Renaming the IVDU High Schools – The Marilyn and Sheldon David IVDU High Schools

Sheldon David, z”l, was a long-time supporter of the IVDU school. Here he is with an IVDU student.

In January 2021, on the occasion of Sheldon David’s 1st Yahrzeit, Yachad and IVDU are honored to announce the renaming of our IVDU High Schools as the Marilyn and Sheldon David High Schools. Marilyn, the first principial of IVDU, and her husband Sheldon, were long-time supporters of Yachad and IVDU and were tremendous people who gave so much back to the community. May their memories be a blessing and an inspiration to us all. 

On Thursday January 7th, the Marilyn David IVDU Boys High School held a full day learn-a-thon in honor of the memory of Mr. Sheldon David, whose first yartzheit was Sunday January 10th.   

 

From the family of Marilyn and Sheldon David:  

Growing up, Yachad played a huge role in our lives. Our parents were not only involved on a board level, but they made sure that on a practical level, Yachad came into our home. Whenever there was a shabbaton at the Yeshivah of Flatbush or Young Israel of Flatbush, the afternoon oneg was at our house. Our parents would join the shabbaton for any meal that they could. Our mother hosted a weekly Yachad class in our house.   

After 20 years as a second-grade teacher and 5 years of running an after school Talmud Torah-stye program, our mother was hired to run Yachad’s IVDU High School. It was never just a job – it was fulfillment of a lifelong dream and quickly became a family project. When she didn’t have a budget for a Hebrew teacher, our father came in and taught chumash. When the boys wanted to learn how to lein, our father gave lessons. When she wasn’t sure where her building would be, she held school meetings in our home.   

There was no more fitting way to honor our mother’s memory when she was nifteret than to name the school after her.  

Even after our mother’s passing, our father’s involvement continued. While both IVDU High Schools were under our mother’s name, our father spent more time in the Boys Division. He taught parsha lessons and made a siyum for the boys. He connected with them and spoke with students to build them up and gain confidence in themselves. He dedicated the shul, paroches and shulchan cover in memory of loved ones in an effort to beautify the davening experience for the students.  He was in constant contact with the IVDU leadership on how they can build the school even more.  

His continued involvement led to our and our children’s involvement in IVDU both before and after his passing. One grandchild organized the IVDU basketball team to play against his high school basketball team. Three granddaughters made their bat mitzvah chesed projects for IVDU. During the COVID-19 Pandemic, when classes were on held on Zoom, our children ran basketball clinics, cooking classes, baking classes and dance lessons for the Boys and Girls Divisions.  IVDU has become a family to us and we are privileged to rename the school after both of our parents – the Marilyn and Sheldon David IVDU High Schools. This name truly shows our parents unity and love for each other as well as their love for Yachad. 

CVS, Other Partners, Join Yachad Staff for Hands-On Training Workshop

CVS Health partners with Yachad/JUF providing internship and employment opportunities for individuals with disabilities. Pictured here are Yachad staff with three members of the CVS Health team who joined our conference to share the importance of customer service and discussed which individuals would be good candidates for employment at CVS.

 

Yachad staff from across the country met at JUF’s First Vocational Training Conference to discuss best practices for helping people with disabilities find jobs and succeed in the workplace. Staff attended workshops on various topics including expectations of job coaches, assessment tools, and hands-on skills training techniques. We had the opportunity to speak with various employers regarding their experiences employments individuals with disabilities. Many people with disabilities are skilled and capable, and they should be included in the workforce.  If you know of an opportunity or have a job opening, please contact Ilana Rosenbaum at rosenbaumi@ou.org or 212-613-8320.

Hundreds Turn Out for Opening of Inclusive Jewish Center in Brookline, MA

On December 2nd, New England Yachad celebrated the opening of its new Community Center in Brookline with a ribbon cutting and mezuzah hanging.  Yachad, a division of the Orthodox Union, offers social, recreational, skill-building, vocational and family support programs that bring together individuals with and without disabilities.

It was part of the dedication for a new campus at 384 Harvard Street designed for intergenerational, multi-organization, multi-denominational Jewish engagement. The event was attended by Robert Kraft, Rep. Joe Kennedy, Jewish communal leaders and hundreds of supporters from the Boston area.

