YACHAD ANNOUNCES FIRST INCLUSIVE VOCATIONAL PROGRAM AT A DAY CAMP WITH MOSHAVA BA’IR IN PARAMUS; BEGINS JUNE 25; TRANSPORTATION INCLUDES MANHATTAN, RIVERDALE AS WELL
Yachad | Jewish Disabilities Integration will be partnering with the “hottest day camp around” — Moshava Ba’ir (Camp Moshava in the City) — to provide Inclusive vocational placement, June 25 to August 17, for Jewish men and women ages 18-35 with special needs. Moshava Ba’ir, a popular program of the Bnei Akiva Religious Zionist youth movement, is located on the campus of The Frisch School in Paramus, NJ.
“Yachad,” the flagship program of the Orthodox Union’s National Jewish Council for Disabilities (NJCD), provides unique social, educational and recreational programs for individuals with learning, developmental and physical disabilities.
Participants may work for either four or the full eight weeks of the camp season. Transportation will be provided from locations in Englewood, Teaneck, Riverdale, and the Upper West Side of Manhattan, and can be arranged for other areas.
Acording to Dr. Joe Goldfarb, Director of Yachad Summer Programs, this new opportunity “is Yachad’s first vocational placement program in a day camp to go along with similar programs at overnight camps. The partnership with Moshava Ba’ir reflects Yachad’s growing relationship with Bnei Akiva, which also runs a similar sleep-away program at Camp Moshava in Pennsylvania with a successful Inclusive vocational program run by Yachad.”
Rav Shaul Feldman, Director of Bnei Akiva of the United States and Canada — the parent organization of Moshava Ba’ir, said, “Bnei Akiva is the religious Zionist movement for the entire community, and we welcome opportunities to partner with Yachad to increase Inclusion in all of our programs.”
Rabbi Menachem Hecht, Director of Moshava Ba’ir, welcomed the new Yachad program. “This is a wonderful opportunity for Moshava Ba’ir. We see ourselves as not just a camp but a community of staff, campers, and families, and we deeply value the chance to become a more Inclusive space,” he stated.
This summer program was started to help local residents with special needs, who are capable and willing workers, find a summer job. With the guidance of a job coach, they will be given assignments based upon interest and skill level – among them, office work; kitchen staff; and assisting within specialty fields such as arts and crafts or sports. In addition, Yachad will provide social programming for all staff.
“Yachad’s involvement will be to enable adults with disabilities to be staff members — just like any other staff – where they will learn important vocational and social skills,” said Nechama Braun, Yachad Summer Programs Administrator. “Continuing the quality successful programming run by Yachad at Camps Morasha, Nesher, Mesorah, Moshava, and Lavi, we will look at each staff members’ goals to make it a meaningful and fun educational experience for each of them. This is another unique opportunity provided by Yachad to facilitate full Inclusion within the broad Jewish community.”
For more information or to participate, please contact Nechama Braun at 212-613-8369 or email {encode=”mailto:braunn@ou.org” title=”braunn@ou.org”}.
OU | Enhancing Jewish Life