Winners of 2015 Tiptoe Inclusion-Themed Video Contest
Ramah Camping Movement and Ruderman Family Foundation Announce Winners of Video Contest to Promote Inclusion of Campers with Disabilities
NEW YORK, NY (December 18, 2015) – The Ramah Camping Movement and the Ruderman Family Foundation are delighted to announce the winners of “TIPTOE (The Inclusion Project: Through Our Eyes),” an inclusion-themed video contest for participants from all Jewish camps. The goal of TIPTOE is to increase awareness of the inclusion work happening at Jewish camps across North America. The Ruderman Family Foundation will award a cash prize to the winners and make donations to the inclusion programs at the winners’ camps.
Camper Winners
First place prize $500: Matthew Warshay (Providence, RI), plus $750 donation to Camp Ramah in New England, Palmer, MA
Second place $250: Shafer Gootkind (New York, NY), plus $500 donation to Camp Twelve Trails, Pearl River, NY (a day camp of the YM & YWHA of Washington Heights and Inwood, formerly Camp Yomawha)
Staff Member Winners
First place prize $750: Jennifer Kreinik (Scarsdale, NY), plus $1,000 donation to B’nai B’rith Beber Camp, Mukwonago, WI
Second place $500: Jonah Goldman Kay (Orlando, FL) & Itai Zwecker (Tel Aviv, Israel), plus $750 donation to Camp Ramah Darom, Clayton, GA
Campers and high-school and college-age staff members who participated in a North American Jewish summer camp program in 2015 submitted videos that showed their view of inclusion of children with disabilities in their Jewish camp. Representatives from the Ruderman Family Foundation and the Foundation for Jewish Camp selected the winners based on three criteria: demonstrating inclusion, creativity, and visual appeal.
“There is no better place to learn about the value of including people of all abilities in our community than at camp,” said Jay Ruderman, President of the Ruderman Family Foundation. “Jewish camps, led by Camp Ramah, have begun to change the landscape of our Jewish community. These TIPTOE award winners have documented, in very personal ways, why the inclusion of children with disabilities at Jewish camps makes the camping experience more meaningful for everyone.”
According to Rabbi Mitchell Cohen, National Ramah Director, “We are proud to have pioneered inclusion in Jewish camping through our Tikvah programs, and we continue to be inspired by the intentional approach to inclusion that is developing and expanding across Jewish camps in North America. The TIPTOE video contest demonstrates the powerful impact of inclusion on staff and campers throughout an entire camp community.”
TIPTOE, a partnership with the Ruderman Family Foundation, is administered by the Ramah Camping Movement in collaboration with the Foundation for Jewish Camp and numerous camps across North America.