2013 Program Overview

The Jewish Federation Of South Palm Beach County

Power of Giving Report 2013 program overview There’s a reason why the Federation is such a trusted and respected institution. We feed the hungry, care for the elderly, honor our heritage, educate the next generation, inspire hope, provide comfort and brighten lives – at home, in Israel and around the world. But we couldn’t do it without our family of donors in Boca Raton, Delray Beach and Highland Beach. Together we do extraordinary things.

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The Jewish Federation Annual Campaign Three areas of vital need. One gift. One thousand dreams.

For more than 30 years, our Federation has been responding to the needs of our community – here at home, in Israel and in 70 other countries around the world. Thanks to the donations collected through our Annual Campaign, we are there with a shoulder to lean on when times are tough. Contributions

to the Annual Campaign give us the power to encourage hope and inspire dreams and allow us to strengthen the bonds that connect us.

Donors can choose to target their gift toward one of three areas of vital need that have been identified or let the Federation ensure their gift reaches those who need it most.

Sarah & Max Pechter Center for Local Safety Net Services Every day, Federation supports programs that feed, clothe, shelter, counsel, rescue and respect people. It’s our responsibility. It’s our privilege.

Adolph & Rose Levis Alzheimer & Adult Day Care at the Volen Center is a full-time weekday program that serves those with dementia and Alzheimer’s disease. A caring staff leads about 30 daily participants in enriching mental and physical activities and provides stimulating entertainment. Breakfast and lunch are served. A support group is also offered for caregivers.

Adolph & Rose Levis Jewish Community Center - Camp Kavod provides highly qualified, nurturing staff to ensure that children and teens with special needs experience a safe, well-supervised, fun-filled camp program while acquiring vital life skills. In 2011-2012, nearly 70 campers in grades Pre-K – 12 participated in a myriad of activities on campus and in community venues through summer, winter and spring camps.

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Adolph & Rose Levis Jewish Community Center - Summer Camp and Pre-School Scholarships offer financial assistance that enables children to participate in meaningful Jewish experiences, explore their Jewish heritage — and thrive, learn and play. Working parents are able to have peace of mind that their children are in a safe, nurturing and caring place. For 2011-12, the Levis JCC awarded $175,000 in scholarships for pre-school, and $196,000 in scholarships for summer camp.

Donna Klein Jewish Academy - SUN Center (Yad b’Yad) helps the growing number of students whose needs exceed the accommodations available in a regular classroom.

Federation Transportation Services provides over 41,000 trips per year for elderly individuals and those with disabilities, to medical appointments and to buy groceries or household essentials. Transportation is provided in a clean and comfortable minibus with a carefully selected professional driver.

Jewish Association for Residential Care (JARC) - Support Living Scholarship Fund provides aid to families and individuals with limited financial resources to participate in residential and vocational programs for adults with developmental disabilities. Nearly 50% of JARC’s residential clients (living in either group or apartment settings) qualify for financial support.

Jewish Association for Residential Care (JARC) - Community Case Management is an innovative program that provides adults with mild disabilities the highly qualified support they need to remain living independently at home or in the community. Case Managers assist with benefits coordination, medication management, financial literacy and other needed assistance.

Jewish Association for Residential Care (JARC) - Community Home Scholarship provides caring, nurturing, skilled staff to allow adults with disabilities to live in well-supervised, Kosher homes within our community. Currently, JARC has 10 homes in Boca Raton and Delray Beach which allows extraordinary individuals to live ordinary lives.

Jewish Association for Residential Care (JARC) - Safety Net Access Program (SNAP) provides families comfort and security in knowing that their children with disabilities are being cared for in a safe, nurturing environment after school and work. Individualized educational, recreational, and social opportunities are provided by skilled professionals each weekday.

Kosher Konnection is a hot kosher meal program thats serves between 30 and 75 seniors each weekday and offers muchneeded opportunities for socializing. Ruth Rales Jewish Family Service (JFS) arranges the space for the program which is located at Temple Anshei Shalom; provides Shabbat and holiday programming led by the JFS rabbi; and mobilizes volunteers to enhance Chanukah and Passover celebrations.

This program is in partnership with the Volen Center, the Jewish Federation of South Palm Beach County and JFS. Ruth Rales Jewish Family Service (JFS) - Counseling to Individuals/Families in Crisis offers individual or group counseling, crisis intervention and a program for those with persistent mental illness. There were 537 new clients last year, with 1,559 information and referral calls. In response to the community’s mental health needs, JFS began offering psychological assessments, psychiatric evaluations and medication management on a sliding scale basis.

