thejewishpress AN AGENCY OF THE JEWISH FEDERATION OF OMAHA
this week
It happens here, too: DoMeStiC violenCe
Where your Campaign dollars go page 8
i
ent to a child, a child to a parent, a boyfriend to a girlfriend or the other way around. You could say that domestic violence is an equal opportunity societal problem.” Jewish Family Service works closely with the Women’s Center for Advancement (WCA), the designated direct service provider for victims of domestic violence and sexual assault in Douglas County. Michelle Patterson, MSW/MPA, is the organization’s Compliance and Evaluation Administrator. “In the first six months of 2016, the WCA provided close to 14,200 services to over 2,300 unique individuals who have been victims of domestic or sexual violence in our community,” she said. “The Women’s Center for Advancement also provided education and training to 1,628 members of the community on related issues, 381 victims See Domestic violence page 2
ozzie noGG Danielle Gordman has been named Director of the Jewish Federation of Omaha’s new Young Jewish Giving (YJG) initiative, created, in her words, “to empower teens and college-aged students to make the world a better place by donating money to worthy causes engaged in mean-
Danielle Gordman
Keepers weepers page 12
October events
inside Viewpoint Synagogues Life cycles
Welcome to Danielle Gordman
SEPT EMBER 2 3 , 2 0 1 6 | 2 0 ELU L 5 7 7 6 | V O L. 9 6 | NO . 5 2 | C a nD leli G h ti nG | FRID AY , SEPT EMBER 2 3 , 7 : 0 1 P. M.
ozzie noGG n July of 2003, over 500 participants gathered in Baltimore, Maryland for a groundbreaking event, the First International Conference on Domestic Abuse in the Jewish Community. The event was sponsored by Jewish Women International and featured over 100 speakers. October is designated as Domestic Violence Awareness Month, and Jewish Family Service in Omaha is, once again, bringing the issue to the attention of the community. “Domestic violence does not care if you are young or old, black or white, Jewish or not Jewish,” said Karen Gustafson, Jewish Family Service Executive Director. “Violence comes when one person wants to control another. There is a myth that only men are abusive, and that violence only affects married couples. Domestic violence can come from a par-
Kahilla Cupdate page 5
WWW.JEWISHOMAHA.ORG
SponSoreD by the benjaMin anD anna e. WieSMan FaMily enDoWMent FunD
9 10 11
MaGGie Conti Director of Activities and Outreach Programs The scheduled events come with wishes for a good, sweet New Year. Keep Your Feet on the Ground! Reducing Your Fall Risk presented by Kathy Rehder, RN on Monday, Oct. 10 at 1:30 p.m. at the Rose Blumkin Jewish Home boardroom. Kathy Rehder has been an RN for over 37 years. She started her career working in hospitals, but for the last 25 years Kathy has specialized in seeing patients in their own homes, helping people to maximize their independence. In the past year, she started working with the Visiting Nurse Association, helping coordinate programs designed to help seniors maintain and improve their health. The Visiting Nurse Association realizes the importance of being proactive about your health by sponsoring educational workshops designed specifically for seniors’ well-being. This fall prevention and home safety strategies program will discuss how your home environment may influence the risk of
falling. We also discuss some simple changes that you can implement to significantly improve home safety. Refreshments will be served. To RSVP, please call Maggie Conti at 402.334.6521 or e-mail at mconti@ rbjh.com by Wednesday, Oct. 5. Laugh Out Loud with T. Marni Vos – comedian, educator, and speaker as she chats on “Humor’s Ageless Healing” on Sunday, Oct. 16 See Mainstreeters page 2
ingful work.” YJG will deliver fun, social, energetic and insightful programming built around tzedakah, its importance in Judaism and the responsibility to engage in acts of Tikkun Olam, repairing the world. In addition, YJG will establish a $500.00 donor advised fund for each participant comprised of $125.00 contributed by the student and $375.00 provided by the Jewish Federation of Omaha and its partners. “Our goal is to inspire young people to want to make a difference in the community by providing both the knowledge and resources to be able to do so,” Gordman said. “Moreover, each participant can decide the organizations or causes to which they want to allocate their funds.” A graduate of Indiana University with a BA in Political Science, Danielle received an MA in Mental Health Counseling from the University of Nebraska at Omaha. She worked in politics at Peter Hart Research in Washington, D.C.; fundraising at Common Cause, also in D.C.; and worked at Heartland Family Service and Methodist Cancer Center in a counseling capacity. Danielle is a former board member of the Pennie Z Davis Child Development Center, JCC, ADL (for which she also acted as Education Chair), Gretchen Swanson Center for Nutrition and Nebraskans for Research. She is a current board member of Temple Israel as well as the Presenters, a guild for Omaha Performing Arts. A program for youth philanthropy is not new to Omaha, Gordman explained. “The first iteration, B’nai Tzedek, began when Jordana Glazer brought the concept to the Jewish community in 2008 as a board member of the Foundation. “This year we have a record number of 7th graders in the three congregations,” Gordman said. “With 36 students in the B’nai Mitzvah class, this is a great time to revitalize the program. We hope our clergy and other congregational leaders will help get the message out.” YJG will officially launch on Sunday, Sept. 25, at the Community Federation Fair at Dave and Buster’s. The See Danielle Gordman page 2