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WOMEN’S PHILANTHROPY
WOMEN’S PHILANTHROPY OF THE JEWISH FEDERATION OF THE LEHIGH VALLEY Women’s Philanthropy’s ‘Meaningful Mindfulness’ will connect new residents to Federation
Chanukah may end on Dec. 6 this year, but Women’s Philanthropy’s New in the Valley affinity group is sharing one more gift on Dec. 7, a present focusing
SAVE THE DATE
on presence. Meaningful Mindfulness will take place over Zoom at 7 p.m. on Tuesday, Dec. 7, with an invitation extended to anyone who has relocated to the Lehigh Valley since 2020. Holly Hebron Moyer, a social studies teacher at JDS, will guide participants through mindfulness exercises, providing new, creative outlets to achieve mindfulness during the winter months.
Event co-chair Alli Lipson shared the value of mindfulness as the cornerstone of the program.
“Mindfulness promotes health and healing and is so beneficial in our very stressful everyday life,” she said.
New in the Valley is an initiative connecting new women in the Lehigh Valley with the community through the Jewish Federation. Programs and events lend an opportunity for connection, which can be especially meaningful during winter.
Lipson looks forward to building relationships where she lives, sharing “The Lehigh Valley is a small Jewish community that is very close-knit. People are supportive of each other during the wonderful milestones as well as through the difficult times. That’s what makes the Lehigh Valley so special.”
Event co-chair Emily Ford hopes that “participants learn some tips on how to practice mindfulness in their everyday lives, meet other newcomers, and feel a sense of connection to the Jewish community of the Lehigh Valley.”
Participants will receive a bag with items focused on wellbeing, that can be picked up from the JCC front desk or Federation offices. Mindfulness itself can be an invitation towards meaningful Judaism, so if you’re New in the Valley, we hope to see you there.
RSVP to Amy Zylberman at amy@jflv.org or 610-821-5500 by November 30 to guarantee your bag.
SUNDAY, JANUARY 9
More information to come.
SAVE THE DATE
SUNDAY, JANUARY 9
7:30 p.m. via Zoom
More information to come.
SPONSORED BY THE JEWISH FEDERATION OF THE LEHIGH VALLEY’S WOMEN’S DIVISION
If you’re expecting, know someone who is, or have a new baby, PLEASE LET US KNOW! Contact Abby Trachtman, 610-821-5500 | abbyt@jflv.org
BY EVA LEVITT
Food Banks in Israel Neve Michael Youth Village
For prices or to place an order, call Eva 610-398-1376. All payments are made payable to the Jewish Federation of the Lehigh Valley
Dignity Grows engages and empowers in the Lehigh Valley
When Jessica Zachs, founder and chair of Dignity Grows, learned that one in five women and those assigned female at birth cannot afford menstrual products, she thought, “this is wholly unacceptable and I have to do something about it.” So, a new mitzvah project was born out of her hometown Federation, the Jewish Federation of Greater Hartford, that has rippled out across the country. Jewish Federation of the Lehigh Valley Women’s Philanthropy is delighted to partner with Dignity Grows, launching our first event on Jan. 26, 2022, with packing parties happening in two convenient locations in Allentown and Nazareth.
What happens at a Dignity Grows event? Volunteers gather and pack sustainable, reusable, sealable tote bags that are full of a month’s worth of sanitary products and feminine hygiene products — think soap, shampoo, tampons, etc. Those tote bags are delivered to partner organizations. We look forward to being able to partner with Jewish Family Service on this initiative.
Members of the community may volunteer on Jan. 26 at 7 p.m. at Jay’s Local in Allentown OR in Nazareth at a private home for our first pack, where there will be opportunity to socialize and connect and learn about the need for this service to be provided in the Lehigh Valley. Donna Iorio is chairing this initiative with support from Beth Kushnick, Women’s Philanthropy President, and the members of the Women’s Philanthropy leadership team.