Ruth Rales Jewish Family Service (JFS) - The Food Pantry at JFS delivers non-perishable items, fresh fruit and challah every other week, as well as eight holiday dinners, to families in need as well as to isolated and low-income elderly. The pantry delivers to 545 individuals in 425 households.

Ruth Rales Jewish Family Service (JFS) - Volunteer Services engages 400 volunteers who provide transportation, telephone reassurance, home visits, food delivery, chaplaincy and support to local people in need— contributing more than 30,000 volunteer hours per year. Approximately 125 volunteers are actively engaged at the Shirley & Barton Weisman Delray Community Center teaching classes, working in the Blume Café, greeting guests, and answering the phone – all of which keeps the cost to participants as low as possible.

Ruth Rales Jewish Family Service (JFS) - Direct Financial Assistance to Families and Individuals provides emergency assistance for families and individuals experiencing financial hardship and who are having difficulty paying for basic needs including mortgage/rent, utility bills, medication, home health aides and provisions for children. In fiscal year 2010-2011, 1,200 local residents received financial assistance. A part-time case manager also assists families in crisis by helping them obtain government and other community resources.

Ruth Rales Jewish Family Service (JFS) - Senior Services offers several programs to enable older individuals to “age in place” and maintain independent lives in the community for as long as possible. JFS initiatives include CareLink (a Care Management and Referral Service for seniors in need of various types of assistance), the Feldman Family Diamond Club (which provides social activities for seniors 75 and older, through discussions, entertainment, day trips, and community service programs), and free counseling for qualified community residents and caregivers.

Special Needs Department employs a professional who works with agencies, congregations and schools to obtain and enhance services for children and adults with disabilities, and to provide training and resources to help families become better advocates for their needs. Last year, more than 500 people and families received vital resources to address their individual challenges. This is a program of the Jewish Federation of South Palm Beach County.

Hillel Day School - ETGAR Program provides intensive intervention and services for children with moderate learning disabilities.

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Jewish Life and Learning Federation invests in the strength of our people by making experiences that build and bolster Jewish identity available to everyone.

Birthright Israel offers Jewish young adults between the ages of 18 and 26 the chance to discover the wonders of Israel for the first time, regardless of financial ability. This year, 285 young adults from South Palm Beach County were able to travel to Israel on winter or summer educational trips with Jews from around the world. Since the program’s inception in 1999, more than 1,600 young Jews in South Palm Beach County alone received the gift of a Birthright trip, establishing a lifelong love of Israel.

B’nai B’rith Youth Organization (BBYO) - Teen Leadership Training and Development is a national program for high school students offering a Jewish teen experience that builds character and confidence, preparing participants to take on life’s challenges with the support of their community. Under the leadership of a BBYO professional, area students meet regularly to serve their community, investigate issues that matter to them, and explore their Jewish heritage.

Community Outreach Initiative is a Planning Department taskforce that was formed in 2009 to develop the roadmap for the future of outreach efforts in South Palm Beach County. The Jewish Federation’s 2012-2013 Planning & Allocations Committee decided that planning for a vibrant and sustainable Jewish community warranted an allocation which will go to fund outreach and engagement initiatives.

Day School Financial Assistance - Donna Klein Jewish Academy (DKJA), Hillel Day School (HDS), Torah Academy and Weinbaum Yeshiva High School One of the most critical factors in determining if one will continue practicing Judaism is the number of years he or she received an education at a Jewish day school — Many local families cannot afford the cost of tuition. Federation scholarships help make it possible for some students to receive a Jewish education that their families would otherwise not be able to afford. This year, our Federation was able to help assist 206 students at Hillel Day School, 106 at Torah Academy, 254 at Donna Klein Jewish Academy and 66 at Weinbaum Yeshiva High School.

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EDUCATE

Hillel - Florida enriches the lives of Jewish undergraduate and graduate students. Through a welcoming and inclusive environment, Hillel fosters growth, inspiration and dedication to Jewish life. Hillel currently serves tens of thousands of students statewide, including 8,000 students on campuses in Broward and Palm Beach counties.

Jewish Community Relations Council (JCRC) - Florida Association of Jewish Federations provides our Federation with information and alerts of interest to the Jewish community and enables our Jewish Community Relations Council (JCRC) to monitor legislation on health, education, human services, religion, funding and community relations.

It also funds lobbying efforts on our behalf.

Jewish Community Relations Council (JCRC) - Government Officials Advocacy promotes and maintains relationships with government officials and community leaders in order to: 1) advocate for government funding 2) promote U.S.Israel relations, and 3) safeguard the Jewish community from terrorism. Each year, the JCRC secures government support for our Federation and its beneficiary agencies.

