active involvement in the Jewish community. The Atzmayim program provides a supportive framework for participants to interact with the general staff population, who serve as their role models.