Shabbat Message - February 5, 2021
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February is the official month for two important movements that deserve attention. One of those is Jewish Disability Awareness and Inclusion Month (JDAIM) and the other is Black History Month.
JDAIM kicked off the month with a program from Jewish Federations of North America (JFNA) that featured world-renowned violinist Itzhak Perlman, who shared his inspiring story. A childhood bout of polio left him without the full use of his legs, but that did not stop him from pursuing his dream of becoming one of the most well-respected and accomplished classical musicians of our time.
We are very proud to support inclusion programming through the JCC, and you can find more great JDAM events on their website.
Our advocacy partner, the Centre for Israel and Jewish Affairs, has compiled an excellent set of resources to help you mark Black History Month, and we are hoping to bring you registration information for an upcoming event in next Friday’s message. As many of you know, it is particularly meaningful to me, personally, to mark Black History Month, because of my grandfather’s involvement in the US civil rights movement.
Jumping back to last week’s message, we brought you details of the $416,000 in Community Recovery funding that we released to the community. Today, we want to tell you more about the great work these funds are making possible.
The success story we want to highlight comes from our partner, Jewish Family Services (JFS), which opened new Food Link locations in Burnaby and in Richmond at Beth Tikvah. Food Link now has six locations to provide healthy, nutritious food to low-income families at no cost. We are proud to support this program not just with Community Recovery funds, but also through our Connect Me In outreach initiative, which serves as a connection point between Jews who live in the regional communities and JFS. Food Link is also supported by a grant from the Jewish Community Foundation.
Speaking of JFS, they had more good news to share this week, which is that they now have a food security van, thanks to a generous donation from RBC. Now, funds that would normally have been spent on renting a truck can be directed to their programs so they can serve more people. The food security van is another positive arising from the recommendations of the Food Security Task Force, which we chaired jointly with JFS.
In addition to the many donors who supported the Community Recovery Fund, we were fortunate to receive support from JFNA’s Human Services Relief Matching Fund. JFNA raised $54 million for the fund to meet the critical needs of Jewish community members most affected by the pandemic. We have been fortunate to access more than $300,000 so far, which has pushed our Community Recovery Fund over the $2 million mark.
Funding came from some of the biggest foundations in the Jewish world, including the Maimonides Fund; the Charles and Lynn Schusterman Family Foundation; Crown Family Philanthropies; the Jack, Joseph & Morton Mandel Foundation; the Singer Family Foundation; Leslie and Abigail Wexner; and the Wilf Family Foundation. This is a great example of leveraging continental strength and being able to use that to build strong relationships with large foundations to promote local giving in times of crisis. It is truly inspiring to see the community come together to address this unprecedented challenge.
Building resilience so that you can rise to the next challenge, and the one after that, is a skill that can take time to develop. Last Thursday, the Ben Gurion Society (BGS), comprised of young donors who give $1,000 or more each year to the Annual Campaign, hosted a speaker event with Karen Levitt, Vancouver’s Deputy City Manager (and a former member of our Board). Drawing on her experience working at the City of Vancouver for over 30 years, Karen shared some practical strategies and tactics for making progress and ultimately prevailing when faced with very complex challenges and opportunities. A big todah rabbah to Karen for making time to talk with young donors, which anyone who has served with her will tell you is indicative of her leadership style. Thank you, too, to BGS co-chairs, Becky Glotman and Yael Segal for leading the way with meaningful new programming for BGS members.
Young adults were also actively leading in our Israel and Global Engagement programs last week, too. We had our third session with our Madrichim in Training group, and members of the Axis Steering Committee joined in to learn more about Federation’s work. Candace Kwinter, chair of our Israel and Global Engagement Committee, shared her personal journey as a volunteer leader and talked about her deep connection to Israel.
We also talked with alumni from Galil-UP, our flagship leadership program in our partnership region, and everyone on the call was struck by the similarities between Vancouver and the Upper Galilee, and the importance of community, especially during the pandemic. To me, that sums up the week perfectly. No matter where you are in the world–from Metro Vancouver to Northern Israel–nothing binds us together like community.
Shabbat shalom.
Ezra S. Shanken
Chief Executive Officer