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An amazing year for the Annual Campaign
With the vision of 2008 Campaign Chairs Carol and Norman Traeger, and with the determination of our Campaign staff and volunteers, we are proud to announce that more than $31M has been raised in total annual fundraising. Of this total, $27.7M came as support for the Federation’s Annual Campaign, with the remainder coming in the form of grants, corporate sponsorships and special campaigns. That means vulnerable children can imagine a brighter future, seniors can maintain their independence and dignity, and families continue to receive support on a variety of fronts.
Throughout Jewish history, in small towns and large cities, it was the custom of Jewish communities to create an address for centralized giving. This guaranteed the privacy and dignity of the poor as well as the successful maintenance of communal "agencies." Today, the kupah (literally translated as community fund) is the Annual Campaign of the Jewish Federation. Giving to the Annual Campaign says that we, as a community, address critical, often life-threatening issues.
This year is especially significant because of additional innovative programs developed by our three Federation Commissions:
Caring for the Vulnerable
Educating and Engaging
Promoting Israel and Jewish Peoplehood around the World
Programs such as:
- Senior Mobility, making it possible for organizations to provide transportation services so that older people can have access to social activities, medical appointments, shopping, and educational services
- Hillel of Silicon Valley, which engages and empowers Jewish students
- Panim el Panim Mission, a pilot program that cultivates leadership, cultural exchange and strengthens the connection between Bay Area and Israeli women
- Nurturing Excellence in Synagogue Schools - or NESS – a synagogue supplemental school transformative program that links children and their families to the Jewish experience.
The impact of the continuing and unparalleled philanthropic success of the Annual Campaign is profound. Countless lives saved, cared for, reached out to, and rebuilt; and centuries-old Jewish traditions and values preserved for future generations.
With the guidance of the Federation’s new CEO, Daniel Sokatch, and your continued support, we look forward to even greater future progress together. Thanks to you, our thoughtful and generous donors, for energizing our campaign and being indispensable to our success.
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Working their way up: Kohn interns go deep into the world of Jewish nonprofits
Published in j. Jewish news weekly of Northern California, Friday July 25, 2008
by Ana Forman, j. intern
When school let out for the summer, 31 college students left their swimsuits in the closet and, clad in business casual, headed for work at 19 Jewish nonprofit agencies in the Bay Area.
Since 1986, the Kohn intern program, sponsored by the S.F.-based Jewish Vocational Service, has placed more than 400 college students in the nonprofit organizations that make up the backbone of the Bay Area Jewish community.
The Kohn program gives college students the opportunity to learn about nonprofit organizations, connect with the professional Jewish community and gain real-world work experience. It is funded by the Jewish Community Endowment Fund of the S.F.-based Jewish Community Federation, as well as the East Bay federation and the Libitzky Family Foundation.
Danielle Beres, coordinator for the Kohn program, began working with JVS and Kohn only this March — but as a former Kohn intern herself (she worked at the S.F.-based Jewish Family and Children’s Services in 1994), she was prepared for the challenge.
Months of preparation go into creating the eight-week program, which began on June 16 and will end with a commencement ceremony on Aug. 8. Before the program started, Beres and her supervisor, JVS career development manager Debbie Mendel, hired the 31 interns from a pool of more than 50 applicants and placed them in 19 Jewish agencies throughout the Bay Area.
Matching interns with agencies is a difficult process, because a good fit is vital. “My goal is for all the interns to have a phenomenal experience that will translate for them to being part of the Jewish community at large and the work force,” says Beres.
Some interns are very specific about their placements. Kohn intern Rebekah Holtz of Fremont, for example, knew exactly where she wanted to be this summer: “When I interviewed for Kohn and filled out the application, I specified that I wanted to work with Midrasha,” said Holtz, an alumnus of the Jewish education program for high school students.
Holtz, an incoming sophomore at Tufts University in Massachusetts, is currently working on organizing a Midrasha alumni network and a reunion for them. It is a huge task to locate and contact graduates, she said, especially those that have been out of the program since 1985. “One of the biggest things I’ve learned here is project management,” she said.
Like many of the Kohn interns, Elliot Krigel, an incoming junior at U.C. Santa Barbara, is still figuring out what he wants to do in the future, and experiences such as his internship in the marketing department at the S.F.-based federation add new insight.
Krigel who spends his days working on the federation’s Web site, said he has “learned a lot. The marketing department at JCF is awesome — everyone is very supportive and has an open door policy.”
Mateo Aveces is doing his internship at BlueStarPR, a San Francisco agency that began during the second intifada to help improve perceptions of Israel. Aveces, a sophomore-to-be at Brandeis University, is interested in business, banking and law — but while he doesn’t plan to go into public relations, he notes that he is gaining skills that will be applicable to what he does in the future, whatever that may be.
As outreach director, Aveces’ main project is to promote BlueStar’s “Write on for Israel,” a two-year journalism and advocacy program for teens that is scheduled to begin this fall.
“The skill of making contacts and completing tasks transcends job categories,” he said.
