Agency HighlightsGrants to Jewish Family Services of Charlotte Help Establish Senior Care Services
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Stan Greenspon, longtime member of the Charlotte business community, moved his mother, Etta, to Charlotte more than a decade ago so she could be closer to family. Greenspon faced challenges while caring for his elderly mother. There were no Jewish senior homes in Charlotte and no care management agencies that fully understood the specific needs of Jewish clients. In the past three years, other community members have been having similar elder-care questions and issues as evidenced by about 150 phone calls to the Jewish Family Services of Greater Charlotte. Continue reading here. |
Jewish Family & Career Services of Louisville to Participate in Feinstein $1 Million Giveaway to Fight Hunger March 1st - April 30th
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For the 16th consecutive year, Alan Shawn Feinstein, through the Feinstein Foundation of Cranston, RI, will divide $1 million among hunger-fighting agencies nationwide to help raise funds during March and April 2013. Jewish Family & Career Services of Louisville is one of the participating agencies in this event to receive a portion of the funds. All donations during this period to the JFCS Food Pantry of food, canned goods and grocery gift cards, as well as monetary donations to the Sonny & Janet Meyer Family Food Pantry Fund, will be matched as part of the Feinstein Challenge to Fight Hunger. Continue reading here. |
Food Packaged Up for Passover
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Jewish Family & Children's Service of Pittsburgh's staff Recognized with Pittsburgh City Council Proclamation
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The month of March is designated as National Social Work Appreciation Month, and at Jewish Family & Children's Service of Pittsburgh, they are proud to honor and recognize the dedicated and impactful work of the social workers and professional staff, as well as the vast array of social services, programs and initiatives the agency provides to individuals and families throughout the Greater Pittsburgh community. As part of this month of appreciation for social workers everywhere, JFCS was recently honored with a Pittsburgh City Council Proclamation sponsored by Councilman Corey O'Connor, honoring JFCS's extraordinary staff of social workers and the agency's social service work to the greater community, and proclaiming March 2013 as Social Work Appreciation Month in Pittsburgh. Continue reading here. |
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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.
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
Immigration Reform: Key Issues for Older Adults, Individuals with Disabilities, and Home and Community-Based Services
April 4th, 2pm ET
REGISTER HERE
The Health Care Law 101
April 10th, 3pm ET
REGISTER HERE
Energize Our Families: Parent Program
April 10th, 6pm EDT
REGISTER HERE
Policy Change to Advance Falls Prevention
April 11th, 3pm EDT
REGISTER HERE
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Stay updated on AJFCA offerings, agency news & current trends . . .
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D'Var TorahLee I. Sherman
President/CEO When I walked out of the house this morning, I heard birds singing for the first time this spring. As we are in the intermediate days of Pesach, it seems as if we should be much further into the emergence of spring. If you thought that the first Seder seemed particularly early this year, you were right. The last time that the first evening of Pesach fell as early as March 25 was in 1899, 114 years ago. Not likely that many of you were around then. And, the next time that Pesach will begin on March 25 will be in another 76 years, 2089. Hopefully, many of you reading this will be around to celebrate that Pesach, but the odds are long for most of us.
Thinking about time is an integral part of celebrating Pesach. Our Seders are a looking back at our collective past, a consideration of our place in the world at the present, and a contemplation of what the future may hold. At our Seder this week, we discussed the meaning of saying "Next year in Jerusalem" as the concluding lines. In this day and age, when we are free to hop on a plane at any time and travel to Israel, what is the significance of continuing to pine for our next Pesach to be "in Jerusalem?" The Hebrew Yerushaliyim has as its root, shalem, from the word shleimut, meaning wholeness or completeness. So, when we yearn for "Next year in Jerusalem," we are seeking a state of wholeness in our lives and in our world.
At our Jewish family services, each day we seek our path to wholeness, by caring for the vulnerable populations we serve. As individuals, as agencies, and as a network, we assume our place in the collective responsibility we are taught at our Seders to work toward a more perfect world. We are not bound by the calendar, for this work is continuous to get us closer to living "Next year in Jerusalem."
Shabbat Shalom and Chag Sameach.
