Posts Tagged life
Jewish Community and Charity
Posted by admin in Aid Services, Cuba, Environmental, Health, Hockey, Israel, School, Torah, Uncategorized, Youth, family on June 18th, 2009
The Aleph Institute is just about the only national not-for-profit organization working to provide faith-based programming, religious freedom advocacy and social services for tens of thousands of Jewish men and women in “institutional environments” (prison, military, nursing homes) and their families at home. Aleph’s Center for Halacha and American Law (CHAL) develops unique educational materials on Torah ethics and values, implements them in classroom curriculums and distributes them to schools and to the general public.
The American Jewish Committee has the mission to safeguard the welfare and security of Jews in the United States, in Israel, and throughout the world and to enhance the quality of American Jewish life by helping to ensure Jewish continuity and deepen ties between American and Israeli Jews.
American Red Magen David for Israel (ARMDI) is the only authorized fundraising organization in the United States for Magen David Adom, Israel’s equivalent to a Red Cross Society. ARMDI supports the MDA Emergency Medical, Ambulance Blood and Disaster Services.
The American Technion Society (ATS) supports the Technion-Israel Institute of Technology, Israel’s premier university, to ensure the Technion’s continued excellence and achievement. The future of a secure and economically independent Israel is in high technology, and the future of high technology in Israel is at the Technion.
For more than 88 years, the Anti-Defamation League has been combating anti-Semitism and bigotry of all kinds. Their web site chronicles the history and current status of many issues in this ongoing battle.
Since 1843 B’nai B’rith, “Children of the Covenant,” has carried forward the idealistic mission: uniting Jews in service to their community and the world. B’nai B’rith is the world’s largest Jewish human rights, community action and humanitarian organization.
The Congress of Secular Jewish Organizations is composed of independent organizations whose unity of purpose is a secular expression of our Jewish heritage, with particular emphasis on the cultural and ethical precepts of Jewish learning.
The Conference of Presidents of Major American Jewish Organizations represents 52 national Jewish organizations from across the political and religious spectrum. The Conference provides a forum for deliberations of American Jewish leadership and a central address for key American, Israeli and other world leaders to consult on issues of critical concern to the Jewish community.
Giving Wisely, sponsored by the School of Social Work of the Hebrew University, is the Internet Directory of Israeli nonprofit and philanthropic organizations, developed to help donors to evaluate and make educated decisions (or even know which organizations are legal) so that they can choose those that are closest to their own areas of interest.
Hadassah the Women’s Zionist Organization of America, is a volunteer women’s organization, whose members are motivated and inspired to strengthen their partnership with Israel, ensure Jewish continuity, and realize their potential as a dynamic force in American society. In Israel, Hadassah initiates and supports pace-setting health care, education and youth institutions, and land development to meet the country’s changing needs. In the United States, Hadassah enhances the quality of American and Jewish life through its education and Zionist youth programs, promotes health awareness, and provides personal enrichment and growth for its members.
Hadassah Kaddish is a program under which your donation to Hadassah ensures that the ancient Kaddish prayer will be recited each year beneath the Chagall windows at Hadassah Hospital in Jeruslaem.
JCC Association of North America is the leadership network of, and central agency for the Jewish Community Center Movement. It is comprised of more than 275 JCCs, YM-YWHAs and camps in the US and Canada, annually serving more than one million members and an additional million non-member users.
Jewish Family & Life (JFL), a fast-growing pluralistic entrepreneurial non-profit organization, is the world’s leading publisher of original Jewish content online. Their on-line presence includes:
- JewishFamily.com
- GenerationJ.com
- SocialAction.com
- JVibe.com
- MzVibe.com
- JewishSports.com
- JewZ.com
- JBooks.com
Jewish Deleware is a fine example of a website devoted to a regional Jewish community.
