PARTNERSHIP SHALOM JACKSONVILLE Educators make Join the Jewish Java connections with crowd for a Purim-style Israel partners Jokefest.
AMELIA ISLAND Growing Jewish community holds Shabbat, services
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Jewish News
March
Jacksonville
2015
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Adar/Nisan
5775
Celebrating 10 years of girlfriends connecting
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www.jewishjacksonville.org
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www.facebook.com/JaxJewish
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A publication of the
JEWISH •
Volume
27,
FEDERATION
OF JACKSONVILLE
Number
9
•
24
pages
Super and Thank You Sunday a hit
By ERIN COHEN
Women’s Division Director
Ten years ago this May, the Federation Women’s Division started what has become a special tradition – an evening of laughing, learning and friendship called the Girlfriend Connection. The Women’s Division is proud that this event, which brings together Jewish women of all Alison Lebovitz ages, backgrounds, lifestyles and giving levels, is marking this significant anniversary. Save the date for Wednesday, May 13, at 6 p.m. at University of North Florida. This year event co-chairs, Carrie Bielski and Talie Zaifert, along with a dedicated event committee, will help us celebrate 10 years of loyalty and commitment to the Jewish Federation of Jacksonville. Our featured guest will be Alison Lebovitz. Alison is an author, television host, speaker and executive who believes that each of us has the power and responsibility to make this world a better place. She is co-founder and president of One Clip at a Time, a nonprofit inspired by The Paper Clips Project started in Whitwell, Tenn., which promotes student activism and supports service learning in classrooms across North America. Alison has been busy traveling the Federation Women’s Division circuit and receiving incredible reviews for her talk as she shares her Jewish story and
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See GFC, p. 22
Photos by L. Tallis
By JEANINE HOFF rGEN Division Director
The newly rebranded Super and Thank You Sunday was a major success. With more than 60 volunteers representing our six local agencies, the rGEN Steering Committee and the Jewish Federation of Jacksonville’s Board of Directors, thousands of individuals were called in an effort to raise funds and thank those who already committed to supporting our 2015 annual campaign.
rGEN Chair Daniel Miller and Super and Thank You Sunday Chair Shylie Bannon kicked off the morning with a video spotlighting our local and overseas beneficiary agencies. That video can be seen on YouTube at http://youtu.be/FfjyuZmiy2A or by searching rGENJax on Youtube. A tremendous amount of thanks goes out to the staff of the Jewish Community Alliance for hosting the event, the staff of Gan Yeladim for providing babysitting services, and Larry Tallis photography for taking such beautiful photos of the morning.
Join the celebration: River Garden’s 69th anniversary By SKIP WILLBACH River Garden
River Garden’s 69th Anniversary Day celebration will be held Sunday, March 22, from 3 to 6 p.m. Debby Kaye, River Garden Home board member, will chair the day, which has become a wonderful intergenerational community event. The afternoon will include musical entertainment by One More Time, a barbecue, kiddie train rides, a bounce house, pony rides, clowns, face painting and wonderful desserts provided by the River Garden Auxiliary. Sharon Smith and Alice Sherman will serve as the auxiliary’s
co-hostesses for the afternoon. In addition to the outdoor festivities, the annual business meeting of River Garden Senior Services will begin at 4:30 p.m. New officers and board members will be installed. It is hoped that many community members will attend this meeting as this important moment in River Garden’s history is celebrated. River Garden has served thousands of families in this community over these past 69 years. Come and celebrate what River Garden – with support from the entire community – has accomplished. “Each year more and more people
See RIVER GARDEN, p. 22
Also, we couldn’t have done it without the help of our sponsor, Periodontics Laser and Implant Dentistry – Dr. Gary Perlman. Perlman’s support of this event was absolutely incredible.
Martin J. Gottlieb Day School wins challenge The Martin J. Gottlieb Day School, one of the six local recipient agencies of the Jewish Federation of Jacksonville, won the
See SUNDAY, p. 22