Iorio expressed interest in the initiative, seeing how the work fits into the bigger picture. Iorio said, “I help in soup kitchens and homeless shelters and know the need for assistance is real and growing. Until it was brought to my attention, the need for help with sanitary products never occurred to me. It’s crazy that women should have to pick between providing for their families and taking care of their personal needs. This is a way to help locally.”
The camaraderie felt throughout the evening may be rewarding enough, but understanding the good to come from the effort is its own benefit. Zachs says, “As women, we know when we support our sisters, we lift each other up and amazing things happen.”
Stay tuned for event registration and more information.
LIFE & LEGACY Each One Reach One incentive ends this month
Left, Harold Grinspoon
Ten organizations within the Lehigh Valley Jewish community have successfully completed the four-year LIFE & LEGACY program through the Harold Grinspoon Foundation, but there is a major incentive for participants going on through Dec. 31.
Each One Reach One is an opportunity for donors to magnify their impact by joining the campaign to increase the number of legacy donors in our community between now and the end of the year.
Participating is simple — it just takes one conversation. Reach out to one or more of your family members and friends, share your legacy story and ask them to join you in leaving a legacy to one or more Jewish organizations they value. Then take a selfie or have someone else take a photo of you (holding the Each One Reach One logo in the picture is optional) and upload it to a growing photo mosaic on the LIFE & LEGACY website. Your photo will be combined with others from donors across North America to create an image of the LIFE & LEGACY logo.
Upon submission, your name will be entered into two raffles. One is for one of ten $1,000 grants to be made to one of the organizations you have left a legacy to. The other is to receive a phone call from Harold Grinspoon, Founder, and Winnie Sandler Grinspoon, President of the Harold Grinspoon Foundation.
This is a great way to join other Lehigh Valley donors in this fun initiative to grow your legacy even more.
The impact of our LIFE & LEGACY donors were also celebrated at multiple local synagogues for a Legacy Shabbat on Nov. 18.
To learn more about Each One Reach One or how you can make a legacy gift, contact Jeri Zimmerman at jeri@jflv.org or 610-821-5500.
Dignity Grows™ is an initiative of the Jewish Federation of Greater Hartford and supported by National Women’s Philanthropy of Jewish Federations of North America.
Local leader honored with Girl Scouts award
Local Jewish leader Sheila Berg has been named one of Girl Scouts of Eastern Pennsylvania’s 2022 Take the Lead Lehigh Valley honorees. Berg is one of four women from the Valley who were selected by a committee of past Take the Lead honorees to be recognized at their annual event next spring.
Girl Scouts’ mission is to build girls of courage, confidence, and character, who make the world a better place. Through the Girl Scout Leadership Experience, girls are prepared for a lifetime of leadership, success, and adventure in a safe, no-limits place designed for and by girls. Through Take the Lead, high school-aged Girl Scouts are paired with inspiring women leaders and shadow them for a day to gain valuable insight into their careers and receive guidance to jumpstart their professional networks. The girls, who are selected through a competitive application and interview process, creatively write and then deliver their presentations at the event.
The 2022 honorees are servant leaders who go above and beyond in their contributions to their personal and professional communities and serve as exemplary role models for girls. The Jewish Federation of the Lehigh Valley is proud to join the Girl Scouts in recognizing Berg, who has shown herself to be a leader in our local Jewish community in many ways and who served in the United States Air Force for 29 1/2 years. She was the Commander of the local Jewish War Veterans post, and on the national level, she serves on their marketing committee trying to raise awareness of Jews serving in the military. She was the first Chair of Women Veterans Committee within the organization. Berg is also active with Federation’s Women’s Philanthropy and is a past recipient of the Daniel Pomerantz Award for Campaign Excellence.
Annual Wallenberg Tribute honors Lehigh Valley Sikhs
On Nov. 7, The Institute for Religious and Cultural Understanding (IRCU) of Muhlenberg College held its annual Wallenberg Tribute Lecture. This year, they honored Lehigh Valley Sikhs, a grassroots community organization that strives to serve the greater Lehigh Valley community at times of need. The speaker was Dr. Simran Jeet Singh, senior adviser of diversity and inclusion for YSC Consulting and visiting professor at Union Seminary.
