Tikkun Olam Top 10

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KIM ROSENBERG

By Mark Rosenbaum

Is tikkun olam the repair of Judaism and the Jewish community or the repair of the broader world? For

Kim Rosenberg, it is both. She intentionally brings her desire for healing and improvement to every encounter she enters. If you watch her with her family, friends, clients and community, you will see it is so.

In b’tzelem Elokim, each human is created in the image of G-d, to be met with an understanding of their infinite value, equality and uniqueness. This concept is the essence of Kim’s friendships, business interactions and community involvement.

She intentionally brings joy to each relationship and through compassionate questions and by being present, she seeks to understand the pain that each of us experiences in life. Kim has lived through very difficult circumstances, and through understanding an individual’s pain points, as well as their joyful experiences, she seeks to take the pain and partner with that understanding to see if, together, she can help make it better.

Unfortunately, meeting people or situations with dignity and respect does not alone help situations improve. Kim’s understanding of tikkun olam also involves making difficult, emotionally charged and critical choices, intelligently analyzing inter-personal considerations and conflict and deeply understanding business considerations. As a result, she is adept at moving people and situations forward to create a more positive future.

Kim has applied this approach in her community involvement and received awards and recognition for this work. Whether Kim is working with the Jewish Federation of Greater Portland, AIPAC, Congregation Shaarie Torah, or 99 Girlfriends, she looks to involve herself with organizations that will make a difference and where her presence and energy, when combined with others, will result in improvement.

This same approach has earned her the respect and extreme loyalty of her clients and team members at Coldstream Wealth Management, where she oversees the staff of Team Rosenbaum. Looking to see the image of G-d, and finding and enhancing dignity in each encounter is hard work. Yet, Kim has made it her mission always to improve, and seek deeper impact and understanding. She is a remarkable example for us all.

When you ask the pretty blonde why she would leave her comfortable home in favor of an abandoned church where she sleeps with the unhoused just off the main drag in Ashland, OR, this is how she answers, “I have the kind of heart that wants to help, and I know I can. It’s how I’ve always been.”

Joy Fate brings people in from the cold. She cooks them meals, offers companionship and a warm place to sleep. She projects movies in the church’s old great hall, and for a little while, all cares are lifted from tired, hungry shoulders too long alone on the streets.

Joy finds them and brings them “home.”

And she’s been doing this mostly on her own for nearly two years, ever since COVID-19 struck. In all that time, she’s only closed for two reasons: her daughter’s wedding and a breakthrough case of the delta variant.

“I hate that I got sick and had to close. I got my shots so I could be there for people. Then this happened,” says Joy.

Joy serves on the Ashland Housing and Human Services Commission and plans to re-open as soon as she’s certain to be well again. Unfortunately, both she and her helper, a kind mountain of a guy named Alex, who was unhoused until Joy spotted him, got sick.

Now on the mend, Joy plans to continue, “I’m going to be here until I can’t be.”

She served coffee and breakfast with me and others when the pandemic shut down libraries and coffee shops. “There was literally nowhere for people to be,” says Joy. “We had to do something.”

When the rest of us got back to our lives, Joy stayed. Giving is her life.

Joy offers everything for free and stretches each donation as far as possible. “I’m not in it for the money, that’s for sure,” she says with a playful laugh.

It’s impossible to understand how she finds a way to keep the lights on, but she does. Donations, helpers, and a neighborhood willing to co-conspire for the greater good, including free use of the building, make it work.

The improbable is turned real.

Joy is repairing the world one cup of coffee, one warm blanket, one meal, one hug, one mitzvah at a time, and it’s a conscious act. When you tell her about an act of kindness, she nods and whispers, “Tikkun olam.”

JOY FATE

By Mayor Julie Anne Christie Akins

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RICK BARDE

By Erika Collins

We may know Rick Barde through his love of his Oregon Ducks, gourmet cooking, dogs, family and friends (not necessarily in that order except for the first item). But even more, we know him for the ways he has strengthened the bonds of the community.

Rick will proudly tell you of his roots as a Southwest Portland native, but what he might not mention is how he has continually fostered connections between people for years.

Those of us lucky enough to know Rick and his work on behalf of others know he has approached all with his signature sense of humor and respect. For years, he volunteered to be the emcee for the annual Bridlemile Elementary School auction. What did this mean for our school? First, we were able to raise significant funds in lean years. We could save key, wellloved programs and positions that were on the brink of elimination and we were able to share in a sense of belonging.

Rick used his advocacy to offer an honest, personal appraisal of what it meant to keep our Bridlemile community strong. As an educator, Rick worked with countless families to develop the best learning practices for their children.

As a colleague, he made a tough day easier: you could count on a hearty “Good Morning!” and a listening ear. Whether in the early days at James John Elementary School or later years at Bridlemile, his students adored him. The message was to take school seriously, but remember to have fun. As a result, his students learned the importance of balance: both in the moment and for some, as a lifelong philosophy.

