JFed Connects - December '13

JFED CONNECTS AN UPDATE OF WHAT’S HAPPENING AT JEWISH FEDERATION

DECEMBER 2013

INSIDE CEF Class............................... 2 YPD’s Lollapajewza ............... 2 Local Survivor’s Story ............. 2 Partnership Rep Visits ............ 2 JPro Peer Recognition ........... 3 Millstone Celebrates Leaders 3 Hava Nagila: The Movie......... 3 Tu B’Shevat ............................ 3

CAMPAIGN CLOSING We are in the last week of our 2013 Annual Community Campaign.

Thanks to the generosity of thousands of donors, we have already raised almost $9 million to support our community here in St. Louis, in Israel and around the world. If you have not made your gift yet, it is not too late—please click here or call Rachel Pereles at 314-442-3809. The 2013 Campaign ends December 31, 2013.

For more information on ways to make your gift, click here.

THANK YOU A big THANK YOU to our volunteers! Already this year, you have helped us raise almost $9 million, and we are in the home stretch—there are only a few weeks left in the 2013 Annual Community Campaign! Our volunteers have had countless meetings, made hundreds of phone calls and written multiple personal letters to our donors. You all are truly the face of the Jewish Federation of St. Louis, and we couldn’t be more thankful for you.

JFedSTL.org

From the CEO

A LOOK BACK AT 2013 What a year! As 2013 comes to a close and 2014 looms ahead, I’ve taken some time to reflect on all the Jewish Federation has been able to accomplish with your help.

what Jewish life is like in a small Jewish community and to Philadelphia to visit historic sites for American Jews, including the National Museum of American Jewish History. We also took a small delegation to Israel in November to attend the General Assembly and see the transformative work your contributions support in Tel Aviv and in our sister-city region of Yokneam-Megiddo.

In April, we gathered to thank our donors for all they do, celebrating with Jason Alexander of Seinfeld fame. It was great evening of entertainment, and we debuted a great video about the work we do in our community.

At our annual meeting in September, we welcomed Patty Croughan as our new board chair and heard her inspirational words of outreach to all in our community. We also recognized outgoing board chair Bob Millstone’s leadership over the last two years, during a time of organizational transition. And we recognized Tom Green’s 40+ years of service to the board, along with other directors whose terms concluded this year.

We also launched our new website, JFedSTL.org. The site gives Federation a new and improved online presence, making it easier than ever to connect with up-to-date information about us. The new site joined a redesigned JewishinStLouis.org, which remains a point of access to the entire local Jewish community.

New programs launched in 2013 included the Innovation Grants, which sought to cultivate and nurture Jewish social entrepreneurs and pioneers eager to strengthen Jewish life in St. Louis. Innovators submitted 73 proposals, thanks to a dynamic presence on social media, and a volunteer committee awarded $30,000 to eight projects that serve a broad spectrum of the community, from teens to seniors. We look forward to learning from the experience of these innovators. We also launched an Inclusion Initiative to promote full participation in Jewish life for individuals with disabilities and their families.

We began a new “mini-missions” program that brings people together to travel for short trips that bring to life other Jewish communities. This year we went to Springfield, Ill., to discover

I could go on. This year has been full of highlights, hard work, learning and connecting. We’ve shared a lot, and I look forward to doing even more in 2014 as we step toward the challenges of our community’s future.

I’d like to say thank you—Federation agencies change lives, caring for people here at home, in Israel, and around the world while nurturing and sustaining Jewish life. You make this work possible. Your vision of the value of Jewish life in all its varieties sustains our community. And your care for all those in need inspires our entire region. Together we ensure that the programs, institutions and values that enrich the fabric of our Jewish community remain vibrant and strong for the benefit of our community and all in our region.

Sincerely,

Andrew Rehfeld

WOMEN’S PHILANTHROPY TO HOLD CEF CLASS Women’s Philanthropy will be holding their Continuing Education Forum classes starting January 28, 2014. In this six-part class, 20 women will be selected to learn about Jewish Federation and how to become leaders in our community. This is an opportunity for you to enrich your knowledge of our community through a course that will empower you to take a more active role in Women’s Philanthropy or our greater Jewish community.

