Foundation for Jewish Camp Announces $4.35 Million Skills Training Initiative for Young Adults with Disabilities
Five-year grant will help young adults with disabilities build job and life skills at Jewish camps
NEW YORK — Foundation for Jewish Camp (FJC) today announced a new, $4.35 million grant from The Harry and Jeanette Weinberg Foundation to support camps in engaging young adults with disabilities. The Yashar: Skills Training Initiative will enable Jewish camps to provide these young adults, who are at higher risk for economic vulnerability, with camp experiences and job training opportunities that will increase workforce readiness at camp and beyond.
“Every Jewish person should have the opportunity to make Jewish camp a part of their lives,” said Jamie Simon, CEO of Foundation for Jewish Camp. “While most camps offer programs for children with disabilities, fewer options exist for young adults. This new support will enable camps to provide these young adults with workplace skills, confidence, and community. We’re extraordinarily grateful to The Harry and Jeanette Weinberg Foundation for their partnership.”
Approximately 80% of Jewish camps run programs for campers with disabilities. Many were launched and supported by FJC’s original Yashar Initiative, which was also funded by the Weinberg Foundation and provided $12.35 million to boost accessibility at 46 camps. Yashar helped increase the total number of campers with disabilities at Jewish camps by 8%, and led children with disabilities to report feeling a similar sense of belonging as children without disabilities.
While many campers go on to give back to their community and continue their own growth as staff members, only 1% of overnight camp staff and 3% of day camp staff have a disability. Less than one-fifth of Jewish camps offer skills training programs, previously known as vocational education or VocEd.
Research suggests individuals with disabilities are disproportionately affected by economic vulnerability in the Jewish community, and that physical and financial barriers reduce participation in Jewish life. The Yashar: Skills Training Initiative will bolster post-camper pathways and deepen engagement in the Jewish community for young adults with disabilities, building on the success of the initial work of Yashar.
“The Foundation is committed to ensuring that all members of the Jewish community can meet their needs and thrive,” said Jon Hornstein, a program director at the Weinberg Foundation. “We are proud to continue our partnership with Foundation for Jewish Camp and to support this project, which will help young adults with disabilities develop the skills, confidence, and independence to succeed in the workforce and beyond.”
The Yashar: Skills Training Initiative will give approximately 10 camps resources, training, consulting, and guidance to provide meaningful, hands-on learning opportunities for young adult Jews with disabilities to build practical skills, confidence, and independence that extend beyond the camp setting.
Camps will receive an average of $300,000 in capital funding to go toward creating accessible spaces such as kitchens, classrooms, and housing that will be used for a camp’s skills training program. Camps will also receive support and consulting to strengthen and grow their programs, with a focus on increasing recruitment, enhancing training curricula, appropriately supporting participants, integrating participants into camp staff culture, and preparing participants for future employment.
Skills training programs focus on affective skills, such as communication, teamwork, time management, conflict resolution, and independent living, as well as employment skills specific to workplace environments like coffee shops, cafes, grocery stores, and specialty areas around camp. Together, affective skill-building and on-the-job training set up young adults with disabilities for long-term success.
Applications for the first round of funding are now live. The first cohort will be announced in early 2026 and primarily engage camps looking to expand and enhance existing skills training programs. There will be a second cohort, with applications opening in Fall 2027, focusing on camps interested in starting new skills training programs.
About Foundation for Jewish Camp
FJC’s mission is to grow, support, and strengthen the Jewish camp movement, leveraging more than $20 million of philanthropic giving annually to scale programs and resources that benefit more than 300 Jewish day and overnight camps across North America. Learn more at jewishcamp.org