Photo Credit: Jeanne Paradiso

Members and supporters cut the ribbon at the dedication for New England Yachad’s new Community Center in Brookline MA

Hanging the mezuzah at the new NE Yachad Community Center. LtoR- Jamie Rosenzweig; Sharon Shapiro – Ruderman Fdn; Liz Offen, Yachad Director; Loren Rosenzweig; Jaimie Ballon; Allen Fagin, Executive Vice President of the Orthodox Union

For further information, please reach out to Liz Offen, New England Yachad Regional Director at 646-628-7003 or offenl@ou.org.

Yachad Community Center provides a home base for Jews with special needs

New England Yachad runs over 400 programs a year to help Jews with special needs live full, productive, Jewish lives. On Dec. 2, the organization will unveil a new community center inside Congregation Kehillath Israel in Brookline that will serve as the organization’s headquarters and provide a wide array of new services.

“The Yachad Community Center will be a place that Jewish children, teens, adults, and older adults with disabilities can call home,” said Executive Director Liz Offen. “Having this community center will enable Yachad to deepen our existing programs, while expanding the offerings to meet the growing need for daytime programs, social and recreational activities, informal education, and intergenerational activities.”

The new community center will feature a series of offices, two multipurpose rooms, and a kosher kitchen. Other non-profits on the Kehillath Israel campus will allow Yachad participants access to classrooms, conference rooms, a library, and space for gala events. The proximity also will provide opportunities for joint programming between different organizations.

Yachad has been able to raise several hundred thousand dollars for its new facility. Throughout the process, the Ruderman Family Foundation has provided support, financial and more.

“For many years, the Ruderman cactusmeraviglietina.it Family Foundation has continued to provide important guidance and support that has led Yachad to grow in a sustainable and successful way,” said Offen. “The Yachad Community Center is unique and a tribute to the pro-disability attitude the Ruderman Foundation has established in the Greater Boston Jewish community.”

Offen pointed out that Sharon Shapiro, the director of Ruderman’s Boston office, sits on the Yachad board and consulted regularly throughout the construction and fundraising process. Other support for the project has come from Combined Jewish Philanthropies, the Nancy Lurie Marks Family Foundation, and the Orthodox Union.

Yachad is rapidly expanding. It has partnered with an increasing number of synagogues and Jewish schools across New England, and plans to implement more programming and collaborations. A combination of the new community center and a fund called the Campaign for Yachad’s Future will allow for more programming, such as a drop-in center, lounge nights, a culinary arts and nutrition program, family activity nights, a mitzvah club, and a hot kosher dinner program.

There will be an official ribbon-cutting ceremony for the new community center at 11 a.m. on Dec. 2 that will be open to the public at Congregation Kehillath Israel, 384 Harvard St., Brookline. It will include speakers, tours of the building, and activities, and plans are underway for the Yachad choir to perform.

For Offen, the community center is central to Yachad’s mission.

“The administrative hub is in our new Brookline campus, our commitment goes beyond bricks and mortar,” she said. “We aim to bring joy and friendship across our region, and to dispel the darkness of loneliness and isolation by building on the success of Yachad programs in reaching the most vulnerable among us, and placing inclusion at the center of Jewish life.”

By Michael Wittner for JewishJournal.org.

NJ Yachad Gala is huge success!

Yachad NJ’s Annual Gala draws 500, Raises $250,000 for Yachad

On Saturday evening, December 1st, NJ Yachad hosted its Annual Gala in Teaneck, NJ.  With 500 guests and close to $250,000 raised, NJ Yachad inspired the community to dream big and help support the local programs and services it provides on sintomasdelsida.org a daily basis.  Honorees this year included Dr. Joey & Shira Shatzkes (Guests of Honor), Dr. David, Susan and Binyamin Richman (Yachad Family Award) and Rabbi Benny & Sara Berlin (Young Leadership Award).

The event also honored the memory of long time Yachad participant, Chani Rubin (a”h), who passed away this past summer.  The establishment of The Chani Rubin (a”h) Summer Scholarship Fund was created.

Remembering Sarah Taub

By Batya Sheva Brenner

In 1979, at twenty-three, Sarah Taub gave birth to her second daughter, a baby with Down syndrome. Her doctor told her that the child would never learn to walk or talk and advised her to leave the hospital without her. Those years the world didn’t know any better. Taub set out to change that.