For more information, contact Laura Fields at lfields@jfedstl.org

ST. LOUIS NORC VOLUNTEER HONORED One of the amazing volunteers for the St. Louis Naturally Occurring Retirement Community (NORC), Pete Pozefsky, was a recipient of the 2013 Georgia Frontiere Community Quarterback Award, given by the St. Louis Rams Foundation.

The award is given to volunteers who exemplify leadership, dedication and a commitment to improve St. Louis through volunteerism. On his behalf, the St. Louis NORC will receive $5,000 to aid in its funding and continued programming.

LOLLAPAJEWZA GIVES YPDERS A PLACE TO GO ON CHRISTMAS EVE The typical night out for Jews on December 24 includes Chinese food and a movie, but Jewish Federation’s Young Professionals Division (YPD) gave young Jewish adults a fun alternative to that tired scene with Lollapajewza. The party, which was held Tuesday, December 24 at The Wheelhouse, celebrated being Jewish during the Christmas season.

FEDERATION EMPLOYEE CELEBRATES 30 YEARS Andrew Rehfeld, president/CEO, recently honored accounts receivable analyst Marti Stricker on 30 years of employment at Jewish Federation of St. Louis. Marti is just one of several employees who have devoted years of service to Federation.

Two other employees, Julie Mueller and Marlene Mueller, have been working at Federation for 32 years.

LOCAL HOLOCAUST SURVIVOR’S STORY TOLD THROUGH LIVE PERFORMANCE Singer and actress Suzanne Tanner was the star of a very touching performance when more than 250 people attended Beyond Me: A Song Cycle in the Key of Survival on Sunday, November 17 at the JCC Mirowitz Performance Hall. The musical theater piece is based on the life and times and triumphs of St. Louis Holocaust survivor Rachel Miller.

The audience was spellbound by Tanner’s presentation, which was interspersed with video of Miller’s narrative about the things she endured as a Holocaust survivor and losing her son, Mark, to AIDS in 1992.

The performance itself, scheduled for 2 pm, was nothing short of a miracle because St. Louis had been hit by a storm at 12:30 pm that knocked out the electricity to the building. It looked as if the multimedia biography was not going to take place, but

the J’s Jerry Russo and his tech team rigged up a gas generator that allowed Suzanne to use the microphone and display the video.

It ended up being a tremendous success.

The Holocaust Museum and Learning Center is grateful for the audience members who waited patiently to see Beyond Me and sends a special thanks to Michael and Carol Staenberg, who generously sponsored the production.

PARTNERSHIP REPRESENTATIVES VISIT ST. LOUIS Yael Shapira (above), Federation’s representative in Israel, and Levana CaroRegev (below), the Jewish Agency for Israel’s director of partnerships that include Yokneam and Megiddo, paid a brief visit to St. Louis December 8 to 10.

During their two days in St. Louis, Yael and Levana met with a group of congregational and day school teachers and participants in the Central Agency for Jewish Education’s Israel Fellows program. Topics included the enhancement of the Federation-funded Kesher B’Kitah Program and a variety of Israel engagement activities to connect St. Louis schools to Yokneam-Megiddo. They also spent time with past participants of the Rubin Israel Experience and met with Planning & Allocations leadership and Federation staff.

JPROSTL NAMES RECIPIENTS OF NINTH ANNUAL PEER RECOGNITION AWARDS Registration now open for annual Recognition Luncheon, to be held January 30 JProStl, a professional association that provides training, resources and networking opportunities for staff at 50 not-for-profit Jewish organizations throughout St. Louis, has announced the recipients of its annual Peer Recognition Awards. Honorees will receive their awards at the Ninth Annual JProStl Recognition Luncheon, which will take place on Thursday, January 30 from 11:30 am to 1:30 pm at the Jewish Community Center’s Staenberg Family Complex. The theme of the program is “Celebrating Community—Honoring Professionals.”

The honorees were chosen by a committee of JProStl leadership and former award recipients, representing colleagues from across the community.

