schools

‘Room on Bench’ wins $50K ‘inclusion’ award

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“Room on the Bench” at the Luria Academy in Brooklyn’s Prospect Heights neighborhood is one of five winners of an international inclusion competition that honors Jewish organizations that operate innovative programs and provide services that foster the full inclusion of people with disabilities in their local Jewish community.

“Room on the Bench” (pictured) works to engage teachers, outside service providers and parents to create more integrated schools.

Each winning organization in the Ruderman Family Foundation competition will receive $50,000 to continue their work and pursue new opportunities for inclusion in their local communities.

The other winners are Yavne Institute in Montevideo, Uruguay; Jewish Family Service Association of Cleveland, Ohio; Kisharon’s Adult Employment Programme in the United Kingdom, and Beit Hillel in Ra’anana, Israel.

“As our worldwide Jewish community begins to accept and practice the value that all Jewish people have a right to belong and participate in Jewish life, this year’s Ruderman Prize in Inclusion awardees set the standard for the rest of our community organizations to aspire to attain,” said the foundation’s president, Jay Ruderman. “It is our hope that these awardees not only serve as the gold standard for disability inclusion in their communities, but for the entire Jewish community across the globe.”

The Prize highlights the recipient organizations as models for inclusion that can be replicated anywhere. Fully inclusive programs ensure that everyone in our community can participate together in all activities, without stigma or imposed limitations.

The Ruderman Prize in Inclusion is a signature program of the Ruderman Family Foundation, which believes that inclusion and understanding of all people is essential to a fair and flourishing community.

Hundreds of organizations from almost every continent have applied since the Prize was first announced in 2012. Organizations from Canada, Israel, South Africa, Russia, Australia, Mexico, the U.S. and Argentina have received the award. This year’s winners include programs dedicated to employment, religious ethics, inclusive education and full community involvement.

Luria Academy’s “Room on the Bench” works to transform the experience of students with disabilities and their families into one that fully integrates them as members of the Jewish day school community, collaborating with schools to create an inclusive environment through modeling best practices, online guides and consulting services.