See Ellie Penner

JACOB GELTZER

BBYO/Teen Program Director What a day we had at J-Serve 2022. On April 3, BBYO, Young Jewish Giving, Beth El, Temple Israel, and Beth Israel teamed up our middle school and high school members for a day of service to give back to our community. Teen planners Eva Bloom and Benjamin Kutler decided that this year’s J-Serve program would involve giving back to those in need. This year, we partnered with Kids Against Hunger to pack meals for the local food banks in Omaha. Kids Against Hunger is a nonprofit humanitarian organization with a mission to provide fully nutritious food to impoverished children and families around the world, and around the corner. The goal of the organization is for the meals to provide a stable nutritional base from which recipient families can move their families from starvation or food insecurity to self-sufficiency. Not only did we hit our goal and pack 3,000 apple cinnamon oatmeal packets, but we did it within 30 minutes! Participants enjoyed making a competition about which packing line could pack their meals the fastest, and knew that they were making a direct impact to people’s lives in Omaha. We can’t wait to participate in our next day of service soon. This program was supported in part by the generosity of the Special Donor Advised Fund of the Jewish Federation of Omaha Foundation.

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Ellie Penner

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whether in Tucson or Overland Park. Upon moving to Omaha in 1969, Ellie became a very active volunteer in the community. She served on the Board of Directors and as president of the NCJW-Omaha Section, and as secretary of NCJW’s Central District. Ellie was on the JCC Board and was Chair of the JCC Membership and Dance Committees. She also served on the JCC and Jewish Federation Nominating Committees, the Federation’s Budget & Allocation Committee, and on the Federation Board of Directors. Teaming up with others, Ellie worked on executing the first Teen Trip to Israel in 1987. In the greater Omaha area, Ellie served on the board and then as President of Planned Parenthood of Omaha/Council Bluffs. Jan Goldstein said, “I had the opportunity to work with Ellie professionally in the early 1990s for a short time, at the very beginning of my career, when she trained me to take over for her upon deciding to retire — for the first time! This was the Federation Women’s Campaign Director position, and Ellie defined it to its best.” Ellie worked for the Federation from fall 1985 to fall 1990. She served as the Federation Women’s Division Director, coordinating the Super Sunday campaign, and the annual meeting. She also directed a yearlong young leadership training program, a Midwest Women’s Mission to Israel, and coordinated the Welcome to Omaha program. In the fall of 1999, Ellie moved to Tucson, Arizona. She kept up to date on the events and people in the Omaha Jewish community through the Jewish Press. Three years after moving to Tucson, Ellie saw an ad in the Jewish Press for a Membership Services Coordinator/Assistant to the Director of an Overland Park synagogue. Ellie applied for the position and was hired. She moved to Overland Park, working at the synagogue for five years. After her time at the synagogue, Ellie worked part-time at the Jewish Federation of Greater Kansas City until her retirement in 2010. Although retired, Ellie is not a ‘retiring’ type of person. She tries to keep active in mind and body every day. She keeps it physical with line dancing or water aerobics in Sun City, Arizona, and, while in Overland Park, Ellie will participate in a YouTube workout or Silver Sneakers aerobics class. For the last two winters, Ellie was the recording secretary for her line dancing club, and she also submits an article for the Sun City monthly publication. She reads every day, preferably fiction, and keeps up with current events. She also works on different word games and puzzles, which she describes as “relaxation.” However, Ellie admits that she does not feel compelled to do something every day, and gives herself permission to spend a day in her pajamas when she feels like it. Although she moved away from Omaha in the fall of 1990, Omaha has remained a part of Ellie Penner’s life. Ellie said, “I consider the 30 years I lived in Omaha as my most productive and meaningful. It was, first as a volunteer for Omaha Section, NCJW and then as an employee for the Jewish Federation of Omaha that I developed the skills (communication, interpersonal, and administrative) that allowed me to gain confidence and accept additional challenges.” Jan said, “The principles, beliefs and motivations we discussed in that office and the way she showed me how I needed to reach out to as many people in the community as I could are the fundamentals of what we do today and what brings us to where we are now at this point in time. This is what Ellie Penner is doing today by endowing her gift. She is doing what she asked others to do and what has been important to her throughout her life, ensuring the continuity of a strong Jewish community here in Omaha and for the Jewish people.” It is gratifying when former Omahans remember our city so

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CHAIRS: Nancy Schlessinger • Cindy Goldberg • Jess Cohn • Ally Freeman • Ellie Novak • Hillary Rubesin

Tuesday, May 3, 2022 6:00-8:00 p.m.

