Foundation for Jewish Camp Awards Nearly $1.5 Million to Five Camps for Young Adult Disability Skills Training
Inaugural cohort of the Yashar: Skills Training Initiative will fund new housing, teaching kitchens, and program spaces at Jewish day and overnight camps to expand access for young adults with disabilities
NEW YORK — Foundation for Jewish Camp (FJC) today announced the first cohort of camps selected for the Yashar:Skills Training Initiative, awarding nearly $1.5 million in capital grants to five Jewish camps across North America to engage more young adults with disabilities. The grants, part of a $4.35 million commitment from The Harry and Jeanette Weinberg Foundation, will enable Jewish camps to provide these young adults, who are at higher risk for economic vulnerability, with positive camp experiences and job training opportunities that will increase workforce readiness at camp and beyond.
The announcement comes during Jewish Disability Awareness, Acceptance, and Inclusion Month (JDAIM), observed by Jewish communities each February since 2009 to raise awareness and encourage inclusion.
“Jewish camp should be a place where young people with disabilities feel a true sense of belonging and are actively prepared for the world beyond camp,” said Jamie Simon, CEO of Foundation for Jewish Camp. “This first cohort of the Yashar: Skills Training Initiative represents a significant investment in the infrastructure these camps need to expand their skills training programs, enabling them to prepare more young adults for independence and meaningful work.”
The five camps’ projects include:
- Camp Ramah in New England (Palmer, MA) — Camp Ramah in New England will renovate a former health center into new housing, enabling the camp to hire 14 additional supported staff members who have graduated from its skills training or camper inclusion programs into paid staff roles.
- JCC Camp Chi (Lake Delton, WI) — JCC Camp Chi will construct two new cabins and a multipurpose facility for its Avodah (skills training) program. The program partners with Keshet, a Chicago-based Jewish disabilities inclusion organization, for year-round employment opportunities.
- Roger and Jane Davis JCC Camps at Medford (Medford, NJ) — JCC Camps at Medford will expand its main dining hall to include a full-service teaching kitchen for a culinary arts skills training program to equip participants with transferable job skills.
- Ramah Day Camp in Nyack (Nyack, NY) — Ramah Day Camp in Nyack will renovate dormitory space into housing and program rooms for skills training participants.
- URJ Camp Harlam (Kunkletown, PA) — URJ Camp Harlam will construct a new building to house 18 skills training participants and 10 staff members, with programming spaces, a sensory room, and on-site job training facilities including a kitchen and laundry space.
“Skills training programs provide hands-on learning opportunities for young adults with disabilities to build practical skills, confidence, and independence that extend beyond the camp setting,” said Jill Goldstein Smith, Director of Training & Talent Development at FJC. “Camps in the first cohort of the Yashar: Skills Training Initiative have already built strong programs, and this new funding will enable them to build on that success and allow the Jewish camp movement to learn best practices for reaching more people.”
Approximately 80 percent of Jewish camps now run programs for campers with disabilities — many launched with support from FJC’s original Yashar Initiative, which provided $12.35 million to boost accessibility at 46 camps. A second cohort of this skills training initiative, focused on camps launching new programs, will open applications in fall 2027.
About Foundation for Jewish Camp
Foundation for Jewish Camp grows, supports, and strengthens the Jewish camp movement so the more than 300 Jewish day and overnight camps across North America can deliver exceptional experiences for campers, staff, families, and communities, engaging them in lifelong, joyful Judaism. Learn more at jewishcamp.org
