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Don’t change that channel! It’s your chance to repair the world
I’ve often wondered to myself: if I produced a commercial, what message would I try to convey for the High Holidays? I think my commercial would focus on the tremendous potential of this reflective time of year. This annual encounter with the season gives us a chance to ponder the past as well as the present, and then to plan for a different future.
Whatever this time of year means to you, during the next few weeks, I encourage you to allow yourself to be touched by Rosh Hashanah, Yom Kippur and Sukkot. There’s no one correct way to experience these Holy Days. Rather, seek a path that will work for you. Find a direction that will motivate you to unlock your potential.
For my part, as I approach the High Holy Day season and reflect on what I've done as well as what I'd like to do, I find myself thinking about our world and how much tikkun — repairing — it needs. The thoughts are overwhelming, because although I know that I’d like to be able to make a difference, I often feel that I don't know where to begin.
When I find myself feeling this way, I try not to be paralyzed. Instead of thinking about the global tikkun that needs to be done, I try to focus on local tikkun opportunities. I look at what action I could take in my neighborhood as well as in my Jewish community.
In the days ahead, realize that each person can be an agent of change. Performing a single act of tikkun will have an impact on our community — and on you too.
Whatever you do, if you do it with the intention of repairing our world, know that your act will help make our community a better place in which to live.
May the days ahead provide you with the inspiration and motivation to unlock your hidden potential. May our High Holy Day season inspire and motivate you to make a difference by reaching out to the vulnerable and helping to repair the community in which you live.
For High Holiday resources:
If you’re not already affiliated with a synagogue, please give the Board of Rabbis (415.369.2861) or the Jewish Community Information and Referral Service (415.777.4545) a call. They will be happy to connect you with a shul that meets your needs. You can also go online to get High Holiday information in your area. You should know that synagogues in our community are waiting for you to walk through the door and that Jews who wish to pray on the holidays are not turned away for financial reasons. |
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Your investment in our local and global Jewish community
Thanks to the hard work of hundreds of campaign volunteers, volunteer leaders, JCF staff and the unprecedented generosity of our donors, the 2007 Annual Campaign was the most successful in the Federation’s history. A total of 10,500 donors contributed $25.5 million to the 2007 Campaign. A record-breaking $31.2 million has been raised overall, including $5.3 million for the Israel Emergency Campaign and an additional $400,000 for special projects. The worldwide Jewish community will be strengthened immeasurably by this outpouring of support.
It was your generosity that helped us achieve this historic milestone, and we thank you on behalf of the entire Federation family and those we serve. You have enabled us to intensify our work, which is focused on uniting and enriching our community and assisting Jews here at home, in Israel and around the world.
In last month’s Emmis, we explained our Strategic Funding Initiative (SFI) — a new, more-robust and comprehensive approach to addressing complex community needs by strategically directing our collective and individual assets, measuring results and creating sustainable solutions. The Federation has established three community commissions to enable us to efficiently and transparently accomplish this mission.
Below is a summary of how your dollars have been allocated under each of the three commissions.
Caring for the Vulnerable
- Ensuring the welfare of the elderly. With more than two-thirds of today’s Jewish seniors receiving their services from Jewish organizations, and the senior population doubling in the next 25 years, supporting our Jewish community services for the elderly is critical.
- Economic security. In our local community, 1 out of 10 Jewish families lives in poverty. Your JCF dollars help meet basic needs for food, rent and medical care while facilitating job training for low-income single parents and scholarships for young people.
- Providing for children with special needs. An estimated 7,500 children in our community have learning or developmental disabilities. Yet today our community lacks the needed programs to enable these children and their families to participate fully in Jewish life. Your JCF gift supports organizations that deliver critical social services to special-needs children and teens.
- Ending the cycle of abuse. Research shows that 20–30% of Jewish families are affected by domestic violence and 50% of children in these homes are also victims of abuse and neglect. Jewish women stay in abusive relationships 5-7 years longer than average, silenced by shame and the myth that domestic violence doesn’t occur in Jewish homes. Your gift dramatically increases direct services to battered women and families.
Educating and Engaging
- Welcoming our diverse community. Interfaith couples — who make up 56% of couples in the Bay Area — are far less connected to the Jewish community than their non-intermarried counterparts. JCF dollars support outreach programs that engage interfaith families in Jewish life, train clergy to be more welcoming, work with young couples on college campuses and provide Jewish camping experiences for children of interfaith families. JCF also funds programs tailored for specific populations such as Russians, Israelis, LGBT individuals and young adults.