Jewish Community Relations Council (JCRC) - Iran Initiative is a well-coordinated, community-based, comprehensive strategy that mobilizes both the Jewish and general communities in matters relating to Iran.

Jewish Community Relations Council (JCRC) - Israel Action Network is an initiative launched by partnering Federations, JCRCs, allied groups, and synagogues to counter the unilateral bid for Palestinian statehood at the UN, through issue briefs and messages, strategy and tools, and targeting campaigns and materials used to educate and inform communities and policymakers.

INSPIRE

Jewish Education Programs - Florence Melton Adult MiniSchool is an acclaimed international two-year program that provides adults with a curriculum developed by the Melton Center at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem, which the Department of Jewish Education monitors, staffs, coordinates and promotes. The program is completed in two hours a week for 30 weeks. After completion students have the opportunity to join the FMAMS Israel Seminar, and to take graduate courses through the Department of Jewish Education.

Jewish Education Programs - March of the Living Program is a 2-week, international educational program that brings 10,000 Jewish teens from all over the world to Poland on Yom Hashoah, Holocaust Memorial Day, to march from Auschwitz to Birkenau, the largest concentration camp complex built during World War II. The trip continues to Israel to observe Yom HaZikaron, Israel Memorial Day, and Yom Ha’Atzmaut, Israel Independence Day. In 2012, 39 students from South Palm Beach County (with 11 accompanying adults) to take part in this life-altering journey overseas.

Jewish Education Programs - Professional Development provide youth and adults educational enrichment and professional development opportunities. Programs include Jewish forums for students in local high schools and professional development programs for 200 teachers.

Temple Beth El - Infant Care Program offers a Jewish child care program for children 2 months through 24 months of age, with the mission of helping young families affiliate early and provide an entry into the Jewish community. Temple Beth El offers financial assistance for its Infant Care Program.

Jewish Community Relations Council (JCRC) - Public Education & Awareness hosts leadership briefings and public programs for local residents, where they can engage in dialogue about relevant issues of concern to our Jewish community.

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ISRAEL & OUR GLOBAL FAMILY Federation reaches into every corner of the Jewish community around the world inspiring lifelong connections, breaking the cycle of poverty and responding to emergencies.

The American Jewish Joint Distribution Committee (JDC) - core funding JDC is the world’s leading Jewish humanitarian assistance organization. Since 1914, JDC has exemplified that all Jews are responsible for one another and for improving the wellbeing of vulnerable people around the world.

Today, JDC works in more than 70 countries and in Israel to alleviate hunger and hardship, rescue Jews in danger, create lasting connections to Jewish life, and provide immediate relief and long-term development support for victims of natural and man-made disasters.

With core funding, the JDC serves the poorest Jews in the world, including isolated elderly, at-risk families, and vulnerable children; Israel’s most disadvantaged citizens, including at-risk children and youth, the elderly, immigrants, and people with disabilities; and builds Jewish communities around the globe.

JDC - Former Soviet Union Welfare Relief – Volga Region sponsors 17 Hesed Relief Centers throughout the Volga Region that serve 3,442 Jewish elderly who are not considered victims of Nazi persecution. With no other source of help to alleviate their grinding poverty, the relief services of these Hesed centers in the Volga Region are literally lifesaving. Heseds offer these participants material relief such as food and medicine to ensure their survival and assure their dignity, while also providing a connection to their Jewish community. Relief in the Volga Region comes as part of the larger network of 160 JDC-supported Hesed relief centers and other organizations that bring relief to 164,678 elderly Jews in 2,665 locations across the FSU. JDC - PACT (Parents and Children Together) - Kiryat Yam addresses the top-priority need of Ethiopian Israelis for multi-faceted early childhood education (birth to age six). With no single government agency responsible for the welfare of young children, PACT brings together local agencies and service providers to serve the needs of these children and their families. Through interventions such as healthcare, after school programs and at-home visits, PACT closes educational and social gaps and increases parental involvement. PACT Kiryat Yam serves 263 Ethiopian Israeli children and 100 actively engaged parents.

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JDC - Turning Point initiative uses entrepreneurship and employment to help Israel’s most disadvantaged 15-18 year olds break out of the cycle of risk and alienation to build paths to productive adulthood. As youth are exposed to real world business concepts and gain skills for launching a business or finding a job, they build their self-confidence and begin to see themselves in a new light. It is difficult to overstate the significance of this in their lives. These youth, who have always been seen as failures, finally have an opportunity to succeed, and they feel immense pride in becoming wage earners and respectable members of their communities. Three new youth entrepreneurship groups will reach a total of 75 at risk youth.