Women’s Philanthropy of Jewish Federation of Omaha thanks you for your support and invites you to celebrate all that we’ve accomplished together. Please join us for a festive cocktail hour and an intimate conversation with Deirdre Haj, Executive Director, Film Streams. Ms. Haj will speak candidly about being a Jewish woman, coming up the ranks in the lucrative film industry and why diversity in filmmaking is more important than ever.

Film Streams Dundee / Lola’s 4952 Dodge Street | Omaha, Nebraska 68132

Speaker

Deirdre Haj

Executive Director, Film Streams

Please RSVP by April 28th online at jewishomaha.org or scan QR code.

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Reducing access to lethal means

KAREN M. GUSTAFSON, MS, NCC, LIMHP

Jewish Family Service Executive Director Reducing access to lethal means of selfharm for a person at risk of suicide is an important part of a comprehensive approach to suicide prevention. Many suicide attempts take place during a short-term crisis, so it is important to consider a person’s access to lethal means during these periods of increased risk, in order to reduce their risk of dying by suicide. “Lethal means” are items or actions that might be used in a suicide attempt that are likely to result in death. Firearms are the most lethal among suicide methods. Also of concern are medications that are lethal at high doses. Therefore, as part of our consistent work on suicide prevention in the community, Jewish Family Service (JFS) is putting our efforts behind this year’s National Prescription Drug Take Back Day on Saturday, April 30, 2022. This has become an annual event because of its importance in educating people about the dangers of prescription drugs left unlocked or in excess in our homes. When these medications get into the hands of someone who is suicidal, they can be deadly. The Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health published a study that states nine out of 10 people who attempt suicide and survive will NOT go on to die by suicide at a later date. This is well established in the suicidology literature along with the knowledge that when a person identifies a “means” that they want to use, and that “means” is not readily available, they do NOT typically choose another means to harm themselves. Hence, the

importance of restricting lethal means in the first place during the initial crisis period. According to the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA), National Prescription Drug Take Back Day addresses a crucial public safely and public health issue. “Unused or expired prescription medications are a public safety issue, leading to potential accidental poisoning, misuse, and overdose. Proper disposal of unused drugs saves lives and protects the environment.” Findings from the 2019 National Survey on Drug Use and

Health states, 9.7 million people misused prescription stimulants, and 5.9 million people misused prescription tranquilizer or sedatives. The survey also showed that a majority of misused prescription drugs were obtained from family and friends, often from the home medicine cabinet. The DEA’s Take Back Day events provide an opportunity for Americans to prevent drug addiction and overdose deaths. Please help us. Help YOUR family or a family friend. Go to DEATakeBack.com for a collection site near you. Please dispose of unused medications “properly.” If you wish to have a lockbox for the medication that you need to store in your home, please call Jewish Family Service with your request. We can help you obtain a lockbox through Region 6 Behavioral Health.

ORGANIZATIONS

B’NAI B’RITH BREADBREAKERS

The award-winning B’NAI B’RITH BREADBREAKERS speaker program currently meets Wednesdays via Zoom from noon to 1 p.m. Please watch the Press for specific information concerning its thought-provoking, informative list of speakers. To be placed on the email list, contact Breadbreakers chair at gary.javitch@gmail.com.

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fondly that they want to help ensure that a strong, active and engaged Jewish community endures in Omaha. Without the generosity of Ellie and those like her, we might not be handing down to the following generations the thriving Jewish community we are fortunate to experience. If you would like to establish an endowment fund, please contact Howard Epstein at the Jewish Federation of Omaha Foundation, 402.334.6466 or hepstein@jewishom aha.org.

Omaha Community Playhouse presents The Giver

The Giver is opening April 15 at the Omaha Community Playhouse. Twelve-year-old Jonas lives in a utopian society with no war, no pain and no memories. All of life’s choices, from your occupation to your family members, are conveniently dictated by the government to keep things perfectly equal and functional. But when Jonas is chosen by The Giver to bear the memories of his society, past and present, he learns the truth behind his perfect world. Will Jonas fall in line or risk everything to forge a new path? Adapted by Eric Coble from the Newberry Awardwinning book by Lois Lowry, The Giver runs from April 15 through May 8 in the Hawks Mainstage Theatre at the Omaha Community Playhouse. Tickets are on sale now and can be purchased online at OmahaPlayhouse.com or by calling the OCP Box Office at 402.553.0800. Reserve your seats early for the best pricing and seating options.

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