Makor College Experience participants enjoy shabbaton.
(Courtesy of Makor) A passion for innovation and creative thinking that improves lives is a core component of the Makor philosophy. For 13 participants in Makor’s nationally acclaimed College Experience Program, this concept recently assumed a whole new dimension.
Makor Care and Services Network is a professional nonprofit agency servicing individuals with intellectual or physical challenges and their families. Makor’s broad spectrum of support, care and services includes early intervention services, specialized residential homes for different ages, community habilitation programs and respite programs, among many others. Makor’s dedicated team of professionals, including its director of clinical innovation, Dr. Stephen Glicksman, actively explores evidence-based innovations in programming for enhanced quality of life.
One of the most remarkable programs innovated by Dr. Glicksman is the Makor College Experience, a multi-year, non-degree program on the campus of Yeshiva University for young men with intellectual disabilities. The trailblazing program promotes independence while empowering participants to gain new skills and explore opportunities. Perhaps most importantly, the program gives participants an unparalleled venue of integration with the community, as the students enjoy classes and dorm life much like any other student on campus.
“In addition to the skills the students learn, the sense of inclusiveness that the program fosters is of inestimable value,” says Dr. Glicksman. “It changes the way these young men perceive themselves, and influences everyone on campus.”
Moving beyond the four walls of the classroom, Makor recently arranged a magnificent shabbaton event for 13 program participants. The shabbaton was graciously hosted by Rabbi Menachem and Rebbetzin Adina Penner and family in Cedarhurst. Rabbi Penner is an active advocate and champion of individuals with disabilities; he is also the Max and Marion Grill dean of the Rabbi Isaac Elchanan Theological Seminary at Yeshiva University, where the Makor College Experience takes place. This is the third year that the Penners have opened their home to the program members and it keeps getting better.
“The shabbaton was wonderful,” Dr. Glicksman enthused. “The camaraderie of the guys, the spirited zemiros, the overwhelming hospitality of the Penners and other host families, the warm welcome of Kehilas Bais Yisroel, the delicious meals and the divrei Torah that the students prepared … everything was just out of this world.”
At seuda shelishit, attendees enjoyed a surprise guest appearance by renowned speaker Micah Kaufman, who shared his inspirational story, while encouraging the students to increase their chesed activities.
The students’ enthusiastic feedback was off the charts.
“It was fantastic! I loved the davening,” Yehoshua Fineberg exclaimed. His friend, Avromi Mermelstein, added, “The food was great, I loved singing on Shabbos, and I loved staying by our hosts.”
Both Fineberg and Mermelstein will graduate from the program in June, making this shabbaton even more heartfelt and meaningful as they will soon be leaving campus life behind. It has been a memorable and cherished time in their lives, and after four years of study, the alumni-to-be are excited about entering the workforce and, indeed, the next chapter of their lives.