The first fifty years of the Jewish National Fund were spent purchasing the land that would become the State of Israel. Now after another fifty years spent developing the land for the people, and with the continued assistance of supporters from around the world, JNF has a vital role in conserving and protecting the ecology of the land for now and the future. The JNF web site offers a lot of ways to help Israel, including planting trees in Israel and helping Israeli victims of terrorism.
MAZON: A Jewish Response to Hunger is a national, nonprofit agency which allocates donations from the Jewish community to nonprofit organizations providing food, help and hope to hungry people of all faiths and backgrounds.
NAVAH Organization provides financial and social support to victims of terrorism in Israel. NAVAH receives donations that are used to assemble care packages to be delivered by groups of volunteers to victims and their families in Israel. Each package contains a loving message from donors and the organization works to facilitate contact between donors and recipients if it is requested. NAVAH also provides direct financial assistance to help victims meet their increased expenses as they recuperate from their injuries.
United Jewish Communities represents 189 Jewish federations, 400 independent communities and 700,000 people across North America, who contribute more than $2 billion every year to help repair the world. The UJC site is a rich source of news and information about Jewish affairs and charitable works.
World ORT is one of the largest non-governmental education and training organisations in the world, with past and present activities in over 100 countries. A non-profit, non-political organisation, ORT’s objective is to meet the educational and vocational requirements of diverse students throughout the world. Currently, ORT educates or trains more than 290,000 students annually, through its network of programmes, training centres and schools.
http://middleeastfacts.com/links/links_jewish_charity.php
The report reviewed by Moishe Alexander, CFC CEO
New donation made by Moishe Alexander: Bernard Betel Centre for Creative Living
Posted by admin in Aid Services, Cuba, Environmental, Health, Hockey, Israel, School, Torah, Uncategorized, Youth, family on June 12th, 2009
About Bernard Betel Centre:
The Bernard Betel Centre for Creative Living is a learning and wellness centre committed to maximizing the quality of life for seniors in the community and reflecting Jewish values. (Approved by the Board of Directors, April 2000)
WHY COME TO THE CENTRE?
At the Bernard Betel Centre, we’re accustomed to hearing people ask themselves where would they be without us?
People come to us for a variety of reasons. Retirement and ageing represent significant stages in one’s life and are accompanied by many changes which can affect health and an individual’s quality of life. Redefining one’s identity outside the workforce, after the loss of a spouse or post child rearing years is a difficult and challenging transition and often requires the need for seniors to re-establish a sense of purpose and self esteem. Research has shown that ageing is a continuous process and maintaining an active lifestyle can delay the onset of many diseases, increases agility and mobility and extends an individual’s ability to live independently in the community.
This video features Sharon Chodriker, the staff contact for the Centre in charge of the Lifelong Learning Institute. Sharon explains why her vision of having community youth come in to the centre to hear the information about Facebook, YouTube and Crime Stoppers together with the seniors was a good idea.
That’s where we come in. We offer one stop access to a myriad of recreational, educational, wellness, community support programs as well as an on site Cafeteria. Not surprisingly, seniors come to our Centre and access programs from our different operations simultaneously during their visit. Where else, but at the Bernard Betel Centre for Creative Living can you take in lectures from leading scholars on topics as diverse as mass media or religion in the modern age; converse in English, Yiddish, Russian, French, Polish and Hebrew; feast on the best haimishe, kosher cuisine in Canada; indulge in creative writing classes and discussions on Yiddish literature; attend regular Synagogue services; receive the benefits of morning Tai Chi classes and free monthly screening clinics; get help from counselors and support groups that aid you in dealing with Parkinson’s, Osteoporosis, Low Vision, Sleep/Wake Disorders and Nutrition; go on out of country trips or the Stratford Theatre Festival, while you mingle with the most interesting people in town? Trained instructors deliver the vast majority of our programs; a few are facilitated/ led by volunteers and / or paid staff.
