To celebrate the awesome experience when our member Brandon became a Bar Mitzvah, we have established the Brandon Kaplan Honoray Special Needs Fund of Congregation Or Ami. The Fund serves to:
- Train or subsidize teachers/aides to assist such students in educationally-sound ways;
- Support the training of an HUC Education Intern who will have special responsibility within Mishpacha to work with special needs children, families and teachers;
- Develop or expand educational programming experiences for special needs children/families including:
- Support Group for Parents of Children with Special Needs (expand to twice monthly, with facilitation and trained child care)
- Creation of IEP-like Independent Study Plans (which adjust Religious School or Mishpacha goals and/or create new tutoring options)
- Differential Bar/Bat Mitzvah training (to tailor our program to needs of individual special needs students)
- Special Needs Shabbat (honoring/supporting parents of children with special needs and highlighting Or Ami’s commitments)
- Provide dues subsidies to such families to make membership attainable, in keeping with Or Ami’s “Open Door” policy (that every Jewish individual/family who so desires may become a member without regards to their ability to pay).