Rick went through something last year that brought out the community to support him. His bout with COVID-19 meant having to lay low for a long while with no guarantee of recovery. For an active person like Rick, this was unthinkable. However, frontline workers, first responders, and a wide circle of friends came to his aid.

As soon as he recovered some semblance of his former self, even before he was out of the hospital, he was promising to pay it forward for other COVID patients. He was open to sharing his story on various news outlets. He understood that knowledge is power and personal accounts carry weight. No doubt he saved lives through this action. Along with his wife, Juli, he went on to be involved with the Healthcare Heroes Project (part of Positive Charge! PDX).

From promoting the project to collecting, assembling and donating items such as thank you cards to the ICU, and emergency teams at local hospitals, Rick continues to give back to those who quite literally saved his life and the lives of so many others. Beginning this month, Rick will also work on another Positive Charge! PDX project called “Sweets to the Streets,” to aid people experiencing food insecurity. Rick lives a life of example for others who desire to serve their community and make the world a better place.

Mia Birk is a woman on a mission. Correction, a woman on many missions. Mia personifies the tikkun olam spirit in her personal and professional life. Her impact within the Jewish community has been especially felt.

In fact, one would be hard pressed to find an organization within the

Portland Jewish community that

Mia has not positively affected.

Currently the Chair (and one of the founders) of the Eastside

Jewish Commons, Mia has contributed her knowledge and expertise of over 27 years in the field of “active transportation” to advise and assist many organizations, including B’nai

B’rith Camp, the Women’s GIving

CIrcle of the Jewish Federation of Greater Portland, the Maccabi

Games, the Jewish Sports Hall of

Fame, Congregation Shir TIkvah,

Congregation Neveh Shalom and

Impact NW. MIa and her husband,

Glen Coblens also contribute financially through their Oregon

Jewish Community Foundation donor-advised fund to both Jewish and secular organizations.

Professionally, Mia was the bicycle program manager for the CIty of Portland in the 90’s and later served as the President and CEO at Alta Planning and Design. With the experience she gained, MIa now offers her knowledge and advice as an independent corporate director, business advisor, executive coach and consultant for a variety of industries and causes.

Clearly Mia is a woman who leads by example. Mia and Glen have 3 children who will undoubtedly benefit from the example of tikkun olam that is exemplified in their lives. In an interview in Oregon Jewish Life several years ago, Mia said, “I cannot recall when volunteering an/or charitable giving was not a part of my family or life.” Thank you Mia, for paying it forward.

MIA BIRK

By Cindy Saltzman

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DEVORA WILHELM

By Mimi Wilhelm

Devora Wilhelm is an inspiration. She has devoted her life to caring for others and being there for the community. Devora is the one who makes sure the hungry are given a meal, the sick are given a container of chicken soup, and that every single child is not only educated at Maimonides Jewish Day

School but also really loved.

Devora Wilhelm moved to

Portland in 1984, sent along with her husband Rabbi Moshe Wilhelm, by the Lubavitcher Rebbe to help build community and Jewish awareness.

She has led many holidays and has opened her home to so many for Shabbat dinner. She is there to counsel and care for every person that comes her way, and she reaches out to those that look like they could use some care.

I haven’t met anyone with a bigger heart than Devora. She lives a simple life, sharing herself, her home and everything she has with the community.

Devorah’s life is one of faith and meaning. She can often be found saying a prayer or doing a mitzvah to bring healing or success for a fellow who she heard is in need. She is guided by a sense of purpose and mission and will often do what is right and just without taking credit or at her own expense.

In her role at Maimonides, she does not simply teach Judaism. Instead, she celebrates it and makes it fun and meaningful every day for the children. Whether a special celebration for Rosh Chodesh (the beginning of a new Jewish month) or cheering on students for essays they wrote, she leaves them feeling excited about their heritage.

Sitting around the Wilhelm’s legendary Shabbat table, the entire Jewish community is represented. Around the gigantic conference table, and the others set nearby, one often finds longtime community lay leaders meeting those who have only discovered that they are Jewish that week, those who’ve experienced the misfortune of losing their jobs, a loved one or just going through a difficult patch alongside a family in town to celebrate a wedding or another simcha. At this table, what unites them all is their Jewish heritage and its celebration.

A few months ago, Devorah got a call from the Multnomah County medical examiner. A woman whom she used to check in on and send food to had died alone without family, and asked that Devorah be told and authorized as her personal representative. Immediately Devorah sprang into action, collecting funds and making arrangements so this woman could have a Jewish burial.

This is Devorah. The person whom, no matter who or where one is, one could write down her name, and be sure she would come through for them.