She took her baby home with one question for God. “You gave me this child; what is my mission? Let me see the purpose while I’m alive.”

As her daughter grew, Taub scoured Cleveland’s Jewish community for programs that catered to children with special needs. She found none. The situation put a strain on her marriage and the couple decided to divorce. As a single mother, Taub continued to explore social and educational options within the Jewish community for little Ahuva (Huvie), a toddler at the time. She continued to come up empty.

With Huvie in hand, she tried Yeshivath Adath B’nai Israel (YABI), the only Orthodox-run Jewish afternoon school for students in elementary and high school. Rabbi Abraham Bensoussan, the education director and executive director of the school at the time, readily agreed to admit Huvie into the kindergarten class.

Taub was taken aback. “Do you know that she has Down syndrome?”

“Yes. I see that,” he said. “She’ll have a tutor to help her during the class.”

Huvie thrived in her mainstream school, yet social opportunities were still lacking. Looking around, Taub saw how many Jewish kids with developmental disabilities had little or no meaningful interactions with their

peers. She was determined to ensure that Huvie would not suffer from social isolation. When Huvie finished sixth grade, Taub found out about Yachad, the National Jewish Council for Disabilities—a fledgling organization dedicated to providing educational and social opportunities for Jewish individuals with disabilities and ensuring their inclusion in every aspect of Jewish life.

Taub was thrilled. Finally a solution to Huvie’s loneliness. There was, however, one problem: Yachad was based in New York. Huvie lived in Cleveland. Taub contacted Chana Zweiter, who had founded Yachad only a few years earlier, in 1983. Taub knew she needed to bring Yachad to Cleveland. “When my Huvie grows up I want her to have this. I want the Jewish community of Cleveland to have Yachad.” It didn’t take much more for Zweiter to hire Taub to run Cleveland Yachad’s chapter. She wound up serving as the director of Cleveland Yachad for thirty years, the longest-running director of any Yachad chapter across the country.

“From nothing she created a thriving Yachad program,” says Zweiter. “With her warm, personal touch and her professionalism, she pulled it together. It’s clear why Cleveland Yachad grew.”

The fledgling chapter began modestly enough, with three boys and one girl. For an hour and a half every Wednesday, Yachad members and their mainstream peers would connect for pizza and ice-cream parties as well as for parashah learning. Rabbi Bensoussan encouraged Taub to use school’s multipurpose room as the Cleveland Yachad meeting place. Taub joined forces with the local NCSY chapter and linked Yachad members with their mainstream high school and college-age peers.

As enthusiastic Yachad members, NCSYers and their parents spread the word, the chapter grew. Along with the weekly meetings, Taub took Cleveland Yachad members to NCSY’s regional Shabbatons in Pittsburg, Detroit and Columbus. In time Cleveland Yachad began hosting its own Shabbatons, featuring guest speakers, Torah learning, and seudat shelishit with the shul congregants.

The chapter joined day schools, the JCC, and other community institutions for celebratory and educational activities, and had monthly visits with the senior residents of Stone Gardens Assisted Living Residence, where Taub served part-time as the activities director.

Today, Cleveland Yachad, which recently celebrated its thirtieth anniversary, runs a host of diverse, innovative programs and new community collaborations to promote inclusion in the greater Cleveland Jewish community. Running four to six inclusive events each month for teens and young adults with disabilities and their mainstream peers, Cleveland Yachad continues to respond to the ever-growing need, offering programs such as yoga, pottery, pet therapy, comedy improv and poetry workshops.

Huvie may have sparked her mother’s desire to promote inclusion, but what fueled Taub’s passion was a driving sense of responsibility to make sure that every child who needed to belong had an entry into Jewish life.

“She was a trailblazer who did things even if they seemed impossible,” says Sara Ireland-Cooperman, current coordinator of Cleveland Yachad. “She told me, ‘We are doing God’s work.’” In 2011, Yachad honored Taub at its national dinner for her longstanding dedication and Cleveland Yachad honored her in 2017 with a Life Achievement Award.

