CROWN HEIGHTS, Brooklyn — A new partnership between the Crown Heights, branch of the Friendship Circle and Camp Emunah will allow children with special needs to fully immerse themselves in a mainstream overnight summer camp.
Overnight Camp Opens a Bunk to Children With Special Needs
CROWN HEIGHTS, Brooklyn — A new partnership between the Crown Heights, branch of the Friendship Circle and Camp Emunah will allow children with special needs to fully immerse themselves in a mainstream overnight summer camp.
The cooperative effort by the Friendship Circle – part of a worldwide Chabad-Lubavitch project that pairs teenage volunteers with children with special needs – and Camp Emunah represents a revolutionary approach to the organization’s goal of helping its charges integrate into society, said Rabbi Levi Eckhaus, director of the local Friendship Circle.
The creation of a bunk specifically for children with special needs – five girls will join 10 Friendship Circle counselors – within the larger framework of an overnight camp is also believed to be one of the first programs of its kind.
Speaking from his office at the Jewish Children’s Museum just across the street from Lubavitch World Headquarters, Eckhaus pointed to a winter camp experience the Friendship Circle hosted in January as an example of what the partnership hopes to accomplish.
naomi
this is amazing!!!!!
#1fan
FC in crown heights is truly amazing!!
s/b
waaouuwwww good job it’s great
your cousin
good job rifky!
Outraged mother
THIS IS IN NO WAY ONE OF THE FIRST PROGRAMS OF ITS KIND!!!!
I sincerely hope that lubavitch will not do with this development what the velt has done with the kiruv movement.
When I tried to send my special child to a lubavitcher camp 10 years ago I was turned away- not from one, but three camps, even when I proposed a private, trained counselor at my own expense.
My daughter attended many non-lubavitch camps over the years that had established programs for children with special needs. I had many to choose from, and this was ten years ago! any decent summer camp has a special needs program.
While this Frienship Circle bunk is a wonderful thing, please remember that chabad has been VERY slow on the uptake in this area, and continues to have sub-standard if any services for these children in year-round mosdos.
To claim that this is revolutionary, or even OF the first is an outright lie.
Thank you FC
Sub Standard/ If any?? Friendship Circle has done many wonderful high quality events!
To Outraged mother
To Outraged mother,
Which camp had an integrated section for children with special needs? Sure there are camps dedicated to these children, but none of them are overnight camps with special kids and regular kids together.
Please watch you mouth before you malign 200,000 people.
toronto
Go famous rivky!! :) You’re the best!
bbb
Go Mushkie Shemtov
chani
rivky!!! i miss you!!
old friend
go mushky!you’re the best!!!
zzzzzzzzzzzzzzz
rivky!!!!!!
ahhh!
ur awesome! cant beleve it!
CAMP MORASHA had this for YEARS!
To critic of Outraged:
Camp Morasha, division of Yachad,
under the auspices of the OU, has
such a camp, for several years now!
They have a special bunk for the handicapped, among the bunks for
the mainstream, normal campers. They
intermingle with one another in a very
Ahavas Yisroel manner.
Yasher Koach to Morasha and Lubavitch for being among “one of the firsts” to develop such a program. Thank you.