Ifirst met Steve almost 46 years ago, when he was running for a seat at the Democratic National Convention with the Maryland delegation. He has always been interested in civic and community action, with a sense of wanting to make the world a better place.

When I met him, I was a candidate for the National Ski Patrol and he had never skied! Since then, he not only learned to ski but also took the first aid courses so that he could patrol, at first as an auxiliary in the patrol room and eventually to be able to take toboggans on the hill!

This is emblematic of his participation in a variety of community volunteering, from such organizations as the American

Red Cross (highlighted when he drove across the country to North

Carolina to help after the hurricane that occurred there a few years ago), to serving on Happy Valley

CERT (Community Emergency

Response Team) and other committees of both Happy Valley and a home-owners association. In addition, he has used his teaching skills to inform other groups on disaster preparedness, and has served on security committees for B’nai B’rith camp and the synagogue.

Jewish organizations he has served include being an active member for several years of the

Congregation Neveh Shalom board, currently serving as secretary. In the past, he headed up a tikkun olam committee task force and organized the various separate volunteer groups to communicate with each other and better serve the community. His observation and insight allowed the synagogue to release designated funds for feeding the hungry when the need arose.

He has coordinated greeters for Shabbat services as one way to engage our synagogue’s relational Judaism.

He also is a past president of the CNS Men’s Club and was active in the Pacific Region of the Federation of Jewish Men’s Clubs.

He currently serves on the synagogue’s Israel 360 committee, which strives to educate everyone with a balanced understanding of the country. And he is currently serving as the district chair, Northern Pacific Region, USCJ, thus becoming a member of the USCJ board.

With the Jewish Federation of Greater Portland, he has served on various task forces, including the Black-Jewish Dialogue, to work to bring greater understanding among people of our communities.

STEVE SIRKIN

By Dana Sirkin

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MEIRA SPIVAK

By Sarah Faige Goldblatt

When I think of Meira, I think of energy. I think of creativity and a passion for the Jewish future. Meira devotes herself tirelessly to every teen in NCSY, every family and each person she speaks to. When you have a conversation with her, you feel that you are all that matters. She sees beyond any barriers and envisions a bright future for you that you might not even see for yourself. She has a fire within her, and when she puts her mind to it, she gets it done.

Meira has an original way of thinking. I would call it thinking “tachlit,” goal-oriented. Some people have great ideas, but she actually makes them happen. If Meira had the funding, tikkun olam would be fixing the whole world! But we are lucky since she is in Portland, and during all my time here, I was amazed by her tikkun olam goals in the Portland Jewish community. Whether she was single-handedly cooking a Shabbaton for a hundred people in her kitchen down to themed food or studying one on one with a person, she is minute by minute making the world a better place!

She also thinks nationally and globally and works on training others so they too can gain from her strong skill set.

Meira also takes care of herself. She exercises, plays basketball and eats healthy following the dictum, Im ein ani li, mi li? If I am not for myself, who is for me?

She is a supermom with a large family who could easily take care of her kids and not worry about anyone else. But she cares about the Jewish future!

Meira’s Torah-based leadership isn’t about self-aggrandizement but about deep concern for every neshama, every soul. If you haven’t met Meira yet, you’re missing something special in Portland!

Katya Brownstein is currently a third year undergraduate student at the University of Oregon studying Sociology with a minor in Special Education.

In addition to her studies, Katya serves as one of The Oregon Hillel

Repair Campus Corp Interns and volunteers with The Relief Nursery, a local child abuse and neglect prevention organization.

Through her work as a leader in The Oregon Hillel community,

Katya has co-led the creation of our new Social Action Cohort that connects her peers with local service opportunities at the Eugene

Springfield NAACP, Food for Lane

County, and Beyond Toxics to support the Eugene community. In their service placements, students organize free groceries for those in need, tend to community gardens, advocate for those facing discrimination in the workplace and so much more. Additionally, she and her fellow leaders have created an educational curriculum addressing prevalent social inequalities and inequities with an emphasis on their intersectional nature.

At The Relief Nursery, Katya is part of a program that focuses on supporting children from multistressed families who are at-risk for or have experienced trauma, abuse, and stress. Using research-based and developmentally appropriate practices, she helps reinforce each child’s individual therapeutic goals while making the classroom a safe and comfortable environment.

She supports the children during playtime, walks, reading, and several group activities. While each child has their own individualized goals, the classroom as whole works on taking turns, using gentle touches, and other practices that promote a sense of compassion.

The Relief Nursery has a plethora of programs to assist the families such as, crisis intervention, substance recovery support, counseling services and ancillary services. Katya cares deeply about her service work at The Relief Nursery because of the lifelong impact their work has on both the children and families who join the program. She is a compassionate and kind person who is driven by a determination to better the world around her. Both the Oregon Hillel and Relief Nursery community are lucky to have her support and vibrancy during her time in Eugene. We all look forward to seeing her bright future and the great impact she will continue to make on the world!

