Thank you to the hundreds of volunteers who attended and participated in Federation's 8th Annual MITZVAH DAY this past Sunday. We were privileged to have Attorney General Beau Biden, Senator Chris Coons, Representative John Carney and Councilman Bob Weiner in attendance. Special thanks to Mitzvah Day Co-Chairs Jennifer and Mitchell Steinberg, Lori Barbanel and Mark Kuller, Kim Felzer, Wendi Ufberg, and the Federation staff for their assistance and support in making this day a success. You can view a montage of photos online via Federation's website at ShalomDelaware.org or on Federation's Facebook page.

On Monday evening I had the pleasure of attending the Kristol Center for Jewish Life at the University of Delaware Hillel's Annual Meeting. It was great seeing lay leadership and students alike supporting one of our beneficiary agencies. There were emotional goodbyes to Onn Halfon who is returning to Israel next month and Senior Educator, Rabbi Jeremy Winaker, who will become Albert Einstein Academy's Head of School on July 1st.  With the UD Jewish undergraduate population close to 10%, having a strong Hillel is crucial in serving the needs of this demographic. Chabad at UD is also a great resource in serving the Jewish student population thanks to Rabbi Eliezer Sneiderman.

The Jewish Federations of North America hailed legislation that was introduced Tuesday in both the House and the Senate that will help Holocaust survivors age in place. The sponsors of the initiative, called the RUSH Act (Responding to the Urgent needs of Survivors of the Holocaust), worked with members of the JFNA Washington office to craft the legislation, calling upon their expertise on this vulnerable community. On Tuesday evening, Federation beneficiary agency Albert Einstein Academy held its AEA Evening of the Arts and Art Auction, a celebration of the arts by the students and families.

On Wednesday evening, our Create A Jewish Legacy partners met to discuss and develop a consistent implementation strategy for building our Jewish community's endowment program. Special thanks to Create A Jewish Legacy Chair, Richard Levine, and the Create A Jewish Legacy Cabinet for their leadership and passion ensuring our Jewish future - Today, Tomorrow and TOGETHER.

Last night, our community held a special farewell for Onn Halfon, Federation's Community Shaliach for the past two years. Onn has been instrumental in building a living bridge between our community and our spiritual homeland. We plan on visiting Onn during our Community Journey to Israel, November 3-13, 2013 (more information to follow soon). Federation's Board of Directors also held it's final meeting of the fiscal year approving Allocations Committee recommendations. Thanks to the ongoing generosity of this community and the fiscal management of Federation, we were able to allocate a slightly larger amount to our local agencies and overseas partners than the previous year.