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Dispatches from the network and updates from the Foundation.
Nov 2013
So there I was, onstage, singing an extremely out-of-tune, “Tumbala, Tumbala, Tumbalalaika…” all while tickling the ivories in an enthusiastically amateurish manner. I was, thank goodness, the only one who sensed how bad it all was. In fact, my audience of seniors at the JCC in Northeast Philadelphia didn’t seem to notice. They were just happy I was there, and that for a few hours on a Friday they could sip chicken
Nov 2013
WGFA Stefanie Zelkind, Class 16, recently published this piece on eJewishPhilantrhropy, which we are reprinting, thanks to eJP and Stefanie. Enjoy, as this unique holiday rolls around… From menurkeys to sweet potato latke recipes, there are many creative ways to celebrate this year’s unique overlap of Hanukkah and Thanksgiving. In an effort to move beyond the kitsch, I would like to offer some additional ideas for blending the Hanukkah tradition
Nov 2013
Pictured: Top Left to Right: Iris Wagner (Montreal), Lori Weitzman (Montreal), Eta Blitzer (Montreal), Lewis Dobrin (Montreal), Helen Levy (Montreal), Tina Apfeld Rosenthal (Montreal 09), Andrea Daniels Rosenbloom, (Montreal 09), Angela Lehrer. Bottom Left to Right: Rabbi Ed Feinstein, Jonathan Goodman (Montreal 09), Joel Shalit, (Montreal 09), Lynn Garfinkle Etinsen (Montreal 09), Mark Kaplan. “Rabbi Ed Feinstein gave a talk last night in a public lecture at the Shaar Hashomayim
The Diller Teen Tikkun Olam Awards celebrates exceptional Jewish teen community service leaders. Hundreds of teens from across the United States apply each year. Ten receive a $36,000 award from the Helen Diller Family Foundation to further their vision for tikkun olam and/or to support their college education. How do we go from hundreds of applicants to just 10 recipients? You, that’s how. Join other Wexner alumni already volunteering as
One of my favorite lines regarding the urgency of Big Data adoption in the Jewish community comes from Gordon Hecker, Executive Director of the Columbus Jewish Federation and former SVP of Marketing at Nationwide Insurance: “Big Data is the way all large businesses are going. The Jewish community can hop on this train now or get left in the dust.” How right he is. Fortunately, Jewish organizations across the country
Pictured: Jerusalem Mayor Nir Barkat on election night, monitoring the close results in his situation room. It was a very intense transition from the Harvard Kennedy School’s intellectual haven as a Wexner Israel Fellow, to the hot and complicated politics of Jerusalem. During my Wexner Fellowship last year, trying to figure out how I would leverage my new learning and pay it forward through my next job, I met with
A few weeks back I ended my term as president of The JTA. But great news, our new president is now Wexner Heritage Alum (NY 1) David Eisner. This makes for the fourth Wexnerite in a row as president of The JTA. So Danny Krifcher (DC 03) begot Elisa Bildner (Metrowest NJ) who begot David Rudis who begot David Eisner. All of us are still trying to answer Les’ challenge,
Oct 2013
Pictured: Rodney Freeman, WHA LA/Bank of America, and his wife Beth at the finish line of the Tour de Summer Camps A couple of years ago while cycling down the coast of California, I thought of creating a cycling event for our community to help send every child that wants to experience Jewish Summer Camp, to do so regardless of their family’s financial capabilities. Jewish camping has proven to me
Slingshot has released its ninth annual guide to North America’s top 50 innovative Jewish organizations and a number of organizations directly influenced by Wexner Alumni were recognized. The following organizations and/or their leaders have received professional development from our own Wexner Graduate Fellowship and Wexner Heritage programs, including organizations in the Slingshot ’13-’14 and in the supplements. They are: Wexner Graduate Fellowship and Alumni Ask Big Questions AVODAH:
Oct 2013
Students from San Francisco’s Jewish Community High School of the Bay use moving images to express their feelings and reactions to the Holocaust, in Kol HaOt’s powerful ‘Processing Yad Vashem and Mt. Herzl Cemetery’ workshop. I recently had the privilege of teaching an adult Birthright-style group from St. Louis. When the group first booked Kol HaOt’s ‘Mapping the Journey’ program three years ago, it was unchartered territory for the Jewish Federation