The Jewish Federations of North America and the Ruderman Family Foundation will be placing young adults with disabilities in internships and fellowships at five federation offices in an effort to promote disability inclusion in the Jewish community.
The Ruderman Family Foundation Opportunity Initiative’s one-year pilot program, starting in January, will provide the interns and fellows with meaningful employment and career training, in addition to filling staff needs at the federation offices.
“We believe that this initiative, in collaboration with JFNA, will help change the culture in our Jewish institutions by making them more inclusive,” said Jay Ruderman, president of his family’s foundation.
The federations will identify a need for a staffer in their office that is also an appropriate and meaningful job for one of the program’s interns, who will then be selected through an equal opportunity employment search. JFNA and the foundation will jointly supply the interns’ and fellows’ wages.
“Our core Jewish values compel us to further embrace and include people with disabilities in our community,” said Jerry Silverman, president and CEO, JFNA.
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