When Sharon Peerless, a member of the Cleveland Jewish community, gave birth to a baby girl with Down syndrome, it didn’t help that friends and neighbors were expressing their sympathies. Soon after she brought the baby home, Taub and another mother of a child with Down syndrome visited her with words of congratulations and a huge candy platter. “It was just what I needed,” says Peerless, “to celebrate Ronit’s life.”

A naturally shy girl, Ronit found a place to blossom in Yachad. “Before she joined Yachad, Ronit hardly spoke a word,” says her mother, currently a Yachad board member. “Thanks to Yachad, she loves bringing the parashah sheet home and reading it at the Shabbat table. She lights up smiling. That was something she would not otherwise have experienced without Cleveland Yachad.”

Yachad parents readily related to Taub, because of her warmth, positive outlook and genuine empathy, says Yachad International Director Dr. Jeffrey Lichtman. “She was a master of relationships. People responded to her and related to her because she responded and related to them.”

“She didn’t deny the challenges of having a child with special needs,” continues Dr. Lichtman. “Their challenges were also her challenges. But she was also able to see the good in everyone and everything. That understanding combined with her positive outlook made her beloved. In a calm and balanced way, she plowed ahead.”

Unshakable Faith

When Taub was diagnosed with an aggressive form of cancer in 2011, the doctors estimated she had maybe two years to live. Nonetheless, despite her constant pain, she stuck to her hectic schedule and lived another six productive years.

“You would never know how sick she was,” says Taub’s cousin Steve Eisenberg. “What can I do, what can I learn, everything was a growth opportunity. Nothing stopped her from greatness.”

Her powerful example lives on. Instead of selling their mother’s home, her children decided to convert it into a Bikur Cholim House with a beit midrash for those visiting sick family members at the Cleveland Clinic.

From the moment she gave birth to Huvie, Taub spared no effort trying to ensure she would be as independent as possible. With devotion and foresight, she formed a consortium with three other parents, and partnered with local agencies to fund the staffing for a Jewish group home for adult women with special needs. At first, Taub’s older daughter Dena Leah protested, upset that her mother was “kicking her sister out of the house,” insisting that when the time came, Huvie could come live with her.

“My mother told me, ‘She will always be part of our family, but she needs to have a life of her own. These things are incredibly difficult to arrange. Right now, we have this opportunity,’ I now see how wise she was.”

Taub created a new reality in Cleveland. Her successes served as a springboard for other inclusion efforts. Today, Cleveland Yachad is thriving, having grown by 45 percent in the last two years alone. Yachad plans to expand the chapter to include both a senior and junior chapter, as well as to provide additional programming for children ages five and up. All this as a direct result of the seeds that Taub planted.

As Taub had hoped, she lived to see the difference she made.

“Yachad in Cleveland is a household word because Sarah Taub is a household word,” says Dr. Lichtman. “They are interchangeable.”

“She taught us not to run from a challenge,” says Dena Leah. “It doesn’t matter if you’re scared, feel inadequate, or it seems unattainable. Hashem is knocking on your door. This is your moment to achieve something for others. There’s something great to accomplish.”

Bayla Sheva Brenner is an award-winning freelance writer and a regular contributor to Jewish Action.

This article was featured in Jewish Action Fall 2018.

Staff at Yad B’Yad and Camp HASC Enable Summer Fun

Everyone deserves to have a fun break in the summer, but for people with disabilities it is not always easy. For someone who uses a wheelchair, for example, it is very difficult to play any sort of sport. Thankfully, many camps, like Camp HASC and the Yachad program in Israel, Yad B’Yad, have been established to make sure that campers with disabilities are included and having fun.

Members of the Yachad program dedicate themselves to addressing the needs of individuals with disabilities and including them in the Jewish community. What parents love about Yachad’s Yad B’Yad program in Israel is that their child is not separated from other participants or placed into a bunk only with other individuals with disabilities. Rather, they are integrated into a bunk together with a staff member who “shadows” the participant, making sure that he or she is being included and having a good time. These staff members are also the staff for the mainstream participants, emphasizing an inclusive environment. It can become an incredible experience for the staff because they can see how they can help an individual with special needs on a daily basis, not just in camp.

