25 HIGHLIGHTS FROM OUR 25th YEAR

There are many ways we’ll all remember 2021. For Ramah Darom, 2021 will be remembered as RAMAHrkable: the year we celebrated our beloved organization’s first twenty-five.

The idea was to make our 25^th year a celebration of all that Ramah Darom has accomplished; to enable our alumni to reconnect with the organization and with each other; and to look ahead to our bright future with excitement. From my perspective, I believe we accomplished all these goals and more.

So at the risk of co-opting BuzzFeed’s trademarked format, here is a list – in no particular order – of twenty-five personal highlights from Ramah Darom’s RAMAHrkable 25^th year:

1. The first night of Camp Staff Week in June, seeing almost 200 young tzevet singing and dancing together after two long years away from their favorite place on earth.
   

   

2. The huge smiles on the faces of our young guests during “PJ Games”, a highlight of this fall’s Book it to Shabbat with PJ Library weekend that had been twice postponed due to Covid.
   

   

3. Sharing our exciting facility expansion plans with our community in the summer and kicking-off of our Kadima! fundraising campaign.
   

   

4. Visiting “Café Darom” – the coffee shop fully operated by our summer Vocational Education participants – for the first time in two years.
   

   

5. Seeing our alumni participate in a special Ramah Darom edition of Who Knows One? celebrating our 25^th.
   

   

6. The last Monday in August: the first time our Atlanta staff was back together in the office in 16 months.
   

   

7. The “25 Years of Song” video mashup featuring Ramah Darom music staff from the last 25 years.
   

   

8. The first joyful Havdallah as one full Camp after two weeks of “podding”.
   

   

9. Seeing the reactions (”wow, this place is beautiful!”) of 8^th graders from a Chicago Jewish middle school when they first arrived at Ramah Darom in May for a week-long getaway (since they were, sadly, not able to visit Israel this spring).
   

   

10. Reading each issue of the “Hill Times”, the amazing newsletter from our Camp Ramah Darom Alumni Association.
    

    

11. Watching Naomi Less and Eliana Light play and sing (and cry!) together during our “Campfire Jam Session” at the Pesach retreat – the first time they had performed live in over a year.
    

    

    

12. The unveiling of the new Ramah Darom T-Shirt wall on the lower level of the Levine Center.
    

    

13. Visiting Mobile, AL this fall – our first work trip in almost two years – to meet in-person with so many of our original Ramah Darom families and supporters.
    

    

14. The 25^th year RAMAHrkable Summer Celebration at Camp, including the return of the famed Ramah Darom Big Boppers!
    

    

    

    

15. Scrolling through Zoom pages during our “Light up the 8^th Night” Chanukah candle-lighting and seeing so many familiar faces.
    

    

16. Camp drop-off at the Marriott hotel in Atlanta, seeing all the new and returning campers coming together after two long years.

    
    
    

17. Our spring Zoom Havdallah led by Joanna Dulkin, the original Rosh Musica (head of music) and composer of “Drishat Shalom”.
    

    

18. Hearing that we had solidified our first major donor for our new Program Center, the first phase of our Kadima! campaign.

    

19. Joining our Nitzanim campers for Shabbat services at Camp that included “Shabbat skits” followed by the whole aidah lined-up along the wall, then “rolling the Torah” (ie. spinning until they were all smooshed together!).

    

20. The amazing Legacy Video featuring some of our founders telling their stories of the early days of Ramah Darom.
    

    

21. Watching new campers learning the Ramah Darom dances during our “Ready for Ramah” Zoom sessions this spring.
    

    

22. Opening night Shabbat Dinner during our Pesach retreat, where our amazing Passover community came together for the first time in two years.
    

    

23. Seeing the campers in our older Aidot singing together and sharing their love for Ramah Darom and each other during “Slo-ach” (the time between Seudat Shlishit and Havdallah) on the last night of Camp. (Sorry no pictures because it’s during Shabbat.)
    

24. Closing ceremonies of Session Bet in August, where we all had the chance to reflect on our amazing 25th.

    
    

And last but most definitely not least…

25. The RAMAHrkable Night 25^th kick-off event last January: seeing hundreds of current and former Ramah Darom-niks together to joyfully celebrate our beloved organization.
    

    

Wow – what a year!

Huge thanks are due to our 25^th celebrations committee chaired by Flora Oynick; to our 25th Year Celebrations Project Manager, Andrea Slomka; and to all members of the Ramah Darom staff and community who have made this year – and the first 25 – so incredibly special.

Please enjoy this Thank You video.

Chazak chazak v’nitchazek! To the next 25!

Wally

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