For Oksana Prodon, an incoming junior at UCLA, the Kohn program and her internship at the Jewish Partisans Educational Foundation have been about expanding her knowledge of the Jewish community. “I’m doing something for me,” she said, “and not just for my future career.”
As an intern, Prodon has had the opportunity to attend teacher educational workshops put on by the JPEF that help teachers create a curriculum for lessons about Jewish partisans, the 20,000 to 30,000 Jews that fought back against the Nazis.
Prodon hopes to spread information about the Jewish partisans even after her internship ends. “Most people don’t really knows about the Jewish partisans,” she says. “It’s not taught in most schools and isn’t in most textbooks.”
At the Anti-Defamation League, Kohn intern Marisa Breall spends her days compiling a database of Jewish organizations on college campuses in the Northern California area. She is also in the process of creating a PowerPoint presentation for the other Kohn interns about anti-Semitism on college campuses.
Breall has found that her experience this summer will serve her well when she starts her junior year at Cornell University in the fall.
“This will give me a new lens through which I can perceive the events that are going on on campus,” Breall says. “I better understand the line between anti-Semitism and anti-Zionism.”
Breall added that she hopes the advocacy work she has done will help her start a revival of the Students for a Democratic Society club on her college campus.
In addition to their individual internships, Kohn program participants meet every Friday at the federation offices in San Francisco for seminars that deal with everything from Jewish identity to résumé writing.
For example, one Friday, San Francisco State Jewish Studies professor Marc Dollinger spoke to Kohn interns about the history of Bay Area Jews. Another Friday, Abigail Emerson of JVS led a workshop on résumé writing and networking.
At the seminars, Kohn interns also are given the opportunity to discuss problems they face at their internships. Group discussions allow the interns to form a community and support system.
“I like that it’s a combination of work experience and meeting people that are interested in the same things I am,” Holtz said. “I have the chance to make some friends and meet some great community leaders.”
Meet the interns
This summer the Kohn intern program has matched 31 students with 19 local Jewish agencies.
Mateo Aveces (BlueStarPR); Marisa Breall (Anti-Defamation League); Mara Burger (Jewish Vocational Service); Austin Burke (Jewish Coalition for Literacy); Julian Clark (Jewish Community Federation of the East Bay); Sarah Cohn (JCC of San Francisco); Benji Davidow (Peninsula JCC); Ana Forman (j. the Jewish news weekly of Northern California); Ariana Friedman (S.F.-based Jewish Family and Children’s Services, Palo Alto office); Nadia Gardner (Holocaust Center of Northern California); Alexandra Greenfield (Jewish Community Endowment Fund); Rebekah Holtz (Midrashot of the Greater East Bay); Laurel Hunt (Jewish Community Relations Council); Elliot Krigel (Jewish Community Federation); Chayva Lehrman (Israel Center); Elana Levin (Judah L. Magnes Museum); Anna Mirzayan (Shalom Bayit); Alexander Nourafshan (S.F.-based Jewish Community Federation); Oksana Prodon (Jewish Partisans Educational Foundation); Ellis Raskin (Osher Marin JCC); Ariel Rosen (j. the Jewish news weekly of Northern California); Rachel Roston (S.F.-based Jewish Community Federation); Ada Ruzer (Jewish Family and Children’s Services of the East Bay); Allyson Storm (Jewish Vocational Service); Aaron Szteinbaum (Kehillah Jewish High School); Jaclyn Tandler (AIPAC); Jordan Tietze (JCC of San Francisco); Elana Weil (S.F.-based Jewish Family and Children’s Services, San Francisco office); Jessica Willis (Jewish Community Relations Council); Jack Wolfe (Albert L. Schultz JCC); Maia Wollins (Bureau of Jewish Education).
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Student philanthropy in the news
For the second time in a month, the Jewish Community Federation’s, Endowment Fund’s Teen Foundation program has been featured in the San Francisco Chronicle ― this time on the front page ― as a prime example of youth philanthropy.
The Federation’s Endowment Fund, through generous support of a number of funding partners and led by an $830,000 endowment from the Serrano Foundation, has invested deeply in a youth philanthropy initiative. The five Teen Foundations engage over 100 youth annually as well as support several day school and synagogue seventh grade philanthropic projects.
The Teen Foundation program makes an impact in people’s lives; locally, nationally and internationally through grantmaking. This year’s program participants gave away $204,000.00 in grants. Sasha Mironov, one of the teens featured in the Chronicle article, got involved in philanthropy by serving on the South Peninsula Jewish Community Teen Foundation for two years. The Eastside College Prep project, also featured in the article, is built on the seventh grade tzedakah project model created for the Jewish day schools by Sue Schwartzman and funded at Eastside College Prep by John and Marcia Goldman, the funders of the South Peninsula Jewish Community Teen Foundation.
Applications for high school students to serve on one of the Teen Foundation Boards are available now. For more information on the teen foundations please visit the website at www.jewishteenfoundation.org.
If you wish to learn more about the program or contribute to its support, please contact Sue Schwartzman at sues@sfjcf.org.