KATYA BROWNSTEIN

By Talia Leider

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DOUG BLAUER

By Amy Blauer

Doug and I met at BB Camp and even back then, it was obvious he intended to change the world. I love seeing his forwardthinking ideas realized, and the genuine pride he feels participating in groups that are changing lives. With support from Jewish

Federation and many local leaders,

Doug has rediscovered his volunteer voice from those early years and is doing his part to help repair the world.

Doug treats everyone with kindness and respect. I think it’s why he’s such an effective community leader. He serves on safety and security committees at the Jewish

Federation, Neveh Shalom, and

BB Camp. At Neveh Shalom, he’s an active board member, also cochairs the Tikkun Olam Committee, and represents the synagogue on the Jewish Community Relations

Council. As the Inner Group

Outreach Chair of the JCRC,

Doug was inspired to help create a new partnership, United in Spirit.

It started to revive the local Black/

Jewish dialogue and has developed into an influential multi-community coalition. Bob Horenstein works with

Doug and describes his impact.

“Doug Blauer is an exemplary volunteer involved with important social justice issues through the JCRC. Foremost of these issues is the growing chronic homelessness problem in Portland. His leadership in United in Spirit, an interfaith coalition dedicated to helping resolve this humanitarian crisis, has been invaluable.

It was Doug’s idea to bring elected officials, nonprofit agencies, and business groups together around one table to get them to finally collaborate on finding needed solutions. His idea came to fruition with the convening of two summits that have proven to be an important step forward in encouraging these stakeholders to work together and move beyond the political barriers that are preventing progress. Seeing Doug’s devotion, passion and optimism, I’m beginning to believe we may actually help solve homelessness in Portland.”

With Bob’s encouragement, Doug is now one of 12 others on the Portland Police Bureau Wide Advisory Council. These volunteers shape the PPB budget to reflect the immediate reforms expected by the community and secure the resources needed to build a properly staffed police department.

Doug is a steadfast BB Camp volunteer and along with chairing the Safety Committee, he participates in major fundraising efforts and is a lifelong Men’s Camper. I’m so proud of my husband for his unwavering passion for volunteerism and the pivotal changes that are happening with the help of his perseverance and dedication.

What makes this 5-foot tall ball of energy go like the Energizer Bunny? What makes her the Queen of Tzedakah? She is tireless, creative, enthusiastic and determined. She is like a terrier that won’t let go. And this is all in the name of “doing good.” Carolyn Weinstein’s motivation has always been her Jewish identity, the core of which is doing mitzvot, the ultimate level of which is tzedakah.

Whatever project Carolyn takes on, she puts her heart and soul into it.

Have you ever wondered who polishes the crowns, breastplates and finials for Congregation Neveh Shalom’s Torahs in time for the High Holidays? Who headed the project to recreate the beautiful Torah mantels, designed by artist Sara Harwin? Who headed the synagogue’s Building & Grounds Committee? Who has been co-chairing the congregation’s 150 Year Capital Campaign? Carolyn, that’s who!

Tzedakah, that righteous act of “doing the right thing,” takes more than well-meant intentions. Most often, it takes money. Some people have it to give and do so most willingly. Others have it to give but must be asked. Carolyn sets the example by giving most generously, and she is passionate about asking. She has served on numerous boards in the community, each one of which requires fundraising to guarantee its goals are met. In addition, Carolyn has passionately chaired exciting events for each of these organizations, bringing people together to learn the lessons of tzedakah.

Carolyn was among the founders of the Federation’s Women’s Division (aka Women’s Philanthropy). She served as Women’s Campaign Chair, and then became the first woman to co-chair the general campaign. In addition, Carolyn served on the National UJA Women’s Campaign Board and the Women’s Business and Professional Board. She has been recognized for her volunteerism and leadership locally as a Song of Miriam awardee. In 2016, Carolyn was honored with the International Lion of Judah Kipnis-Wilson/Friedland Award. Also, in 2016, she and her husband, Gary, were honored with the Rabbi Joshua Stampfer Community Enrichment Award.

Carolyn’s activities reach beyond the Jewish community. One of her favorite volunteer projects is as a guide with the Urban Tour Group, a volunteer organization dedicated to giving young people a sampling of Portland’s history, culture, architecture and resources.

For close to 45 years, Carolyn has been an outstanding realtor in our community. Again, that tenacious personality comes through in her hard work, helping clients buy and sell their homes. Carolyn’s gift to every Jewish client who is moving into a new home is a beautiful mezuzah, each one unique, each one meant to deliver the message, “This is a Jewish home.”

That is what Carolyn Weinstein is all about: being and doing Jewish, the core of which is tzedakah.

CAROLYN WEINSTEIN

By Priscilla Kostiner

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