In addition to attending programs or accessing services, the Centre’s philosophy embraces member involvement, particularly in the design, implementation and evaluation of its programs. There are numerous opportunities at the Centre including:
- participating in Members’ Council and or one of its 19 Committees;
- representing the membership on our Board of Directors, its committees and Task Forces;
- Educating people of all ages about elderly abuse throughout Ontario;
- Tutoring students through one of our many Intergenerational Programs;
- Teaching classes and or supervising workshops;
- Lobbying various levels of government on issues of concern to seniors;
- Supporting our Community Support Programs by visiting isolated seniors and performing telephone reassurance checks;
- Acting as ambassadors for the Centre by speaking to groups on behalf of the United Way and UJA Federation.
Ultimately, through member involvement, health promotion and community collaboration, our programs and services strive to achieve:
- Independence
- Self-worth
- Physical and emotional well being
- Intellectual and creative stimulation
- Jewish values
Moishe ALexander is a supporter of The Shalhevet School
Posted by admin in Aid Services, Environmental, Health, Hockey, Israel, School, Torah, Uncategorized, Youth, family on May 4th, 2009
The Shalhevet School, founded in 1991 as an innovation in Jewish education, is a Modern Orthodox Jewish Day School, encompassing grades K-12, in Los Angeles, California. The school is dedicated to the multi-dimensional goals of Modern Orthodox Judaism, in both its religious and general education, with a unique school-wide emphasis on ethical values and behavior (menschlichkeit).
Shalhevet’s modern Orthodox education consists of the following goals:
- Personal commitment to the Torah’s teachings and system of mitzvot, both in the school and outside of the school, as interpreted by Modern Orthodox halackhic authorities. This goal is accomplished by a Jewish Studies curriculum that is developmentally-sensitive, relevant and challenging; by a staff that genuinely responds to critical-thinking students, who seek meaning in their beliefs and practices; and school sponsored social activities that reflect the immense joy of Jewish life.
- Equality in women’s Jewish learning as evidenced by co-educational classes, including Talmud, halakha and Tanach. This allows the natural integration of genders in Torah study, at all grade levels, within the parameters of halakha.
- Producing students who are thoroughly at home in both contemporary society and the full range of our traditional Jewish heritage. This is seen in equally valuing Jewish studies and college preparatory secular education, art, drama, music and sports as means of enriching a student’s intellectual, spiritual and aesthetic identity, and preparing the student for success in higher education and community life.
- Commitment to Israel, Zionist ideology and Hebrew language as central to Jewish identity. These goals are accomplished through classroom learning, visits to Israel, extra-curricular Zionist activities within the school and community, and post-high school Israel programs.
- Active participation in social action projects, community service and volunteerism in the Jewish community, as well as involvement in the wider community.
Shalhevet’s emphasis on menschlichkeit and ethical character development, evident in virtually all school experiences, is expressed through the following goals:
- The model of Kohlberg’s “Just Community,” modified for Jewish education — unique to Shalhevet — comprised of several components directed towards moving students to mature decision making, guided by Jewish values, in real-life moral and ethical dilemmas; and directed towards active participation in post-high school academic and community affairs.
- Moral dilemma classroom discussions designed to develop skills of articulation, tolerance of different ideas, critical thinking and listening skills, and decision-making skills. This innovative methodology also connects Jewish values to ethical decisions, providing students with a fundamental understanding of the values of justice and compassion in Jewish law.
- School policies and classroom policies that focus on inculcating fairness, honesty, respect, tolerance, democratic values and social caring into everyday school life.
- Town Hall meetings, which allow students to actively participate in the government of their school, and which teach leadership skills for future community participation in their synagogues, organizations and school boards.
Through its academic, religious and social education, as well as its unique character development program, Shalhevet is committed to graduating young men and women who will live a meaningfully observant Jewish life, continue their life-long study of Torah, remain Jewishly active throughout their higher education, and move into leadership roles in both the Jewish community and world community.