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This Year in Jerusalem
From November 16-19, 2008, the UJC General Assembly (GA) -- the third to be held in Israel -- will mark Israel's 60th anniversary with a series of high-profile meetings and events in Jerusalem, inspirational visits to the North and South to see how UJC/Federation-supported work supports the Jewish state, and to Israel's cosmopolitan hub, Tel Aviv. Co-chairing the 2008 GA will be North American Chairs Mark and Jane Wilf of New Jersey and Israel Chair Shari Arison.
The Jerusalem events will include appearances by most of Israel's political leaders and dignitaries from across Israeli society. Among the political leaders confirmed or invited to appear are Prime Minister Ehud Olmert; Defense Minister Ehud Barak; Foreign Minister Tzipi Livni, President Shimon Peres and Likud leader Benjamin Netanyahu.
Another GA highlight will be a scheduled solidarity march through the streets and alleyways of downtown Jerusalem, recalling the historic march through Jerusalem at the height of the second intifada in 2003, demonstrating the unshakable bonds between North American Jewry and Israel.
"The GA is the perfect way to see first-hand the state of the Jewish people around the world. The GA is an opportunity to connect and exchange ideas on philanthropy, advocacy, and social change. I feel empowered coming together with 5,000 people for a common purpose and inspired by the highest quality speakers and presenters. It's surprising and satisfying to see how well we are doing and to learn about how much more we can do. I look forward to this year's GA in Israel and the continuing celebration of Israel @ 60!" -Liki Abrams
Because of high attendance rates, there are limited rooms available. For information about attending the GA, please visit: www.ujc.org/page.aspx?id=175943.
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5 teens receive $36,000
Five extraordinary teens from the Bay Area, San Diego, and Los Angeles area have been named winners of the 2008 Diller Teen Tikkun Olam Awards. Selected by a committee representing communities throughout California and chaired by Barbara Rosenberg, each award winner has created and implemented a tikkun olam (repair of the world) project that has made a significant impact in the lives of others. Winning projects range from scientific research on global climate change to a campaign to inform teens and their families about teenage dating abuse and how to prevent it.
The teen winners will each receive $36,000, which can be used for college or to further his or her vision to help repair the world. The awards are funded by the Helen Diller Family Foundation, a supporting foundation of the Federation’s Jewish Community Endowment Fund. They will be presented at a festive luncheon ceremony on Monday, September 15 in San Francisco.
Below are the 2008 Diller Teen Tikkun Olam Awards winners. Full descriptions of their projects are available on the Federation website at www.sfjcf.org/diller/teenawards.
Nominations for the 2009 Diller Teen Tikkun Olam Awards are currently being accepted. Forms can be found on the website.
The winners are Ronit Abramson, San Diego, Environmentalist & San Diego Zoo’s Arctic Ambassador for the Year of the Polar Bear; Eric Heimark, Palo Alto: Free the Children; Shelby Layne, Pacific Palisades, Live Buy Give: Solar Cookers for Darfur; Frederick Scarf, Sherman Oaks, The Shiri Foundation; Sarah Van Zanten, Palo Alto, Spokesperson Against Teen Dating Violence.
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Events
Sunday, August 17, 2008
Cubberley Community Theatre, 4000 Middlefield Road, Palo Alto (map)
A hit Israeli film, based on the novel by famed Israeli writer David Grossman, about a teen-aged girl who suddenly disappears, becomes a throw-away child of Jerusalem, and falls into the clutches of a Fagin-like character. Concurrently, a teen-aged boy is assigned to track her down to serve a dog license citation. As the boy realizes that she is in danger, it becomes his mission to rescue her.
More...
Thursday, August 28, 2008 - Sunday, August 31, 2008
Camp Tawonga, 131 Steuart Street, Suite 460, San Francisco (map)
Providing a strong community for LGBT parents and their children to learn, explore, and play in the beauty of the Sierra Mountains!
More...
Thursday, September 11, 2008 6:00 p.m. - 8:30 p.m.
Jewish Community Federation, Koret Boardroom, 121 Steuart Street, 2nd Floor, San Francisco (map)
A Panel Discussion Featuring Experts’ Tips for Business Leaders
BLC has assembled a highly experienced, successful and knowledgeable panel of business leaders representing the financial services, high tech and biotech communities. These distinguished leaders will engage in an interactive panel discussion, sharing insight on strategies they use to maximize employee productivity during challenging times.
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Monday, September 15, 2008 7:00 p.m.
Private home, RSVP for location, Foster City (map)
Join us in improving the Jewish community.
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Sunday, September 21, 2008
Street Festival, S California Ave, Palo Alto (map)
It is a unique annual event that showcases the diversity of Jewish culture through art, music, dance and food. This one-day celebration of art and community attracts over 10,000 people from a variety of backgrounds who want to honor Jewish heritage and learn about the many community resources offered by Bay Area Jewish organizations.
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Stanford Grill, 198 Junipero Serra Blvd., Stanford (map)
Network, mix and mingle! This event will fill up fast, so register early!
More info...
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