JFED CONNECTS AN UPDATE OF WHAT’S HAPPENING AT JEWISH FEDERATION OF ST. LOUIS
MAY/JUNE 2015
JFedSTL.org
From our Chair, Patricia Croughan
INSIDE From Debbie Chase ....... 2 JBuzz e-newsletter........ 2 Vibe in the Tribe............ 2 Lou-au Pool Party.......... 3 Coaching Skills Training Program........................ 3 NORC Award ................ 3 HMLC Exhibit Opens .... 3 Inclusion Mini-Grants .... 4 Tap into YPD ................. 4 Art & Writing Contest Winners......................... 4
At a recent meeting, a young man asked me the seemingly simple question of "What does Federation do?" The question, asked in seconds, took much longer to answer, because Jewish Federation of St. Louis does so many things, plays many roles, and wears many hats. It is funder, evaluator, grant maker, community convener, planner, and fundraiser. It has programmatic functions as well: you may not know that the Millstone Institute, the Holocaust Museum and Learning Center, and the Brodsky Library are all actually departments of Jewish Federation of St. Louis. And all this is just for starters! It is because Jewish Federation of St. Louis is so active in so many areas of St. Louis Jewish life that it is hard to briefly describe what Federation does. To put it simply, Jewish Federation of St. Louis is the institution whose mission is to identify needs and to care for the entire community, not just a single agency or program. Together, with leaders from throughout the community, we analyze the challenges faced by our aging seniors, by intermarried families, by the disabled members of our community, by next gen college students, by our synagogues and schools, and we identify and care about
critical issues before us like food insecurity and poverty in the Jewish community. Jewish Federation of St. Louis’ job is to care about ALL the organizations that serve our Jewish community both here in St. Louis, in Israel and in the former Soviet Union. And it is Jewish Federation of St. Louis’ job to identify new and innovative ideas for engagement and service. All this takes careful planning, and this past winter Jewish Federation of St. Louis completed the first community demographic study in almost 20 years. This is a planning function that no single agency could undertake, and that Jewish Federation of St. Louis saw as essential to understanding who we are today, and what needs call out for attention that we may not as a community have met. Many of you have attended meetings to learn the study's results, and to discuss how to use this information for effective community planning. This is a great example of "what Federation does." Over the next few months, analysis and discussion of the study data will continue, and you are welcome to participate and learn together with our professional team. By the end of the summer, we hope to have identified key areas for community focus and investment going forward, as together we continue to strengthen our Jewish community.
From our CEO, Andrew Rehfeld The situation that unfolded in early May in Israel has been weighing on many of our hearts. As thousands gathered in Israel to protest the treatment of Ethiopians, one could not help but be reminded of recent events in the States. We stand with the clear statements of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu decrying any institutionalized racism. Jewish Federation of St. Louis has had an abiding commitment to our Ethiopian family even before their immigration to Israel. Our decision to join with Yokne’am and Megiddo in the 1990s as our partnership region was made in large part because of its leadership’s decision to welcome
Ethiopian immigrants with open arms during that time. In fact, our work in the region has been held up as a model for how to integrate the Ethiopian Jewish community into Israeli society; it is work we continue to support today. But we all recognize there is significant work yet to be done. We stand by the statements expressed in so many venues over the last few days, weeks and months: that systemic discrimination against any particular population, particularly on the basis of race, is unacceptable and a violation of our core Jewish values. We welcome the clarity of statements made today by Israeli top leadership. We will continue to work with our partner agencies here in the region, in Israel and anywhere there is a need, to advance the agenda of social justice for all.