For example, one teen at Yad B’ Yad uses a wheelchair and can’t really do much on his own. Yachad found many ways to bring a smile to his face. One exciting activity that made him laugh with delight was attaching his wheelchair to a zipline. It was such a touching moment that 15-year-old mainstream participant Hannah Kirsch recorded it on her phone, and you can hear all the staff members and participants cheering him on.

“I got started with Yachad because my school chose four students in eighth grade to attend a Yachad shabbaton and I was chosen to go, and I’ve been involved ever since. Being able to work with Yachad participants this summer changed my life,” said Kirsch. “To see participants who are physically disabled do physically demanding activities made me realize that Yachad was just a glimpse and sneak peek of what the outside world should look like. At first I thought I was doing a chesed until I realized these are my friends, and they deserve to be included just like any of my other friends. They were not my campers but, rather, my friends and I plan on staying in touch with them like any other friend.”

Camp HASC has served the Jewish community for over 40 years, as a Jewish summer program for children and adults with special needs, intellectual and physical disabilities. Camp HASC is unique in its ability to meet the complex personal, social, therapeutic and medical needs of its very special campers, who enjoy a seven-week sleepaway camp experience, just like many of their siblings and friends.

At HASC, staff seeks to maximize the development of each individual by providing special education; speech, physical, occupational and music therapies; computer instruction; adaptive physical education; and adaptive aquatics. As a result, children and adult HASC campers often gain skills and achieve milestones beyond the scope of parental expectations, while enjoying activities in a stress-free, social environment.

On Sunday, July 29, Camp HASC Experience Day was packed with family and friends. There were so many activities people can do that one almost doesn’t know where to go first. There was cotton candy, face painting and even a carnival swing. It’s also extremely emotional to see all of the smiling faces of these campers who are having a great time at camp and getting ready to welcome their families to their summer home.

Adam Baron, 19, believes working with HASC campers is a humbling experience. “This experience gives me a chance to see how much work and effort that the parents put into the care of their children. When you first start working at a camp like HASC, you are just thrown into a different world,” he explained.

“The more you work with someone, the more you love them. It’s not easy to adapt into this kind of world because you have to learn about each camper as an individual and know their specific preferences.”

Ephraim Poloner, 19, has been working with kids with special needs since he was around 9 years old. He started out working for Friendship Circle and their Hebrew program as a shadow. This summer was his first time working at HASC. “Working at HASC gave me insight on the difference between shadowing and being a counselor. When you are a shadow, usually work is done when the day is over. But when

you are a counselor at HASC, work is never over. It’s 24/7 and you always have to be on call and ready to work.”

However, there’s one thing that both jobs have in common. “Whether you are working as a shadow or a counselor, this experience is very rewarding. You develop such strong relationships with these kids,” Poloner said.

Aviva Markowitz, mother of three HASC counselors, posted on Facebook after returning home from Experience Day, inspired to spread the joy she saw at the camp. “We spent the day watching our kids work as staff members in Camp HASC. Words can’t adequately describe the emotions we felt watching the staff interact with the campers and the feeling that exists throughout the entire campus. HASC not only provides a fantastic summer experience for their campers but is a life-altering experience for the counselors and staff as well.”

Josh Greenberg, father of counselor Zack Greenberg, added his experience as a counselor’s parent: “It’s an amazing experience for both campers and counselors. The counselors-to-camper ratio is five to four so there is always a counselor with each child and there is a rotation of the counselors so that each camper develops a connection to all the counselors. We can’t be any prouder of our children that they give up their summer to help these kids and yet, these counselors insist that it’s their best summer.”

Ayelet Pfeiffer, 17, is a mother’s helper in Camp HASC and is inspired, watching all of these counselors’ hard work to make sure these kids are also having the best summer ever. “It’s amazing to see all these teens devoting their summer being with these special campers. It’s a hard job and yet, so fulfilling.”

It is no surprise that the camp’s secret to all the smiling faces is the stupendous effort of the over 400 young men and women, with their determination and love, who serve as counselors and support staff and live with the campers 24 hours a day.

Staff at these camps are very special people. They dedicate their summers to work long hours, meeting the physical and emotional needs of their campers. This can’t be an easy job. Yet, counselors and staff are the first to proclaim that the camp experience, unparalleled for the campers, is also incredibly gratifying, heartening and meaningful for them as well.