The Jewish Agency for Israel (JAFI) - core funding For 80 years, JAFI has served as the link between the Jewish people and Israel, working to ensure the future of a connected, committed, global Jewish people with a strong Israel at its center. They helped create and build the state and brought over 3 million Jews to Israel. Today, core funding continues to provide a lifeline to Jews around the world, including: absorption and resettlement of new immigrants, strengthening communities in Israel and the FSU, empowering at-risk Israeli youth, educational assistance and scholarships, a business loan initiative, support to immigrant soldiers who have fought in wars, and immediate aid for victims of terror. JAFI’s mission is to inspire Jews throughout the world to connect with their people, heritage and land, and empower them to build a thriving Jewish future and a strong Israel.

JAFI - Ben Yakir Youth Aliyah Village is one of four residential Youth Aliyah Villages that offer salvation and intervention for youngsters (ages 15-18) who come from dysfunctional families and weak socioeconomic conditions.

Many are newcomers to Israel coming from countries of distress including Ethiopia and underdeveloped areas of the FSU. Ben Yakir provides a protective, therapeutic, and normative environment for 120 Israeli boys at risk. The youth are extended all the most basic amenities – food, shelter, clothing, medical care, etc. – as well as an educational and therapeutic experience to overcome emotional and behavioral problems. They also receive scholastic support in order to fully integrate into a regular high school, enter the army or live independently in their respective communities, ultimately becoming contributing members of Israeli society.

AID CARE

JAFI - Jewish Identity Summer Camps in the Former Soviet Union are one of the most successful Jewish-identity building programs that JAFI operates in the former Soviet Union (FSU). It introduces tens of thousands of youngsters to their Jewish identity and heritage for the first time, and connects them to an Israel-centered experience and a sense of belonging to the Jewish people. For the past 18 years, the summer camps have served as the cultural lifeline for thousands of world Jewry’s most remote and detached children. Many camp graduates continue their involvement in Jewish Agency youth activities and leadership training programs, and a significant portion enroll in MASA programs and other Israel education experiences.

JAFI - MASA - Israel Journey Assimilation and the deteriorating connection among young Jews to their heritage and to Israel is a global phenomenon. Established in 2003, MASA seeks to establish a new norm in the Jewish community – to send a critical mass of recent college graduates and young professionals from around the world to Israel every year for a long-term Israel experience (4-10 months) – strengthening the connection between the next generation of young Jews and Israel and indelibly impacting the future of Jewish life and the structure of Jewish communities around the world.

JAFI - Partnership 2000 -Kiryat Bialik Though 6,500 miles away, Federation’s sister city Kiryat Bialik keeps getting closer through bonds of friendship, collaboration and understanding. Our “living bridge” with this growing community north of Haifa has borne much fruit through many shared projects and educational, business, women’s, teen and other types of exchanges, forming long-lasting relationships. Also, our March of the Living delegation visits Kiryat Bialik each spring, enjoying warm hospitality and opportunities to socialize with their Israeli peers.

CHAMAH, an international humanitarian organization, is dedicated to providing food for the elderly and hungry, medical assistance for the ill, and education for the young in Russia, Israel and the United States. Critical aid including medical and food assistance is provided to the elderly and homebound in the FSU, the JDC supports the Hesed programs run by CHAMAH. Our funding supplements their support, allowing non-Holocaust survivors to receive aid.

Program services include soup kitchens, meals on wheels, food packages, food stamps and adult diapers.

Ethiopian National Project (ENP) - Scholastic Assistance Program and Youth Outreach Center – Kiryat Bailik is designed to achieve equal opportunity for Ethiopian-Israelis and enable the community’s youth to achieve their full potential. ENP-SPACE provides scholastic assistance for low-performing students, addresses the needs of youth in crisis, and strengthens community through leadership development programs. Study indicators show an upward trend in achievement and grades, a decrease in the percentage of pupils assigned to the lowest grades, an increase in percentage of pupils who continue from ninth grade to tenth grade, and a higher percentage of matriculating graduates from the SPACE program compared to all Ethiopian-immigrant pupils in Israel. In Kiryat Bialik, 75 students are enrolled in the Scholastic Assistance Program and 90 students participate in programs at the Youth Outreach Center.

World ORT is a Jewish education and training organization that has historically conducted activities in more than 100 countries, with current operations in Israel, the CIS and Baltic States, Latin America, Western Europe, Eastern Europe, North America, Africa, Asia and the Pacific. Since its inception, over three million individuals have benefited from ORT’s educational services.

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We believe no child should go to bed hungry.

We believe every senior has the right to live with dignity.

We believe all Jews should be able to live – anywhere in the world – without fear of persecution.

We believe in you.

TOGETHER

WE DO EXTRAORDINARY THINGS

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