This post is part of a series written in recognition of Jewish Disability Awareness and Inclusion Month by members of our community with a disability describing ways they feel included in our community.
Samantha Doner, 2015 JDAIM Guest Blogger
Hello my name is Samantha Doner. I am 25 years old and a proud member of the Los Angeles Jewish community. From the day that I was born I wanted to be involved in the community like my brother and my parents. When I was about five years old I helped work at The Jewish Federation’s annual fundraiser, Super Sunday. I think I carried cookies to the people making calls.
Later, my big brother Geoff had his Bar Mitzvah and I immediately wanted one too. January 31, 2003, I celebrated my Bat Mitzvah. I was in an inclusion program at school and at the Jewish Center so the friends that came to my party were all typical kids. It was fun but I was lonely and was not invited to many after-school or weekend activities. I wanted to have lots of friends and activities like my brother! I was so lucky to meet a nice girl who introduced me to other girls who were in the Our Space Program at Valley Beth Shalom. Through this wonderful program, I met lots of kids with disabilities that were also looking for friends. My life got very busy. I joined a great program called Hevrah-USY. Hevrah is for kids with disabilities but typical kids also participate too! I made lots of new friends with disabilities and friends who were typical like my brother and his friends. I was so happy.
Now my social life is non-stop. Hevrah has great activities. We have visited other temples, gone bowling, played around at Pump it Up and even had concerts with Rick Recht & Craig Taubman. I got to attend Camp Ramah for 12 summers! My mom and dad tease me because I can walk into a restaurant in California or be on a cruise and someone will say, “Hey, I know you!” I am so grateful for being fully included into the Jewish community.
Samantha Doner successfully completed Pathway Gen X, an independent living program, which is a part of UCLA Extension. She is proud to be an active member of the Hevrah USY Buddy program.
Joey Schwartzman, 2015 JDAIM Guest Blogger
I went to Hebrew school and I had my Bar Mitzvah at B’nai Tikvah Congregation in the Westchester neighborhood of Los Angeles, near LAX, on July 24, 1999. That synagogue has since merged with one in Manhattan Beach.
I started in the Tikvah Program at Camp Ramah in California in the summer of 1998. This is a program for people with special needs. It is actually divided into two parts. The first is an edah (group of campers ages 11 to 18) known as Amitzim. The second is a staff program called Ezra, for those ages 18 to 24. I graduated from Ezra in the summer of 2009, when I was almost 23, ending a string of 12 straight summers at Camp Ramah. It was my home away from home, and I miss it terribly. I have gone to every Visitors’ Day and Ezra graduation since my own.
In the fall of 1999, after my second summer at Ramah, I started going to events hosted by Hevrah, a program for Jews with special needs of any age that meets monthly during the school year, from September through June. I have a lot of fun at these events, which have included picnics in the park and drum circles, Shabbat dinners and services, Sukkah parties, Purim carnivals, movie nights, bowling, day trips to different camps, going to amusement parks and even our own annual Hevrah USY Prom.
In the fall of 2007, I started at an independent living program at UCLA Extension called Pathway. Each Shabbat during the academic year, I would (and still do to this day) go to (and often lead) services at UCLA Hillel. I usually lead weekday mincha (the afternoon service before Shabbat) on Friday and much of the morning service on Saturday.
I feel that having these programs available to me and being able to take advantage of these opportunities has enabled me to be a more social, outgoing person than I would have been had I not known about them or had they not existed.
Joey Schwartzman successfully completed Pathway Gen X, an independent living program, which is a part of UCLA Extension. He has been active in Jewish community special needs programs since he became a Bar Mitzvah.
Jewish Federation Los Angeles believes that everyone in our community should have the opportunity to experience and celebrate our shared values, history and traditions. Making Jewish life more accessible for all is one of our top priorities, which is why we are part of a national effort to raise awareness about members of the Jewish community with disabilities. Go to www.JewishLA.org/Inclusion for more information.