- Engaging young families with children. Numerous studies have shown that participation in a Jewish preschool significantly boosts families’ later enrollment in formal Jewish education, especially in interfaith families. Your dollars go toward a number of successful programs that increase participation in our Jewish preschools and strengthen preschool programs in the Bay Area.
Promoting Israel and Global Jewish Peoplehood
- Promoting democracy and equal opportunity in Israel. JCF-directed grants in Israel bring marginalized minorities into the social and economic mainstream and support the creation of Jewish communities in Israel that honor and sustain multiple modes of practice and identification with Judaism.
- Responding quickly and effectively to the emergency needs of Israel and Jewish communities around the world. JCF utilizes the expertise of the international Federation system and our own staff in Israel to determine where and how emergency funds are needed and how they may be swiftly deployed — wherever tragedy strikes.
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Teen foundations seek new members
The Jewish Community Teen Foundations gives teens an opportunity to decide how thousands of dollars should be allocated. If you are in the 9th, 10th, or 11th grade and want to gain valuable leadership skills and experience, bond with socially conscience Jewish peers and make an impact, we invite you to apply to become one of the 22 members of these grantmaking boards. Apply before the October 15 deadline!
To participate, click on the teen foundation closest to you and complete an online application.
As a member you will:
- Connect with Jewish teens
- Enhance your leadership skills
- Develop your Jewish identity
- Debate tough choices and engage in social justice issues
- Attend seven Sunday afternoon meetings from December through May, 4:00 - 8:00 p.m.
- Contribute to a pooled fund being matched by the program’s funders
- Become an effective grantmaker and strategic philanthropist
For more information contact:
Sue Schwartzman
Director of Youth Philanthropy for the Jewish Community Endowment Fund
5150 El Camino Real Suite D11
Los Altos, CA 94022
Phone: 650.919.2100 ext. 8007
Fax: 650.968.1389
sues@sfjcf.org |
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Welcome, baby!
Know a local family who had a baby recently? We want to welcome them into the Jewish community with a Chai Baby! welcome kit!
We are always delighted to welcome newcomers to the community, and the Jewish Community Federation’s Chai Baby program was developed to help families create Jewish traditions and to introduce them to the diverse resources of our Jewish community.
In honor of a new baby, it is a pleasure to present the family with the Chai Baby gift box, which includes:
- Chai Baby sippy cup, wipes container and magnetic refrigerator memo board
- Resource: A Guide to Jewish Life in the Bay Area, a comprehensive directory describing the services and programs of the Bay Area Jewish community
- Discount coupons for your local Jewish community center, Jewish organizations and businesses
- Shabbat candles and blessings
- The useful publications "Jewish Parenting," "Building a Jewish Home" and "The Magic of Shabbat"
- A bibliography of Jewish parenting books and websites
- J. News Weekly of Northern California six-week free subscription card
- Health, nutrition and safety information from First 5 California
We encourage new parents to take advantage of the extensive network of programs and services in our Jewish community. If you have any questions, or would like to have a Chai Baby gift box delivered to a friend, please contact Jewish Community Information & Referral at 415.777.4545 or chaibaby@sfjcf.org.
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Helen Diller Family Foundation looks to the next generation
Five Jewish California teens were each presented with a trophy and a check for $36,000 as winners of the first-ever annual Diller Teen Tikkun Olam Awards at a ceremony and luncheon on Tuesday, August 28.
Some 80 people ― including politicians, major philanthropists and community activists ― attended the event at the Golden Gate Club in San Francisco’s Presidio Park.
Helen Diller, president of the Helen Diller Family Foundation Board and the visionary behind the award, stated, “Today’s youth are tomorrow’s leaders. This award reflects our confidence in them and our encouragement to continue their outstanding work in the spirit of Tikkun Olam for all of us and for future generations.” The Diller Family Foundation has shown particular dedication to funding innovative teen leadership programs, currently operating in states around the country as well as overseas in Israel.
Based on the Jewish concept of tikkun olam (repair of the world), the awards are intended to recognize and support teen community involvement. The award winners were drawn from a state-wide pool of 75 nominees that was in turn reviewed by a selection committee of 13 members.
