National Disabilities Employment Awareness Month
AJFCA member agencies work every day to support persons with disabilities through a myriad of services including advocacy, vocational assessments and training, work experience, and job search support.
Held each October, National Disability Employment Awareness Month (NDEAM) is a national campaign that raises awareness about disability employment issues and celebrates the many and varied contributions of America's workers with disabilities. The theme for 2014 is "Expect. Employ. Empower."
In April, the Boutique offered vocational training to "L", a woman in her 30s with special needs. L was receiving care management and socialization opportunities through the Jewish Family & Childrens Service of Philadelphia's Special Needs department and was hoping to gain some employment experience. L's previous work experience was isolating; she had done clerical office work but in her own words, she never felt part of "the team". L's care manager made set up a time for L to be interviewed at the JFCS Thrift Boutique and almost immediately L began coming to the Boutique on a weekly basis. L was included in many facets of the Boutique from sorting donations, tagging, organizing, and merchandising. L developed many relationships with the entire staff and in her own words felt "welcomed" and "part of the JFCS team". In October 2014, after six months of working at the Boutique, L is "graduating" and moving on to a 6 month culinary training program that includes job placement services at the end of the training. Everyone at JFCS feels that this was a real success story in that L received on the job training and learned many basic skills of having a job; everyone at the Boutique will miss L but are happy for L to go on to this next chapter in her life.
JFCS of Greater Philadelphia will continue to use the Boutique as a vocational training facility for other adults with special needs; this will provide much needed employment experience and will help JFCS clients achieve greater independence.
For information about the Thrift Boutique, please contact Joanne Lippert. | |
AGENCY HIGHLIGHTS
Dentists Volunteer to Treat Holocaust Survivors
As they age, their teeth can end up at the bottom of their health care to-do list. But some Palm Beach County Holocaust survivors who need urgent dental interventions are getting essential fixes, thanks to 10 dentists and specialists who have volunteered to treat them at no charge. In a new program coordinated by the Ruth & Norman Rales Jewish Family Services in west Boca, survivors who are agency clients are linked with dentists who agree to do free cleanings, root canals, bridge work and other needed treatments.
The program, called Dentists Assisting Survivors of the Holocaust, began in May and has already treated five patients. The family services hopes to enlist 20 dentists, prosthodontists, endodontists and oral surgeons for the program, so all the 300 survivors helped by the agency can get treatment if needed. Many survivors, who are mostly in their 80s and 90s, suffered from severe malnutrition and other maladies in World War II concentration camps that affected not only their teeth but caused other long-term physical issues, said Danielle Hartman, family services president. "Because of conditions in the camps, we see poor health more often in survivors than in other senior populations," Hartman said. Hartman said the family services decided to start the program after hearing about similar successful programs in Broward and Miami-Dade counties. Broward's program, started last year, has treated 48 clients, with 26 dentists and specialists offering free care, said Patti Sinkoe, a case manager at Jewish Family Service of Broward County. Continue reading here.
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MAZEL TOV!
The AJFCA family is pleased to report that Jennie and her husband David welcomed their daughter Sadie Avalon Beckman into the world on Friday, October 10th. All are doing well! | |
Calls & Webinars
Visit AJFCA's Calendarto learn more about free calls and webinars. For more information login to the Member Resources section of the AJFCA website, followed by Webinars. Contact Megan at 410-843-7327 with questions.
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Stay updated on AJFCA offerings, agency news & current trends . . .
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D'Var Torah
Lee I. Sherman
President/CEO
[This week we read the familiar story of God's revulsion with the inhabitants of his Creation, and the decision to wipe them out, with the exception of Noah, his family, and the species that join them on the ark. Hopefully, the lessons of the flood have helped to guide subsequent generations to live better lives and strive for peace and harmony in our world. Sometimes, perhaps too often, it seems that some among us have forgotten, or never learned, those lessons. The blog post below was written by Sarah Tuttle-Singer, The Times of Israel New Media Editor, and published in yesterday's Times of Israel. She beautifully expresses the dismay we all feel when a horrible and incomprehensible tragedy occurs. May we all join Sarah in lighting a candle this Shabbat.]
On a Wednesday, between the rains, a family took their long-awaited baby girl to the Western Wall, the holiest site where Jews can pray in the world.
They waited years for this baby - their first, this sweet girl, three months old.
Can you imagine their joy? This beloved baby in their arms lifted up, up, up to touch the ancient stone? Can you imagine their joy? This beloved baby, a link to the future of the Jewish people?
And then...
On the way home, a man plowed into a crowd of people waiting at a light rail station - a crowd of people just wanting to go home, or get coffee, or pick up groceries before the Shabbat rush. A man that Israel says has ties to Hamas, he stepped on the gas, his foot hard on the accelerator, straight for the crowd of people, old and young.
This family was part of that crowd.
Can you imagine their horror? The grandfather clutching the baby, surely it can't be happening, - WAKE UP WAKE UP, surely it's only a dream - surely this car will stop before it .......
It didn't stop.
Can you imagine their horror? The screams and then the silence... A baby girl is dead.
Her family is shattered.
Meanwhile, international media reports that "Israeli police shot an E. Jerusalem man." (AP may have changed the headline, but the url exists forever and ever.)
I kind of hate the world right now.
Let's all light a candle. It's really dark here.
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Domestic Violence Awareness Month In an effort to constantly raise awareness of domestic violence, AJFCA member agency domestic violence professionals publish pieces locally. Click here to view a compilation of AJFCA member agency domestic violence professionals' original publications addressing domestic violence in their communities in an effort to raise awareness of this devastating epidemic.
Domestic Violence Has a Home Among Jews, Too
The domestic violence case of Janay Palmer Rice has drawn a great deal of media attention because she is the spouse of Ray Rice, a rich and famous public figure.
