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The Jacqueline Besser Special Olympics Program serves children 8 years and older with developmental disabilities.
The athletes are challenged to do their best in three types of track and field events: running, jumping and throwing.
Keshet gold medalists from the regional competition in May qualify for the statewide competition in June.
Over 35 Special Olympic athletes come to Keshet on alternating Sundays starting in October.
Volunteers are paired with our athletes and commit to a six-month training schedule filled with fun and friendship along with skill building.
A director, team coach, training coach and a volunteer coordinator staff this program.
This program is a prime opportunity for friendships to grow while our athletes gain physical strength.
Whether or not participants receive a medal, all earn a sense of accomplishment and triumph.
Buddy Baseball Leauge
The Buddy Baseball League allows children with special needs to play baseball by pairing them up with able-bodied "buddies". The buddies help their players as needed, whether it be pointing to where the ball should be thrown, helping them run bases or just sharing in the fun. Keshet in partnership with Dean Klassman, offers this program in the spring months.
Joy of the Game Recreational Sports Program
The Joy of the Game offers recreational soccer and basketball programs that gives our young athletes with special needs the opportunity to improve coordination and fitness, learn how to handle competition and how to have fun doing it.
Keshet has teamed up with the directors of a non-disabled youth sports program to share the expertise each has to offer.
The athletic directors offer their talents in creating an atmosphere where learning skills and socializing are at the top of the goal list.
Basketball and soccer players from their typically developing programs foster a peer buddy relationship with the Keshet athletes.
These five-week programs introduce hand eye coordination, eye contact, endurance and strength building, and group participation through drill training exercises.
When necessary, Keshet staff assists with drill exercises and help our athletes manage behaviors set off by an unpredictable environment.
Prime opportunities for friendships and understanding are created by the integrated nature of the program.
Keshet participants have the opportunity to experience team sports in the same ways as all children, while their friends come away with new levels of understanding and acceptance.
Reis Family-Keshet Winter Overnight Camp Program
Keshet campers join their typically developing peers over winter break as they spend a week at the Camp Chi/Perlstein Resort in Lake Delton, Wisconsin.
Campers chose from activities such as: skiing, snowboarding, broomball, art, dance, water parks, cosmic bowling and more.
Swim and Gym
Keshet students join their friends at the Mayer Kaplan Jewish Community Center in swimming and in the gym for extra practice for the Special Olympics.
Lessons are taught by a certified swim teacher followed by open swim.
Special thanks to Zannie Halbeck for sponsoring the Zannie Keshet swim program.
Summer Camps
Summer is a time for fun and friendship. By integrating Keshet children into neighborhood camps, new opportunities are created for acceptance and understanding.
Keshet's Overnight Camps are frequently a first experience away from home, helping campers prepare for independence.
The Summer Camp Programs serve children and teens age 3 to 21 with developmental disabilities and participants are included in the mainstream of existing summer camps in the Chicago area, surrounding suburbs, Wisconsin and Michigan.
Keshet families can attend one of fourteen camps to best suit their child's interests.
These state-of-the-art programs offer a well-rounded functional summer with the emphasis on maintenance of goals achieved throughout the school year.
Age appropriate social skills are a priority of the program and campers receive maximum opportunities for social interaction while gaining skills which will increase their autonomy within their community.
Additional outside services that uphold each child's Individual Educational Plan are incorporated into the camp day activities including physical, occupational, vision and speech therapy, social work, nurse and consulting school psychologist.
Day Camps
The Keshet Summer Programs serve campers with varying disabilities, integrating into various camp programs along-side their typically-developing peers.
Camps are held at host site camps in Chicago and its northern suburbs. Campers register through Keshet who then hires, trains, and supervises staff to work with the children within the larger camp group setting. All activities are adapted as needed.
Careful planning, disability awareness programs for typical campers and counselors, and on-going problem-solving with host site staff allow full integration of Keshet campers.
Summer programs are integrated into the programs offered by the Jewish Community Centers of Chicago at the Z Frank Apachi Day Camp in Northbrook and Apachi South at the University of Illinois-Chicago, the Mayer Kaplan JCC in Skokie, the Bernard Horwich JCC in Chicago, the Bernard Weinger JCC in Northbrook, the Northwest Suburban JCC, and Camp Ramah Day Camp.
Overnight Camps
Overnight camp is a natural next step for Keshet campers.
Four-week programs integrated into several host sites in Wisconsin and Michigan begin in mid-July.
Keshet offers two models of supported overnight camp programs.
The first model highly resembles the structure of our integrated day camps.
Keshet offers 1:1 staff to camper ratio with on-site supervision from a special educator. On-site supervision offers necessary support for the host camp staff that has limited experience with the special needs population. The second model serves individuals who do not require the support of 1:1 assistance and Keshet provides consultative services.
The Ruben Family Keshet Overnight Camp at Moshava in Wild Rose, Wisconsin offers campers with special needs the opportunity to participate in a four- week overnight camp.
Extensive preparation with campers, the host site, parents, and staff ensure the enjoyment of Keshet campers.
Campers sleep in cabins, eat meals, and do all camp activities with their peers.
This program runs from mid-July through mid-August.
Keshet also provides clinical consultation for other overnight camp programs wishing to include campers with special needs. Olin-Sang-Ruby Union Institute, BBYO Camp Beber, and the JCC's Camp Chi have joined Keshet in welcoming campers with special needs into their programs.
Special Kids Network Keshet Teen Camp
Keshet campers ages 11 - 21 may participate in our eight-week non-integrated program, highlighting vocational training and community trips while focusing on increasing levels of autonomy.
The first part of the Teen Camp day focuses on maintenance of skills achieved throughout the school year and incorporating art, music and theater into the program.
Afternoons are spent swimming or on community outings and field trips.
Part of the Teen Camp experience is the opportunity to experience the fun of overnight camp at the Perlstein resort in Lake Delton, Wisconsin.
Letters from Camp parents
Dear Keshet:
This letter is way overdue. I want to thank you for making my son's camp experience the best ever! It was the beginning of his involvement in Keshet and oh what a beginning!
David has always been what I recently heard described as a kid in the crack. He is capable of going to camp without an aide and did so at the JCC the previous summer. He was able to do most of the activities and has a pleasant personality. Anything he didn't understand he ignored. What he didn't get, through no fault of the J's, was friendships. He didn't actively seek them and was happy playing by himself or with a counselor.
When I talked to you last spring we discussed what Keshet could do for David and how to weigh that against the costs. I stated that if Keshet was there to make sure he could play the games etc. and nothing more, I would be wasting my money. If, however, at the end of the summer, David had a friend or two, it would be worth more than what I paid. Suffice it to say that the summer was worth every penny plus much more. David's issues prevent him from telling me all that goes on in his day, so the daily communication book was terrific. We were able to reinforce what he learned at camp, to sing the songs and play the games. We learned about the friends he made and were encouraged to set up play dates. We were even informed when one of his friends spontaneously said, "David, you're my best friend."
Stuart, David's counselor was also terrific. He understood better than I when David needed a break from the group and when he needed to be encouraged to join in. He helped David understand the games and activities. He was bubbly and had a personality that matched David's to a "T". They were so close I feared David might lean on him too much as he tends to do with adults, but I was wrong. Stuart helped David create friendships and then stood back and watched them grow.
All of this reminds me of when we first took David to be evaluated by a developmental clinic. After each evaluation we cried as we learned more about his issues. This past summer we cried again, as we learned about his advances, his fun and his friendships.
Thank You!
Sharon
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