Kadima!
The Kadima! Campaign is a comprehensive plan supporting leadership, accessibility, education and fun through capital projects, program initiatives and endowments.
Capital Projects & Program Initiatives
Thanks to our Ramah Darom supporters, we have met our fundraising goal for the new Program Center and construction is now underway!
The new Program Center will be a 10,000 square foot building and outdoor space at the center of our campus, next to the Amphitheater replacing the original Dining Hall (Beit Am Katan). It will include meeting and event spaces, a new fitness center, a lounge and coffee bar, plus beautiful outdoor gathering areas enabling Ramah Darom to continue serving thousands of campers, retreat guests and rental groups each year.
Below is a preliminary drawing of the building, interior construction photos, and a video of the groundbreaking.
The new Program Center is targeted to open in late 2024.
Program Center Naming Opportunities
Program Center Building (SOLD)
Leadership Lounge (SOLD)
Fitness Center (SOLD)
Coffee Bar (SOLD)
Music Room (SOLD)
Porches (2) (SOLD)
On the east side of our campus, on a 45-acre property Ramah Darom acquired in 2019, an exciting new initiative is being planned: the creation of a new home for our Gesher Leadership Program. Gesher is the pinnacle of the Camp Ramah Darom camper experience and a key milestone in training future Jewish leaders. Thanks to a transformative gift from Arlene Mitchell of Mobile, AL in memory of her late husband, this property will be known as the Mayer “Bubba” Mitchell Campus!
The Mayer “Bubba” Mitchell Campus is a breathtaking, tree-lined property just steps away from the Levine Center overlooking our lake. It will include three treehouse-inspired double cabins to be used by our summer Gesher campers and our retreat and rental guests, programming space including an outdoor classroom, the Menkowitz Bike Trail and two homes that house some of our year-round staff. This will be a place that our oldest campers can call their own, where they will build foundational Jewish experiences and create bonds to last a lifetime.
We are now over 90% of the way to making this phase of the Kadima Campaign a reality. Help us reach our goal with your gift TODAY! To learn more about this campaign and how you can make a difference, please contact Sharon Rosenfeld, Director of Development (404.503.2129) and see below for naming opportunities.
The Mayer “Bubba” Mitchell Campus!
Cabins (3) $600,000/ea (2 SOLD)
Bunks (6) $300,000/ea
Pavilion $300,000
Outdoor Classroom $18,000 (SOLD)
Staff Quarters (6) $18,000/ea
Our beloved lake needs a magical transformation. We are currently $90K away from the $300k needed to complete this project by summer 2025! To learn more about our Waterfront Rejuvenation Project and how you can make a difference, please contact Sharon Rosenfeld, Director of Development (404.503.2129).
What’s in store for the Ramah Darom waterfront?
Build New Docks: Replace current docks built in 1958
Enhance Activity & FUN: Add water slides and build new “blob” tower
Grow Our Fleet: Add additional canoes and kayaks
At Ramah Darom, retreat participants, campers and staff connect through team building and FUN. In the coming years we hope to:
- Add new housing. We are excited to add hotel rooms to provide much needed space for our growing Tikvah Vocational Education Program and to add accessible housing options for our thousands of year-round guests, including those with mobility challenges.
- Build a teaching kitchen. A teaching kitchen will offer programming and engagement space for guests of all ages. The teaching kitchen will also offer an additional learning space for participants in our Tikvah Vocational Program.
- Create a wooded outdoor programmatic walkway connecting our lake and softball field on the south side of our campus. This wooded wonderland with a canopy walk will be filled with outdoor fun like tree climbing, a bouldering wall, outdoor art and creativity space and more.
- Enhance our sports fields and other outdoor programming spaces.
- Expand the Gan and enjoy the newly built playground for our staff children and young retreat participants.
- Refresh Lower Roads. Replace two of the older cabins and build a new multipurpose building to provide additional indoor programming space.
Every donation and every dollar will help us move forward, Kadima! Below are a few dedicated opportunities.
Endowment Opportunities
Establishing an endowment in perpetuity will provide a permanent flow of income while we move forward, enhancing lives now and far into the future.
As part of the Kadima! campaign, we invite you to help grow our current scholarship and campus maintenance endowments – and help create new ones that support staff positions and program initiatives. With a goal of universal affordability and expanded exceptional Jewish programming for all ages and stages, the list below is only a sampling of our needs. To learn more about how you can make a difference, please contact Sharon Rosenfeld, Director of Development (404.503.2129).
- Summer Staff Programming $100,000+
- Tikvah Vocational Staff & Programming $100,000+
- The Ramah Darom Retreat Programming Excellence Fund (Newly Created)
This newly created Fund will be used to enhance programming at Ramah Darom Retreats - Leadership Training $100,000+
- Wilderness & Adventure Staff & Programming $100,000+
- Mountain Biking Staff & Programming $100,000+
In early 2020 as Ramah Darom prepared to celebrate its first 25 RAMAHrkable years, our Board of Directors approved a new strategic plan with three key priorities:
- Dramatically expand and broaden the Ramah Darom community over the coming years, and substantially increase the number of exceptional experiences we offer.
- Commit to enhancing and beautifying our Clayton campus.
- Focus on ensuring universal affordability for our programs.
With this strong commitment to our future, a thorough facility and infrastructure assessment was completed, a new master site plan for our Clayton campus was created, and Kadima! (Forward!) became our catchphrase.
KADIMA! Let’s Go Ramah Darom!
To make a one-time donation, click here and select Kadima! Campaign. To make a multi-year pledge and to learn about dedication opportunities, please contact Sharon Rosenfeld, Director of Development (404.503.2129).
Pledges can be paid over three years.