Each teen received a check and an engraved crystal trophy acknowledging their community service, outstanding leadership and commitment to improving the world around them. The award money is intended for their college education or for furthering their work.
Representatives from the offices of San Francisco Mayor Gavin Newsom and San Mateo Congressman Tom Lantos attended, and Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger sent a letter of congratulations, which was read to the attendees during the luncheon.
In future years, up to five deserving teens will be selected each year to receive the Diller Teen Tikkun Olam Awards.
Nominations for the 2008 awards are being sought at www.sfjcf.org/diller/tikkunolamawards.
The five winning teens had all launched nonprofits whose aim was to raise awareness and help to solve community and world problems. The teens’ work focused on issues as diverse as the ongoing genocide in Darfur, Sudan; to combating racial and ethnic intolerance in our schools by raising awareness about the Holocaust; to helping to fund homeless shelters and battered women’s facilities. Four of the five teens attended the event with one (Shira Shane) being absent due to her volunteer posting in Africa.
Here is a complete list of the award winners and their work:
- Amanda Haworth, La Jolla, High School Holocaust Curriculum
After observing extreme intolerance among her high school classmates, Amanda single-handedly raised $12,000 for the creation of a now-permanent high school Holocaust curriculum that includes a trip to the Los Angeles Museum of Tolerance.
- Allison Hoffman, Los Altos, YADA: Youth Alliance for Darfur Action
Allison’s organization, YADA, is a coalition of high school students who raise money for humanitarian aid, increase awareness, improve government policies regarding genocide and work to end the genocide in Darfur, Sudan.
- Justin Sachs, Carlsbad, Tikkun Project
Justin’s two pronged goal for the 40 teens who participate in the Tikkun Project is to inspire them to take an active role in their community and to develop leadership skills. The group participates in monthly social action activities ranging from making 1,000 sandwiches for the homeless to a 3-day house-building trip in Mexico. \
- Shira Shane, Encino, TAG (Teens Against Genocide)
Shira formed TAG to engage students from throughout Southern California to promote awareness about the genocide in Darfur, and to raise thousands of dollars to build wells and medical facilities for Sudanese refugees.
- Erich Sorger, Beverly Hills, Dollars for Dwaynes
Erich’s Dollars for Dwaynes removes thousands of reusable items from the streets surrounding the University of California Los Angeles and recycles them through the National Council of Jewish Women to fund programs such as Women Helping Children, Advocacy for Social Justice, homeless shelters and battered women’s facilities.
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Other events
Saturday, September 15 – Wednesday, October 31, 2007
In this unique collection of 28 images Israeli photographer Harel Stanton explores his interpretation of the sacred rites, traditions, and significant cultural nuances. Stanton’s photographs feature ethnicities and religions including Orthodox Judaism, Christianity, Islam and Hinduism. “For me,” says Stanton, “as someone who studies the religious ceremonies through the lens of the camera, every time I am amazed again to see that it is all the same people who are behind the uniform, costumes, dress, burka, kippa etc.”
Monday, October 8, 2007 – Thursday, October 11, 2007
Part of the special lecture series for Israel @ 60, featuring Israel’s finest literary voices. Govrin is an Israeli writer, poet and theater director. Recent works include The Name, The Making of the Sea: a Chronicle of Interpretation and Snapshots.
Tuesday, October 16, 2007,
5:00 p.m. - 7:00 p.m.
Come network, mix, and mingle with Bay Area Jewish professionals. Join us for an excited facilitated networking program at hip Financial District restaurant Tres Agaves.
Friday, October 19, 2007 – Saturday, October 20, 2007
Become active on your campus. Expand your knowledge of Israeli culture and politics, sharpen your advocacy skills, and connect with Jewish students from Northern California campuses. This is a camping weekend that could change the world.
Thursday, November 1, 2007,
7:45 a.m. – 2:00 p.m.
Steve Akers, an attorney, managing director of Bessemer Trust and a nationally regarded speaker on estate planning issues, will be featured this year at the Seminar. Akers will be speaking on The “Latest and Greatest” in Advanced Estate Planning Techniques.
Tuesday, November 13, 2007,
7:30 p.m.
Rare Bay Area appearance by Dr. Mogul, nationally renowned psychologist and author of best-selling book, The Blessing of a Skinned Knee: Using Jewish Teachings to Raise Self-Reliant Children. Lecture followed by dessert reception and book signing.
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