This year’s honorees include: • Visionary Award: Cheryl Maayan, head of school, Saul Mirowitz Jewish Community School; • Career Achievement Award: Rabbi Menachem Greenblatt, rabbi of Agudas Israel of St. Louis and dean of the St. Louis Kollel; • Emerging Leader Award: Mindi Mintz, Judaic studies principal, Torah Prep Girls’ Division; • Kindness (Chesed) Award: Chana Novack, co-director, Chabad on Campus; • Pillar Award: Steve Rosenzweig, COO/CFO, Jewish Community Center; • Educator Award: Leslie Wolf, director, Deutsch Early Childhood Center, Temple Israel; • Dedication Award (for support staff): Claire Wolff, office manager, Aish HaTorah, and Gloria Schwartz, administrative assistant to the clergy, Congregation Shaare Emeth;

BRODSKY LIBRARY TO SCREEN HAVA NAGILA: THE MOVIE The Saul Brodsky Jewish Community Library’s “Brodsky Movie Night Series” will debut with a screening of Hava Nagila: The Movie on Tuesday, January 21, 2014, at 7 pm. This documentary tells about 150 years of Jewish history through a song that is known worldwide and features interviews with Harry Belafonte, Connie Francis, Glen Campbell, Leonard Nimoy and others. This film festival favorite will be shown at the Library, 12 Millstone Campus Drive.

Movie snacks and drinks will be served. Admission is $5.00 per person; free for Friends of the Library.

Reservations are required. For more information or to make a reservation, call 314-442-3720 or email Brodsky-library@jfedstl.org.

• Mentor Award: Rabbi James Stone Goodman, for his work through Congregation Neve Shalom focused with JAMI (Jewish Attention to Mental Illness), Shalvah and Jewish Prison Outreach.

The luncheon is free of charge for staff who work at least 15 hours per week annually at a Jewish organization and $25 for guests. To register for the luncheon and to donate to professional development in honor of the recipients, go to www.millstonestl.org/jpro14.

For information, contact Marci Mayer Eisen at 314-442-3810 or meisen@jfedstl.org All JPro programs are made possible by the Lubin-Green Foundation, a supporting foundation of the Jewish Federation of St. Louis. JProStl is affiliated with the Millstone Institute for Jewish Leadership, an initiative of the Jewish Federation of St. Louis, and affiliated nationally with JCSA, Jewish Communal Service Association of North America.

MILLSTONE INSTITUTE CELEBRATES JEWISH LEADERSHIP Seventy-five people from nearly 30 different organizations participated in the third Presidents’ Circle Reception on December 10 at Crown Center for Senior Living. The Millstone Institute brought together board presidents and presidents elect, executive directors/CEOs, and senior clergy. Participants spread out around the room for a small group “speed dialogue,” which explored 15 different questions related to engaging boards, a Jewish lens on leadership, organizational change and motivating involvement. Also, the 2013 Millstone Fellows were honored. The Millstone Institute is made possible by the generous support of the Lubin-Green Foundation, a supporting foundation of the Jewish Federation of St. Louis, the Millstone Foundation, Mont and Karen Levy, and Bill Solomon and family. The Millstone Institute sponsors JProStl, the Millstone Fellows and the LENS and will be offering a broad selection of board training workshops throughout 2014. For information, contact Marci Mayer Eisen at 314-442-3810 or meisen@jfedstl.org

TU B’SHEVAT CELEBRATION PLANNED Children ages 3 to 9 years and their parents and grandparents are invited to celebrate Tu B’Shevat, the Festival of the Trees, at PJ Storytime on Tuesday, January 14 at 6:45 pm in the Saul Brodsky Jewish Community Library, 12 Millstone Campus Drive. Children are encouraged to wear their pajamas to this celebration, which will feature stories by Brodsky Library director Barbara Raznick, puppets, crafts and treats. There is no charge for PJ Storytime, but reservations are required by calling the Brodsky Library 314-442-3720 or by email to Brodsky-library@jfedstl.org by Monday, January 13.