Vista Del Mar Child and Family Services
ORGANIZATION DESCRIPTION
FIELD OF INTEREST
grant programs
To implement a hybrid virtual and in-person delivery model of its Jewish life program, which offers a safe and nurturing environment for children with autism and other special needs to engage in Jewish learning, become a bat/bat mitzvah, celebrate Shabbat and High Holiday services, and form a caring community of families. The program aims to increase accessibility, promote intergenerational engagement, expand program offerings, and connect more individuals on the autism spectrum and their families to Judaism.
To equip 5 Los Angeles-based synagogues with the tools to include youth with special needs and their families in their communities through bar/bat mitzvah learning, educator training and religious school integration. The program will serve hundreds of youth with special needs, teachers and clergy and thousands of synagogue congregants and families.
Nes Gadol prepares children with special needs for a Bar/Bat Mitzvah by offering expressive art therapy-based classes, working with rabbis, pairing children with special needs with mentors, and arranging the ceremonies.