A constructive outcome of this story is that greater awareness of this issue has been raised. And the intense reaction to the Rice case, along with other recent high-profile cases, shows that domestic violence is a nationwide concern. Continue reading here. |
AGENCY PROGRAMMING/OPERATIONS
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Help Move the Sector From an Overhead Myth to an Overhead Solution In 2013, Guidestar, BBB Wise Giving Alliance and Charity Navigator wrote an open letter to the donors of America explaining that "overhead ratios" are a poor way to understand nonprofit performance. The nonprofit sector was hungry to dispel this "Overhead Myth." The field's extraordinary reaction to the first letter has thunderously affirmed that belief. Join together with a second letter, suggesting a set of steps nonprofits can take to help us all move beyond the Overhead Myth. It will take a shared effort to focus donors' attention on what really matters: your organization's efforts to make the world a better place, an Overhead Solution.
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Investing in Leadership to Accelerate Philanthropic Impact
Less than 1 percent. That's the portion of overall foundation giving that went to leadership development between 1992 and 2011. Foundations ask a great deal of the organizations we support-to strengthen community, meet urgent needs for services, solve complex environmental problems, influence public policy, and build and sustain movements for change. In short, we hope grantees will deliver transformational results for the people and places they serve. So it's striking how seldom we back that up with funds to help organizations develop and strengthen the ability of their leaders to meet those high expectations. Continue reading here. |
Quarterly Domestic Violence Call: Reaching Out to the Orthodox
Reaching Out to the OrthodoxTuesday, October 28th, 2pm ET - REGISTER HERE |
Economic Check Up: Helping Older Adults Find Programs to Boost Their Economic Security
Nearly 23 million older adults in the U.S. are economically insecure-either living in poverty or one "bad break" away from it, and lacking the resources to support their basic health, nutrition, housing, and daily needs. In this webinar, participants will learn about progress to date and lessons learned from a holistic approach to economic assistance that involves a new way of thinking about service delivery at the community level, and www.EconomicCheckUp.org, a new online consumer to  ol from the National Council on Aging, that can empower low-income seniors to assess their needs and seek assistance.
Economic Check Up
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A Jewish Communal Response to Addiction
This 2014 AJFCA Annual Conference session is geared at approaching, treating and educating about addictions within the Jewish community. Leaders in the field of addiction treatment, engagement, and preventive services will explain their modalities and techniques. Techniques such as: Abstinence model, community re-engagement, counseling, and harm reduction will be discussed, as well as prevention through education. Additionally stigma, shame and other addiction treatment barriers will also be reviewed.
A Jewish Communal Response to Addiction
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Good Deeds Day Webinar Good Deeds Day, held on March 15th celebrates doing good for the benefit of others and the planet. All over the world, hundreds of thousands choose to give of themselves, putting into practice the simple idea that every single person can do a good deed, be it large or small, to improve the lives of others and positively impact the world. Good Deeds Day, held March 15, 2015. Learn how to organize a project in your own community and activate your goodness.
Good Deeds Day Webinar
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COMMUNICATIONS & DEVELOPMENT
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A Guide to Evaluating Networks
Building networks in the nonprofit sector for the purpose of achieving outcomes together has become increasingly common, especially when what is involved are complex problems that no single organization can solve alone. All of this activity is yielding new knowledge about how to build and support effective networks as practitioners and funders report on their insights and struggles. Continue reading here. |
The Challenges of Major Gifts Fundraising
What is one critical difference between an organization that has raised several major gifts and the organization that continuously raises major gifts, maintaining a growing major gifts program? In brief, the latter nurtures longevity in all its relationships and reflexively understands that longevity is the key to nurturance. Continue reading here. |
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Sharsheret Awarded Multi-Year Federal Grant Sharsheret was selected for a multi-year cooperative agreement by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention to amplify their tailored breast cancer programs for young Jewish women. Collaborating with more than 40 national Sharsheret partners, they will work to serve more than 40,000 women and caregivers, enhancing the quality of life for young breast cancer survivors. For more information, read the complete grant announcement. |
Working with Vulnerable Populations: How to Spot the Risks In this two-part webinar, presenter Rick Braschler addresses the potential threats to organizations and people who work with or care for vulnerable populations and how you can mitigate your risks. In this first session you will learn how to:
- Identify potential threats to the vulnerable populations you serve
- Develop a strategy to protect those populations from potential danger
Working with Vulnerable Populations: How to Spot the Risks
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VOLUNTEERS/YOUNG ADULT ENGAGEMENT
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International Volunteer Managers Day
November 5th is International Volunteer Managers Day. Universally, people recognize the contribution of volunteers - however, volunteering does not succeed in a vacuum. Behind this world's army of volunteers lies an equally dedicated group of individuals who are responsible for the coordination, support, training, administration, and recruitment of volunteers - skilled professionals who are adept at taking singular passion and turning it into effective action. That is why we celebrate International Volunteer Managers Day every year on November 5th.
AJFCA urges you to mark your calendar and, whether you are an administrator, a volunteer, a community leader or someone who receives the benefit of volunteer help, to make sure the people who act as leaders and catalysts get the recognition they deserve.
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For a Better Shot at a Job, Donate Your Time
Volunteering can cut a young person's chance of being out of school and out of a job in half, a new study shows. To find out what caused young people to experience what they call "disconnection"-neither being in school nor having a job-researchers at an inequality-focused nonprofit looked at the characteristics of young adults between ages 16 and 24 in 25 cities, based on data from the U.S. Census Bureau's 2010 Current Population Survey. One factor that affected disconnection, they found, was whether they'd volunteered at least once in the past year. |
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