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Pursuing Justice Through Inclusion
Temple Beth Ami
Rockville, MD
9am - 4pm
Inclusion training for camp, informal and formal educators and others who work or live with children. It's time for the whole community to come on board. The full-day training will include:
- Making inclusion a community value
- Laying the groundwork for being inclusive
- ADA/addressing physical access issues
- Serving families effectively
- Achieving inclusion even with limited resources
- Using people first language
- Achieving positive behaviors
- Program adaptation and accommodation
Key speakers include internationally and nationally recognized experts Stuart J. Schleien, Ph.D., LRT/CTRS, CPRP, Professor, Department Chair, and Director of Graduate Study Department of Community and Therapeutic Recreation Universityof North Carolina at Greensboroand Aron Hall, Director of the National Inclusion Project.
Stay tuned for more information.
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The Affordable Care Act Benefits Members of Your Community 
Today, insurance companies can no longer drop coverage for sick people or raise premiums at will. A total of 3.1 million young people have gained coverage under their parents' plans and 6.1 million Medicare beneficiaries with the highest prescription drug costs have saved a total of $5.7 billion. Starting August 1, 2012, about 47 million women gained guaranteed access to additional preventive services without paying more at the doctor's office. Continue reading here. |
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Innovation: The Fuel That Drives Our World Forward
The future of the Jewish innovation sector will need a balance of opportunities to engage and learn on both an inter-communal and intra-communal basis.
Albert Einstein once said, "No problem can be solved from the same  level of consciousness that created it." His words ring especially true today, as solutions to complex challenges often demand reaching beyond the confines of any particular field or discipline to include cross-sector collaboration between people with diverse perspectives, skill sets and expertise. Continue reading here. |
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ACL Supports Learning Collaborative Coalitions
Administration for Community Living (ACL) recently announced an opportunity for up to 10 coalitions of community-based aging and disability organizations to participate in a learning collaborative and receive targeted technical assistance related to business acumen. No direct funding will be provided through this initiative; applications are due March 29th. Learn more here. |
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Does Your Organization Have Social Media Guidelines for All Staff?
One of the basic tenets of Beth Kanter's first book with Alison Fine, " The Networked Nonprofit," was that everyone in the organization participates in social media from the executive director on down - not just the "social media person." Having staff use social media as part of their work can extend the organization's network and increase the organizational comfort level through regular practice. Continue reading here. |
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Starting a New Position: A Challenge for the Nonprofit and the Professional
Spring official began on Thursday, March 21st, with the vernal equinox. This is the time of year when people look for employment and those who are employed may seek a change of position or organization. When employees do begin their new position, they and their employers encounter a number of challenges. Continue reading here. |
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How Your Nonprofit Should Be Using Content to Emphasize Donor Impact
To be an inbound-focused nonprofit organization, you must be using content to spread awareness of your cause, attract new constituents, and bring back past supporters. This content should help you connect with your audience on a personal level, encourage them to support your organization, and spread your mission within their own network of friends, family, and colleagues. Continue reading here.
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Social Media Is About Engagement With A Purpose and How To Measure It
"The world's greatest love letter is useless if it doesn't achieve the desired effect. In other words, if it doesn't get you a date, or dinner, or sex or marriage - whatever your goal is, it really doesn't matter how well written it is."
It doesn't mean that engagement on social media is useless and not worth the time. It means that you need to engage with a purpose or articulated goal. Continue reading here. |
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Making Organizational Learning Stick: How to Set Your Knowledge Goals and Blend Technology and People Processes to Reach Them
Since the Nonprofit Quarterly began researching and writing about the challenges nonprofits face to make the most of organizational learning, they have heard from hundreds of social sector leaders on why and how they are circulating knowledge to rejuvenate their organizations and their fields. In a series of focus groups with nonprofit practitioners and foundations, participants were zeroing in on two questions:
- What knowledge is useful to capture?
- With whom will we share what we learn?
Continue reading here.
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7 Reasons Your Grant Proposals Are Being Rejected
- You don't write for your audience.
- You aren't proofreading enough.
- You aren't thorough enough.
- Your proposal contains too much fluff.
- You have a goal but no plan.
- You aren't providing enough data.
- You are using unreasonable budgets.
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2013 AJFCA Annual Conference 
Learn more about AJFCA's 41st Annual Conference here.
AJFCA's has a great line up of 2013 Annual Conference SPONSORS. Check out whose coming.
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easure It, March 19, 2013, Beth's Blog, by Beth Kanter
