Celebrating Jewish Life in Sarasota and Manatee Counties, Israel and the World FEDERATION NEWS
Serving our community for over 40 years! Published by The Jewish Federation of Sarasota-Manatee www.jfedsrq.org
September 2012 - Elul 5772 / Tishrei 5773 INSIDE THIS ISSUE:
6A Community Focus 16A Jewish Interest 22A Commentary 24A Focus on Youth 27A Life Cycle 1B Jewish Happenings 8B Israel & the Jewish World 14B Recent Events
2A Jewish Federation welcomes new staff members
9A Sarasota Jewish Chorale – singing to make a difference
13A
Locals spend twelve days in the Holy Land
Volume 42, Number 9
Federation leaders find inspiration in Odessa and Israel Staff Report
I
n July, Jewish Federation of Sarasota-Manatee board members Ros Mazur and Anne Stein participated in the Jewish Federations of North America’s Campaign Chairs and Directors (CCD) Mission to Odessa (Ukraine) and Israel. They were accompanied by Ilene Fox, our local Federation’s Director of Women’s Philanthropy. More than 100 Jewish Federation leaders from 32 communities visited Odessa and Israel to experience the work that Federations do to help the global Jewish community. As part of the CCD, lay leaders and professionals toured the Ukrainian city and then the Jewish state, meeting with organizations, individuals and programs supported by Jewish Federations. “Jewish Federations are the safety net for so many people in need. This trip reminded me that in many cases we are all that these people have to sustain them,” said JFNA National Campaign Chair Susan K. Stern of New York, who co-chaired the mission. In Odessa, the mission toured Jewish sites, visited the Holocaust memorial, and learned about the political and economic climate for Jews in Ukraine. Participants visited the homes of elderly Ukrainians and families at risk that are being assisted by the American Jewish Joint Distribution Committee’s Hesed welfare services. Ros, Anne and Ilene visited Vera Parshchukova, an 83-year-old Hesed recipient who has lived alone since her husband passed away seven years ago. A native of Odessa, Vera and her family were evacuated to Kazakhstan at the outbreak of World War II and returned to Odessa after the war. Vera has very
poor eyesight and suffers from heart disease, high blood pressure, and circulation and digestive disorders. Last December she fell and broke her hip and is now bedridden. She lives alone in a small oneroom apartment. Her monthly income is $118. With the assistance of Hesed, Vera is provided with homecare twenty-five hours per week. She receives a food card, medications and medical consultations, winter relief items and rehabilitation equipment.
Ros Mazur and Anne Stein with Vera Parshchukova
While in Odessa, the group also toured the Beit Grand Jewish Cultural Center, meeting a group of Holocaust survivors, one of whom enchanted the group by singing a Yiddish song. “It was so beautiful to hear her sing with such feeling and to experience her pride in her Judaism after all she had suffered,” shared Anne.
Federation leaders...continued on page 2A
5773 14B Photos of local summer camp activities
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