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

Funding will support programs and alternate trips after Israel-Iran war forces travel cancellations

NEW YORK — Foundation for Jewish Camp (FJC) today announced more than $2 million in emergency funding for Jewish camps as they navigate canceled Israel travel programs and build new, meaningful alternatives for teens this summer.

Across North America, nearly 200,000 young people are attending Jewish day or overnight camps this summer. Israel and Israelis play a crucial role in the camp experience: Dozens of camps, and nearly 1,000 teens, had planned trips to Israel this summer., and 2,050 Israeli shlichim, or emissaries, were scheduled to work at Jewish camps. 

The Israel-Iran war upended plans for hundreds of camps. And while the resumption of some flights and coordinated efforts by the Jewish Agency for Israeli (JAFI) mean that by now, most shlichim are at camp or will soon arrive, most camps who planned to travel to Israel have been forced to cancel their trips and scramble to find alternatives on short notice and at higher prices

“The fact that we were able to raise $2 million in less than a week is a testament to the resilience and generosity of our community,” said Jamie Simon, acting CEO of Foundation for Jewish Camp. “While nothing can fully replace the experience of being in Israel with your fellow campers, this emergency funding will ensure that hundreds of Jewish teens still have powerful, identity-shaping Jewish experiences this summer.”

FJC anticipates disbursing this emergency funding to dozens of camps serving nearly 750 teens. Other alternative travel programs in lieu of an Israel trip include a Jewish history and leadership development trip to Prague, Vienna, and Budapest that includes a stop at Camp Szarvas, an international Jewish camp in Hungary, as well as another camp that is traveling to Argentina.

“Earlier this month, 34 rising 12th graders were scheduled to leave on a 5-week trip to Israel. Despite a tremendous amount of disappointment, we are very happy that nearly all participants are joining us for an alternative leadership capstone experience at camp,” said Jane-Rachel Schonbrun, Director of Camp Yavneh. “We are grateful to FJC and the many members of our community who have made donations to offset our losses, allowing us to reimagine this core part of our campers’ Jewish journey.” 

Rabbi Dan Utley, Director of Camp Wise, added, “Thanks to this support, Camp Wise, the Jewish overnight camp of the Mandel JCC of Cleveland, has provided emerging teen leaders with a transformative journey through Europe—connecting them to Jewish history—and the opportunity to experience the pride and joy of global Jewish peoplehood at JDC’s Camp Szarvas in Hungary. Even in a time of significant turmoil for the Jewish community, our teens are growing in confidence, identity, and leadership as the next generation of Jewish adults.”

In addition to funding, FJC has also facilitated stopgap staffing options for camps who faced a sudden shortfall because of the delay inshlichim arriving in North America. 1,250 shlichim were already at camps when the war broke out, but another 850 weren’t. That left camps that start later in the summer, especially those in the Midwest and Northeast, with a gap in their workforce. 

In under 72 hours, FJC rallied over 1,200 people who said they were willing to work or volunteer. Alums, typically loyal to their own camp, said they were willing to go wherever they’d be needed the most. Ultimately, FJC referred 400 highly qualified individuals to camps. These included people whose own travel to Israel was upended by the war — from a future lone soldier who was supposed to work for Magen David Adom this summer to a number of young people who were slated to compete in the canceled Maccabiah Games. 

“FJC has been instrumental in helping us meet critical staffing needs this summer at a sensitive time,” said David Weiss, Executive Director of Habonim Dror Camp Galil. “Their quick mobilization of national support introduced us to passionate, capable young adults who have become invaluable members of our team. We’re incredibly grateful for FJC’s partnership and the positive impact it’s had on our Galil community.”

FJC has also established partnerships with organizations like Maccabi USA and Birthright Israel to offer participants in their programs, which are facing widespread cancellations, the opportunity to work at camp this summer.

About Foundation for Jewish Camp 

FJC advocates for over 300 day and overnight camps that provide nearly 190,000 campers and counselors each summer with a meaningful, personal, and lifelong connection to Judaism. FJC is the only public 501(c)(3) charitable organization solely focused on Jewish camp. jewishcamp.org