(JTA) — The Union for Reform Judaism has launched two new summer programs for children with special needs.
Camp Chazak in Massachusetts, opening this summer, is for middle-school children with communication and social delays. It has recreational and therapeutic programming.
Like the Reform movement’s existing programs for autistic teens — the Mitzvah Corps program at Camp Kutz in Warwick, N.Y., and the Camp Nefesh program at Camp Newman in Santa Rosa, Calif. — the new camp aims to provide a Jewish experience to youngsters often left out of mainstream opportunities.
The second new program, Israel in a Special Way, is a travel program to Israel for older teenagers with learning disabilities and emotional/social difficulties. It is the first Reform program in Israel for those with special needs.
More information on the programs is available at www.urjcamps.org/programs/specialneeds.