This article was written by Tzvi Sabo; read the original article on Jewish Link of New Jersey.

Boatloads of Fun with New England Yachad

Avigail Kosowsky reflects on her summer internship with New England Yachad.

I walk through the Community Rowing parking lot, after a fun but tiring trip rowing down the Charles River, and take a sip from my orange-capped Yachad water bottle. I look down, glancing at the logo: “Yachad: Because Everyone Belongs.” This slogan is plastered across all the Yachad swag I’ve accumulated over the past five years. It has become firmly ingrained in my mind. In fact, when I think Yachad, “Because Everyone Belongs” immediately pops into my head. I love how simple yet profound this four-word phrase is; as a community, we are all Yachad [together], because everyone belongs—regardless of age and ability. This truly is the essence of Yachad! We are all friends, feel like a part of the group and enjoy activities together.

I love how Yachad provides a comfortable and warm social environment for all, but “Everyone Belongs” extends beyond social belonging. Yachad provides an opportunity for people of all abilities to partake and truly belongin activities in which they might not have thought they could participate. This became real to me when I staffed Yachad’s series with Community Rowing. Having been a part of Yachad for years, I was unfazed by the idea of a Yachad rowing trip. However, whenever I talked to people about my Sunday plans to learn to row with Yachad, people reacted in amazement. Time and again people would ask paradormirmejor.org me things like, “Will the Yachad members actually row?” and “So, you’ll be doing all the rowing, right?” I was floored. Of course the Yachad members would be rowing. And obviously, it would not just be me carrying the team. I mean, I’m not even athletic, so that wouldn’t work out well for anyone. Yachad means together, so clearly, we’d all row together.

Ironically, I actually didn’t row at all the first session. I sat in the center of the rowboat to help support a Yachad member who uses a wheelchair, but my main role was to keep the singing going. As I sat doing the easy job and watching the others row, I was inspired by how everyone—participants, volunteers, peers and staff alike—came together to propel the boat, and how even a Yachad member who physically could not row was able to participate, be a part of the group and have a blast. On a smaller level, I also experienced the open, non-judgmental environment myself. As I belted out the words to every Taylor Swift song I know, completely off-key and occasionally butchering the words, I knew that no one was judging me. Most of all, I loved seeing how my terrible singing voice brought joy to the other people on the boat, who would make song requests and join in from time to time. Any time I felt embarrassed or that I should maybe give the singing a rest, I’d look to my left and see how the girl next to me was beaming from ear to ear as her hands tightly gripped the oar, and I’d quickly start up the next song.

The next week, I actually did row, and again learned a valuable lesson: rowing is HARD. As I started to row, struggling to move my arms and feet in sync and already feeling sore, I looked around and was impressed by what I vaginosisbacteriana.org saw. The others were already naturals after one week. I laughed to myself, recalling how my friends had thought I would be pulling the weight—if anything, it was the other way around.

Read the original article on JewishBoston.com.

Chaverim reels it in

On Sunday, July 29, Yachad’s Chaverim group went on a deep-sea fishing trip in Sheepshead Bay in Brooklyn. The amazing staff and crew of the Sea Queen VII taught us how to bait our own hooks, distinguish when you’re getting a nibble and how to reel in the big one. Being out on the water on such a beautiful day was a wonderful treat, and it was the perfect way to meet new friends and socialize in an engaging and experiential way. We had a biggest catch competition, and the winner received Yachad swag. Our group caught more than 10 fish! After reeling in our lines for the last time, we had a scenic ride back to shore with beautiful views of the Manhattan skyline and Coney Island.

Sunday’s trip was sponsored by a local social sports league called Kick for a Cause. This group of Jewish young professionals plays kickball in a fun, competitive social environment. Proceeds from the league are donated to various Jewish charities; proceeds were donated to Yachad this season. The money donated by the league will sponsor these monthly experiential outings for Chaverim for the rest of the year.

Chaverim was developed to promote Yachad’s goal of inclusion, and it provides our members with the opportunity to socialize and engage with the world in the same way their neurotypical peers do. We do this by stripping away barriers of access and pushing our members to engage socially in a way that expands their comfort zone. If you are interested in getting involved or know someone who could benefit from this group, please contact Gavi Istrin at 646-459-5146 or istring@ou.org.