|
|
Over 150 students and adults turned out to see the amazingly moving musical/play Freedom Song (entire cast pictured) on Tuesday in Cherry Hill New Jersey. The troupe shared real-life stories of addiction, recovery and living through dependency on drugs and alcohol. This Cherry Hill, NJ performance was one of only three Northeast performances scheduled for this unique show. After the performance, the cast took questions from teens and parents in the audience. It was a memorable, impactful evening that will stay with attendees for a long time.  Thankful for the collaboration of Jewish Family & Children's Service of Southern New Jersey, Department of Jewish Education, Jewish Federation of Southern New Jersey, and area schools for bringing this worthwhile program to the community. |
JFS San Diego Names Dana Toppel as its New Chief Program Officer
|
Dana Toppel, LCSW, MBA was recently named as the new Chief Program Officer at Jewish Family Service of San Diego, CA. Toppel has been an instrumental part of the agency's success since starting with Jewish Family Service nearly four years ago and most recently held the position of Divisional Director of Clinical and Educational Services. "Dana brings accountability, clarity, enthusiasm, and a tremendous drive to improve our ability to serve the community. As a Divisional Director, she was an instrumental part of the agency's most recent successes", said Michael Hopkins, Chief Executive Officer of Jewish Family Service. "Sometimes the best things are right in front of you."
|
Heart Prints: A Therapeutic Art Circle for Survivors of Trauma
| |
|
Local Domestic Violence Program Gets Boost from Avon Foundation
|
The Avon Foundation for Women has awarded a $65,000 one-year grant to Jewish Family & Children's Service of Phoenix, AZ in support of its Avon Domestic Violence Survivor Empowerment Program, Shelter Without Walls, which provides annual funding for 20 full-time coordinator positions in domestic violence agencies across the United States. JFCS has provided services and support to more than 5,000 domestic violence victims since 1998. Continue reading here. |
JFS Kansas City Shares New Agency Video
| |
|
Connection between Passover and National Social Work Month a Stretch? Actually, Yes.
|
Freedom. A physical and spiritual housecleaning.Caring for strangers. These themes have strong connections this month as many in the community prepare for Passover to celebrate this feast of liberation from slavery. Turns out March is also National Social Work Month. Coincidence? Perhaps not, say professionals at Jewish Child & Family Services of Chicago, IL reflecting on the connection between the themes of Passover and the work of JCFS to provide help, healing and caring services, infused with Jewish values, to strengthen lives in our community. "Passover is the Holiday of freedom from bondage. It is deeply related to social work, as we work to free our clients from all of the issues that can bind them and hold them down," says Michal Cohen, LCSW, and Clinician at JCFS Peterson Community Counseling Center (CCC). Lynn Shyman, LCSW and Director of Adult and Family Counseling at JCFS CCC in Skokie agrees. "Our physical selves were freed from slavery in Egypt. While we are now physically free, Passover gives us an opportunity to reflect on being psychologically free from unhealthy habits or negative thoughts that may 'enslave' us during the year." And that, adds Shyman, is a critical role of a social worker in his or her work to help adults, children and families. Continue reading here.
|
|
| |
Visit AJFCA's Calendar to learn more about free calls and webinars. For more information login to For Our Members on the AJFCA website, followed by Webinars. Contact Megan at 410-843-7327 with questions.
The Health Care Law 101 (in Spanish)
March 19th, 3pm ET
REGISTER HERE
Taming Your Communications Calendar Six Months at a Time
April 3rd, 1pm ET
REGISTER HERE
Helping Older Adults Avoid Re-Hospitalization
April 4th, 1:30pm ET
REGISTER HERE
|
|
Stay updated on AJFCA offerings, agency news & current trends . . .
|
|
|
|
D'Var Torah
| |
Lee I. Sherman
President/CEO
This is a busy time in the Sherman house, as I am sure it is for many of you. Pesach is a little more than a week away, and despite all good intentions, there is seemingly more to do in preparation than time allows. Shopping, cooking, and cleaning are givens, and all part of the outward manifestations which make Pesach so special. But, there are also emotional and spiritual preparations, which are less obvious, but also require considerable time and energy.
