A DISABILITIES ACT, LONG IN PLANNING, IS FINALLY LAW
By Joan Vennochi GLOBE COLUMNIST JANUARY 02, 2015 BEFORE LEAVING for Christmas vacation, President Obama signed a law that allows people with disabilities to open tax-free savings accounts to pay for certain life expenses. That’s a big deal. Until now, people with disabilities couldn’t do what the rest of us can — set aside money, […]
Read More >Small Family Foundation, Large Global Impact
NEWTON — When the children of Morton and Marcia Ruderman were growing up, they were aware of their father’s “donations checkbook.” Whenever Mort Ruderman was asked to support a charitable cause, he would reach for that checkbook and respond, generously, with a gift. Those gifts went a long way toward establishing a family commitment that […]
Read More >Yachad of the North Shore Joins Individuals with Disabilities and their Families
Since its launch in March, Yachad of the North Shore, a chapter of New England Yachad, has attracted more than 50 families to its inclusive social and recreational activities for individuals with disabilities of all ages, offering a lifeline for North Shore families. According to Swampscott’s Alison Licker, Yachad’s outings and drumming circle have enabled […]
Read More >“Maybe We Should Teach the Way They Learn” Yachad Veterans Day Conference in NYC
“Train a child according to his way” (Proverbs 22:6) is a Biblical aphorism summing up the feeling of many parents and educators. Inspired by this ever-enlightening teaching from King Solomon, theOrthodox Union’s Yachad/National Jewish Council for Disabilitiesand The International Jewish Resource Center for Inclusion and Special Education will present, “”Maybe We Should Teach the Way […]
Read More >Torontian celebrates special needs bar mitzvah at kabbalistic shul
Toronto’s Josh Kadysiewicz, a 26-year-old with global developmental delay, celebrated his bar mitzvah last week at the historic Beirav Synagogue here, one of the 19th century places of kabbalistic worship in this historic centre of Jewish mysticism. For the 12 Canadian and five American participants aged 18 to 26 in the Taglit-Birthright/Yachad the National Jewish […]
Read More >Special needs Birthright tours Israel
Despite the ongoing rocket fire on targets throughout the country, Yachad, Israel Free Spirit and other organizations brought seventeen disabled teenagers to Israel on a special Taglit-Birthright Israel trip in which they will celebrate a joint Bar Mitzvah.According to organizers, such trips require “additional resources, with fewer participants per bus, a higher staff-to-participant ratio, and […]
Read More >Yad B’Yad 2014: Inclusion and Friendship Know No Borders
In one week, the staff of Yachad was able to accomplish what normally takes months of planning. When recent events in Israel rerouted summer plans to the West Coast for 190 Yad B’Yad participants, the message was loud and clear that inclusion and friendship know no borders. Hebrew for “hand in hand,” Yad B’Yad (YBY) is one of Yachad’s […]
Read More >A matter of inclusion
Besides having fun at “Summer on the Hill” held at the Jewish Community Center of the North Shore in Marblehead, campers and counselors alike are learning important lessons about inclusion. Swampscott resident Melissa Caplan is directing a pilot of the new inclusion camp there which has attracted 21 campers and five staff members with physical, […]
Read More >My Guiding Light
Hi! My name is Jonathan Spiller and I am a member of New England Yachad. Yachad makes me happy to be who I am and has given me so many great friends who support me all the time. A lot of my friends are high school students, but no one cares about my age. I have formed strong bonds with my […]
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