Camper Care

At Ramah, there is nothing more important to us than giving our camp parents the confidence that we are taking the best care possible of their children.

The attention we pay to every single camper, and the systems we have in place to train and oversee our staff, allow us to ensure that every camper at Ramah feels safe and well taken-care of.

“Thank you, once again, for giving our [daughter] a wonderful summer. She literally walked off the plane saying, “This was my best summer ever!” Special thanks to [all the] counselors… they really seem to have connected with the kids. There is nothing about your organization that is not professional, reliable, and well-run. Thank you very much for taking care of our kid!” Ramah parents Jessica and David N.

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The training of our counselors begins during the off-season, as we gather virtually in small and large groups to begin preparing our team for the responsibility of taking care of the children entrusted to our care. All Ramah staff arrive to camp a full week in advance of the campers for thorough training and orientation. Throughout the summer, our bunk counselors have regular time set aside for additional training and workshops. These training sessions are personally overseen by our CEO Rabbi Gelb and other members of our senior staff.

To train and support our bunk counselors, who are wonderful role models to our campers, each edah (division/age-group) at camp has a Rosh Edah (Division Head) and a yoetzet – an adult attached to that edah. The yoatzot embed in their edah, spending the whole day with those campers and counselors. In this way, our yoatzot get to know each of our campers, and they bring their experienced, adult eye to everything that happens in camp. This is critical to ensuring that we are delivering the highest level of care to each camper.

“Ramah has been a part of our family’s life for ten summers, and our children have made life long friends and learned valuable Jewish middot (values) along the way.” Robert Pitkofsky

In addition to their constant daily interactions with our counselors, our yoatzot meet formally with each bunk’s counselors every 2 to 3 days, to talk about every single child in that bunk. Our yoatzot check in to make sure everyone is happy, making friends, and enjoying their activities. Additionally, our CEO, Rabbi Gelb, meets with the full staff of every edah once a week, to again review every single child in that edah. These meetings are a helpful time for counselors to exchange ideas and perspectives on the campers under their care. In these ways, we can monitor each camper’s experiences in “real time,” making any adjustments necessary to make sure that each and every camper is having as good an experience as they can possibly have at camp.

Additionally, our yoatzot are our parent liaisons. Parents are given the name and cell-phone number of their child’s yoetzet, so if you ever have any concerns you can call your yoetzet and speak immediately to someone who knows your child and who can help you without delay.

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