Blog
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Pass It On!
September 15, 2020
Jeff Weener, Ramah Darom’s Director of Business Operations, is a baker, a cook, a giver and a person who is always working to make the world a better place. At the beginning of the pandemic, he started making challahs, setting them out on his porch and posting on Facebook for his friends and neighbors to […]
Robyn Diamond
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Summer 2020 in Review
September 9, 2020
It’s September, the kids are back in school. On Monday, the Camp team just sent out a survey to camper parents to finalize summer 2021 dates and we said L’hitraot to our Labor Day Weekend Getaway participants. Summer 2020 is officially over! There is no doubt that this summer brought uncountable disappointments, but also many […]
Robyn Diamond
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Our Creative Reunion
September 3, 2020
My husband and I live in Savannah and our children and their families are scattered in Chicago, Atlanta, Oakland and New Orleans. After too many months apart, our family was getting itchy to see each other. When I heard about the opportunity for all of us to be “together” at Raman Darom for a Misphachah […]
Nancy Isaacson
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A Virtual Summer of Inclusion
August 24, 2020
“Inclusion is not a program, Inclusion is a mindset. It is the way we treat others and the way they treat us. Inclusion is the opportunity to learn together and from one another.” The quote above is from Lisa Friedman, an expert in Jewish Disability Inclusion, and her words speak directly to Ramah Darom’s mission. […]
Becky Birch
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CIT Experience BaBayit
August 10, 2020
Becoming a Gesher CIT (counselor-in-training) is often a highlight of the summer for our oldest campers. For many of our current staff, their experiences as CITs helped them shape their own skills and goals as they prepared to become staff members. In a typical summer, Gesher campers spend every Monday and Thursday with their CIT […]
Robbie Medwed
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Silver Linings & Support
August 7, 2020
This summer has been filled with ups, downs, and silver linings. Chanichim (campers) have shown resilience, bravery and kindness in the face of uncertainty. They were given what seemed like an impossible circumstance and approached it with grace and determination to make this summer count. While we don’t need to tell you that circumstances were less […]
Robbie Medwed
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Gaining Work Skills Virtually
July 23, 2020
The news of Camp Ramah Darom’s closure this summer was difficult to process for campers and staff alike. At Camp, our Tikvah Vocational Program (TVP) participants would have worked as tzevet (staff) in the gan (daycare for staff children), omanut (art), rikud (dancing), in the Camp office or at Café Darom. The opportunity to build […]
Becky Birch
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Our Last Shabbat of the Summer
July 17, 2020
Each summer, we look towards our final Shabbat with trepidation because it signals the beginning of the end of our time at Camp. Shabbat leads into Nachsho Live, which leads into packing, which leads into turkey dinner, closing ceremonies and then departure. We are also always eager and excited about the last Shabbat because we […]
Geoff Menkowitz
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Unexpected Emotions; Profound Outcomes
July 10, 2020
The creative counselors who have been conducting Zoom zaniness are not running our extraordinary virtual program, Kayitz BaBayit, all on their own. They are supported by a cadre of senior members of our Camp staff who are also volunteering their time this summer. The professional development and mentorship which they provided for our staff enabled […]
Geoff Menkowitz
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This is Not a Trick–It’s Magic
July 5, 2020
I often speak and write about “the magic of Ramah Darom.” It sounds like a marketing tagline and, admittedly, one that is not particularly creative. But many of us connected to Ramah Darom cling to this phrase because of how difficult it is to accurately articulate the wondrous personal growth that takes place at Camp, […]
Geoff Menkowitz