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January 23, 2004/Tevet 29 5764, Vol. 56, No. 18
Funding needed programs
BETH OLSON
Staff Writer
The Jewish Federation of Greater Phoenix's Commission on Jewish Continuity and Community recently awarded $50,000 in grants to five local programs.
The funds came from a grant awarded to the commission by the Jewish Community Foundation from the Alvin A. Kraus Fund, with the stipulation that the money would then be distributed to programs that address needs identified in the 2002 Greater Phoenix Jewish Community Study, according to Fred Zeidman, federation assistant executive director.
The Bureau of Jewish Education "Try A Slice of Jewish Life" program was awarded $9,600; Hillel Jewish Student Center "Hillel Awareness Project," $5,400; Jewish Family & Children's Service "Helping Hands," $15,000; the Valley of the Sun Jewish Community Center "Senior Kosher Meals Program," up to $16,000; and Pardes Jewish Day School's "Technology for Diverse Learning," $4,000.
The BJE's "Try A Slice of Jewish Life" addresses the low affiliation rate in the Phoenix area by reaching out to unaffiliated teens, according to Zeidman.
The idea for the program came from Myra Shindler, program coordinator at the BJE. Her goal is to reach Jewish teens who are "not engaged" by having involved teens make personal visits and provide information about all the activities for Jewish teens that are available, from youth groups to Hebrew High to Israel trips.
"The idea is to have one-on-one contact - a Jewish teen who is engaged to meet with the Jewish teen who is not engaged," she explained.
The demographic study found that only 29 percent of Jewish households belong to a synagogue and less than 40 percent have a Jewish organizational affiliation.
Zeidman believes the BJE's program will help address the low affiliation rate.
"If you reach out to the teen and connect to the teen, you're going to get the family as well," he said. "That was something we thought was right on target with the study."
Likewise, Hillel's Aware-ness Project will provide a part-time marketing assistant to help with clerical duties so program staff can spend more time reaching out to college-age students in the Valley.
"When the program staff has to sit at the computer making up publicity, there's less opportunity to reach out to the kids," explained Rabbi Barton Lee, executive director of Hillel.
JFCS's "Helping Hands" program was created 16 years ago to help Jewish individuals in need of immediate financial assistance.
"Its funds are directed to people in the Jewish community who have an immediate need of some sort - to make a rent payment or pay a utility bill or a phone bill, to make a minor repair on a car so they can get to work," explained Zeidman.
The demographic study found that 14 percent of Jewish households in the Phoenix area have an annual income of less than $25,000. Additionally, one in four respondents to the survey reported that they "could not make ends meet" or were "just managing" financially.
The $15,000 granted from the commission, along with other grants, make up the funds given to some of these people in need. Nearly $30,000 was given out last year.
"It's really to provide some of those basic, basic needs for Jewish people who are financially finding themselves in difficult places," explained Dick Geasland, interim CEO of JFCS.
Geasland is careful to point out that the funds are only distributed after the client's need is verified and after a sustainability plan has been created.
"That's how it fits into Jewish values in terms of charity - a hand up, not a handout - and about helping people become self-sus-tainable," he said.
The VOSJCC's Senior Kosher Meals Program, a program that provides more than 25,000 kosher meals per year to senior citizens in the Valley, reported a projected deficit of $85,000 in November. The commission's grant will assist in offsetting the deficit, up to $16,000.
If the VOSJCC is able to raise the funds through other means, the commission will re-grant all or part of the $16,000 to other programming.
Pardes was awarded $4,000 to purchase a mimeo Board - an interactive white board that is connected to the teacher's computer - to assist special-needs students in the classroom, particularly with note taking.
"Note-taking is a skill that's more challenging for some kids than for others, particularly kids with ADD or any kind of learning issues," explained Jill Kessler, head of school at Pardes. "They can't keep up and the notes are often inaccurate or incomplete, so then when they go to study, they don't have all the information they need."
Zeidman said the mimeo Board will help support day school students with special needs, an area that has lacked support in the past.
While Zeidman said the commission is pleased to be able to offer the grants, he also hopes for increased donations to federation and the foundation to help provide programming in the future.
"The federation is very appreciate of the generosity of the foundation," said Zeidman. "Certainly both federation and foundation are looking for ways of growing the funds we have so that we can fund more projects and support projects that work."
Contact the writer at beth_olson@jewishaz.com.
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