One way in which I get in the proper "state of mind" for Pesach is the preparation for the seder. Not the food, which is way beyond my skill set, but in the presentation of the Passover story, relying as we all do on a Haggadah. We no longer use the Haggadah of my childhood (coffe cup and all), but we are still rooted in the traditional order of the Passover prayers and narrative that has it origins in Torah. However, the opportunity to build on the traditional and to add your own family's narrative and spirit is what makes Pesach so special and meaningful to so many of us.
This year, a new website, www.haggadot.com, supported by our friends at the Schusterman Foundation, allows each of us to create our own Haggadah. Thousands of people have contributed readings, videos, and games that can help enliven your seder, or perhaps by viewing these suggestions you will be inspired to mine your own resources and imagination to make your 2013 seders different from all others. "What makes this night different?" is not just a question to be answered during the seder, but a call to action to help us fulfill the commandment to "tell our children." Be creative. Have fun. Get busy.
Shabbat Shalom.
|
2013 Joseph S. Kaplan Memorial Scholarship Award It is AJFCA's pleasure to announce that Michael Barnett, CEO of Tampa Jewish Family Services is the 2013 recipient of the Joseph S. Kaplan Memorial Scholarship Award. The scholarship includes a $1,250 travel stipend plus one half of conference registration.  For the third year, AJFCA is proud to offer the Joseph S. Kaplan Memorial Scholarship stipend to send one professional from one D or E sized member agency to the 2013 AJFCA Annual Conference. Joe made significant contributions to the Jewish Family service movement as board chair of his agency in New York and as a board member and officer of AJFCA. Joe loved the energy and opportunities present at the annual conference and he was particularly concerned about including as many of our member communities as possible.
|
|
From Beginning to End: Evaluating the Effectiveness of Different Elements in a Campaign
AJFCA is pleased to sponsor the second Communications/Marketing Professionals webinar. Campaigns begin with brainstorming and organizing ideas in order to create. Once created, a campaign is published. After publication we measure the reach, outcomes and influences to determine its effectiveness. Learn from peers as they walk you through the two stages of evaluating the elements in a campaign. Time will be set aside on the call for you to share your own methods of evaluation, as well as Q&A. The call will conclude with a conversation surrounding a potential interagency marketing bank.
Evaluating the Effectiveness of Different Elements in a Campaign
Wednesday, March 20th, 3:00pm ET
Please email Megan if you are interested in attending the webinar.
|
|
2013 AJFCA/Repair the World Volunteer Cohort
AJFCA is pleased to announce that ten agencies have been selected to participate in the 2013 Volunteer Cohort as part of the AJFCA/Repair the World Volunteer Initiative. This amazing opportunity will allow agencies to elevate the role and impact of volunteering and increase the engagement of young adults in the community. Please email Jennie for a listing.  |
|
Local Sequester Effects Becoming Clearer
Cuts to nutrition programs ... longer lines at Social Security offices ... some effects of the sequester are becoming clearer. The Administration for Community Living (ACL) has issued state-by-state estimates  of the cuts' impact on Older Americans Act programs, including meals and home and community-based services. And Social Security says beneficiaries can expect longer waits for help. Meanwhile, Congress is working to put the finishing touches on long-overdue FY13 funding decisions. Continue reading here. |
Health Insurance Marketplace Stakeholder Call
The goal of this national call is to help stakeholders understand how the Marketplace will work and when it will be ready. The call will feature CMS senior officials followed by time for Q&A. Speakers are:  - Gary Cohen, Deputy Administrator and Director, Center for Consumer Information and Insurance Oversight;
- Cindy Mann, Deputy Administrator and Director, Center for Medicaid and CHIP Services; and
- Julie Bataille, Director, Office of Communications.