The IRCU’s mission is to cultivate awareness of religious and cultural diversity through programming, student support and media content that reaches the local community and beyond. Jewish Federation of the Lehigh Valley was a sponsor of the event, which honors Swedish diplomat Raoul Wallenberg who saved Budapest Jews from the Nazis during the Holocaust.
Recognized among Time Magazine’s 16 people fighting for a more equal America, Singh is the author of an upcoming book entitled “More of This Please: Sikh Wisdom for the Soul.” He is also an Equality Fellow for the Open Societies Foundation and the bestselling author of “Fauja Singh Keeps Going.” Growing up as a turban-wearing, brown-skinned, beard-loving Sikh in South Texas, Singh learned early that marginalized groups will not lecture their way into dignity and that empathy is truly built when people get to know each other as human beings. This realization is what brought him into the deep work of empathybuilding as an approach for personal development and social change.
The Great JFS Happy Hour delivers laughs
By Stephanie Goodling HAKOL Editor
Jewish Family Service of the Lehigh Valley held their annual fundraiser virtually on Nov. 7. The Great JFS Happy Hour was designed as a much-needed break from the stress of the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, emphasizing the importance of caring for mental health and that laughter really is the best medicine. Event co-chairs Marcia Berkow and Susan Sosnow greeted the audience of over 80 households, thanking them for their sponsorship of the work of JFS and warming them up with a few jokes of their own.
A video was shown of a behind the scenes mockumentary of “The Making of The Great JFS Happy Hour” featuring the co-chairs along with JFS President Rabbi Allen Juda, JFS Executive Director Debbie Zoller, and committee members Audrey Nolte, Naomi Schachter and Lorrie Scherline. The tonguein-check presentation showed that the folks behind the event know how to laugh at themselves.
The main event of the afternoon was the professional comedians from Kosher Komedy, a group specializing in “clean” Jewish humor. Schachter introduced emcee Kenny Gluck, who got the crowd laughing before the first act, Joel Chasnoff, who entertained the crowd from the airport on his way back to Israel. A surprise performance of an original parody song from Zoller was the interlude before the final comedian, Jon Fisch, closed out the comedic portion of the event.
Juda and Zoller thanked everyone for their support before unveiling the special edition 50th anniversary logo that JFS will use through 2022 to celebrate 50 years of service to the community.
Attendees will also receive an exclusive, one-of-a-kind coffee table book entitled “The Great JFS Happy Hour: Supporting Families, Brightening Lives,” made up of the anecdotes, artwork, jokes and photos of people from the community.
Proceeds from the fundraiser will go to support the work of JFS, whose mission is to help individuals and families to live healthier and more stable lives by providing social services, professional counselling, education and community programs, guided by Jewish values.
Cafe Ivrit helps beginners learn Hebrew
By Stephanie Goodling HAKOL Editor
Are you planning a trip to Israel, or have you just been wanting to brush up on your Hebrew? Gavriel Siman-Tov, Federation’s Israeli community shaliach, is offering a fun new experience in partnership with the Jewish Community Center’s JUniversity. Cafe Ivrit is a casual way to learn beginner Hebrew, enjoying coffee while learning words and phrases and practicing informal conversation with Siman-Tov and the other participants.
Cafe Ivrit is meeting on Wednesdays, Nov. 3, Nov. 17, Dec. 1 and Dec. 8, from 11 a.m to 12 p.m. at the JCC.
The group also listened to some Israeli music and shared their Hebrew names.
“Our goal kind of just getting people to have the basic understanding of Hebrew before you go to Israel, knowing the basics, and just to remind them Hebrew is a language we’re all used to as Jewish people from Sunday school and prayers, but Modern Hebrew is a bit different,” added Siman-Tov.
No experience is necessary, and sessions are free and open to everyone. Space is limited, however, so sign up at lvjcc.org/ cafeivrit or call the Welcome Desk at 610-435-3571 to join the remaining sessions. To learn more about supporting or volunteering for JFS, visit jfslv.org.
