A Better Understanding of Living with a Disability

In February, after a mean case of the flu, I ended up in the hospital for meningitis. A couple of days into my treatment, I developed a brain bleed (a rare side effect of meningitis) that led me to lose mobility on my left side. This was the first time I had personally experienced physical disability. Until now, my experience was limited to working with students or campers with physical disabilities. I could try to imagine what it was like, but I was not in their shoes. Now it was happening to me.

Tikvah/Special Needs, Blog/ReflectionsNancy ScheffJune 4, 2018Poconos, Tikvah

Ramah Tikvah Programs: A Standard for Jewish Inclusive Camping

In the late 1960’s, Herb and Barbara Greenberg, two teachers working in the field of special education, approached several Jewish summer camps with a novel idea: why not include children with disabilities at camp?

At the time, this was an unheard-of idea, and the Greenbergs encountered a lot of pushback and opposition.

Tikvah/Special Needs, Ramah in the NewsNRC WebmasterMarch 5, 2018Tikvah, Voc-Ed

Inclusion from Camp Ramah to Israel

"Tikvah at Ramah is as natural and integral to Jewish summer camping as Shabbat, campfires and color war. For that reason, after nearly 25 years of working with Tikvah at Ramah, I sometimes forget how extraordinary it is that campers with disabilities are seamlessly included in Jewish camping." - Howard Blas, National Ramah Tikvah Director

Tikvah/Special NeedsNRC WebmasterFebruary 20, 2018Israel, Tikvah, JDAIM

At Camp Ramah, Inclusion Is a Mission

"At Camp Ramah, we try to individualize programs that benefit each type of camper who comes through our door. I meet individually with families. I talk to parents. I meet with teachers and educators to figure how we could we make camp successful for all different types of kids. I work with typical campers, too, to see how we can make camp successful for them." - Elana Naftalin-Kelman, Tikvah Director

Tikvah/Special Needs, Ramah in the NewsNRC WebmasterFebruary 12, 2018Tikvah, California, JDAIM

10 Amazing–And Accessible–Days in Israel

...people with disabilities are very capable of connecting in a meaningful way with Jewish ritual, practice, and knowledge, and with Israel. When our summer camps, synagogues, youth groups, schools, communities and Israel trips open their doors to include everyone, the payoff is as clear as the beautiful sky we saw from Jaffa on the last night of our trip of a lifetime.

Israel and Hebrew, Tikvah/Special NeedsNRC WebmasterJanuary 17, 2018Tikvah, Israel

On a Mission of Hope

“Israel is just as important to the Tikvah participants and their families on this Birthright trip as it is to all those Jews who view the Land of Israel and the State of Israel as their Jewish homeland,” said Herb Greenberg, who founded the Tikvah program with his wife, Barbara, in 1970.

Tikvah/Special Needs, Ramah in the NewsNRC WebmasterJanuary 11, 2018Tikvah, Israel

First-Ever Birthright Israel: Ramah Tikvah-Amazing Israel trip

A partnership between Ramah Tikvah, Amazing Israel and Birthright Israel brings young adults with disabilities to Israel

Tikvah/Special Needs, Israel and Hebrew, Ramah in the NewsNancy ScheffNovember 15, 2017Israel, Tikvah

The Keshet-Ramah Day Camp Connection

In partnership with Keshet, a Chicago-area program for Jewish children with special needs, Ramah Day Camp hosts an experience for children ages 5-11 with a wide range of disabilities. Campers enroll through Keshet and are fully integrated with Ramah campers with the help of a one-to-one counselor.

Tikvah/Special NeedsNancy ScheffSeptember 1, 2017Tikvah, Chicago Day Camp

There Was Nothing to See—What Inclusion Looks Like

This summer I spent time with several of our program partners and friends – Camp Ramah, Adaptive Sports of New England, the Boys and Girls Club of Dorchester and Boston, the Jewish Community Center of the North Shore, and Camp Yavneh, to name a few.

Tikvah/Special NeedsNancy ScheffAugust 31, 2017Tikvah, New England