Health Insurance Marketplace Stakeholder Call
|
|
Save on Maintenance Supplies with PurchasingPoint
Access to PurchasingPointSM, a program that enables national non-profits and their affiliate networks to purchase products and services at substantial discounts is free to agencies as a benefit of membership in AJFCA. Discounts are negotiated by the group purchasing organization, and are based on its members' $17 billion in collective purchasing power. Typical savings are 20-40%.  |
|
Kavod: Honoring Aging Survivors - A Professional Journal for Care Providers and Families
|
|
Biden and Holder to Announce New Domestic Violence Initiative, Award Grants
"Forty percent of mass shootings in the past three years started with the gunman targeting his girlfriend, wife or ex-wife, according to the White House official." Continue reading here. |
|
Nonprofits Race to Get Ahead of the Explosion in Small Screens
When Mercy Housing set out to make its Web site easy to navigate on smartphones and tablets, its top priority was to remake the donation page before the critical holiday fundraising season opened. 
And with good reason, it turns out. People using mobile devices accounted for 18 percent of the organization's year-end online gifts-nearly one out of every five online contributions-compared with just 2 percent during the same time just a year earlier. Continue reading here. |
|
Gen Next on the Nonprofit Board
In these increasingly difficult times, the need for active and engaged board members is greater than ever. The generation under 40 is a largely untapped resource, nationally comprising less than 15% of board members. This is a generation committed to the value of service. They have the expertise crucial for nonprofits seeking t  o create sustainable business models. They also have experience with fundraising. Continue reading here. |
|
Building a Better Philanthropist
In the last couple of decades, a tectonic shift has altered the landscape of Jewish philanthropy. The phenomenon is not only Jewish - t he number of foundations in the United States has grown fivefold in the last 20 years; the same growth in donor-advised funds has taken just a decade. Continue reading here.
|
|
The Strategic Plan is Dead. Long Live Strategy.
In today's fast-changing world, why freeze your strategic thinking in a five-year plan? 
Take a moment and read these two words: strategic plan. Now close your eyes and picture one. If what comes up is a thick binder, gathering dust on a shelf next to other thick binders from five and ten years past, you're not alone. A better understanding of the history of strategy and what caused the demise of binder-bound strategic planning can point the way to re-inventing strategy for the world we live in today. It is important to remember that strategy's roots are military. Military strategy focuses on setting objectives, collecting intelligence, and then using that intelligence to make informed decisions about how to achieve your objectives-take that hill, cut this supply line. Continue reading here. |
|
DoGooder Awards Recognize Awesome Nonprofit Videos
See3 Communications and YouTube, along with the Nonprofit Technology Network, announced today the launch of the 2013 DoGooder Video Awards. The DoGooder Awards recognize the creative and effective use of video in promoting social good. Cisco is generously contributing $3500 to four contest winners. In addition to prizes provided by Cisco, contest winners will be featured on the YouTube homepage and receive free registration to the Nonprofit Technology Conference, the signature event hosted by the Nonprofit Technology Network (NTEN). Finally, the winners will see their videos (and their message) featured on the YouTube Spotlight Channel on April 12th. Continue reading here.
|
|
Responding to Requests for Networking
Many of us receive requests to meet with people who are thinking  about entering Jewish communal work or working in the nonprofit sector. Often these requests are relayed to us by a colleague who asks, in an email or phone call, that we meet with someone they know or with whom they have had a similar conversation. What should our response be when we are approached by those seeking a job or considering the field of Jewish communal service? Continue reading here. |
Key Findings: 2012 Jewish Commun al Compensation Survey
An in-depth look at the survey results will be coming shortly.
|
|
Do Alternative Breaks Have a Real Impact?
Each year, thousands of students like Jodi Suckle will volunteer in communities around the world by participating in Alternative Winter and Spring Breaks. These students interact with local neighborhoods, learn about social issues, and build relationships with other participants  . But will their work really have an impact? |
2013 AJFCA Annual Conference 
REGISTER - Don't forget to book your hotel under the AJFCA group block. |
|
|
|
|
peer-reviewed journal. Kavod is intended to help caregivers who attend to the needs of aging survivors by giving them the opportunity to read about this issue from experts in the field. 
