Samost JFCS VISTA Receives Schreibstein Award for Emerging Community Leadership
AJFCA VISTA Project member Joyce Ofori at Samost Jewish Family & Children's Services of Southern New Jersey was nominated for and awarded the Schreibstein Award for Emerging Community Leadership offered through the Jewish Community Foundation, Inc. The Schreibstein Award and scholarship is designed to recognize an emerging volunteer or professional associated with the Jewish community.
The award is intended to provide the residents of Camden,Gloucester, or Burlington counties of New Jersey the opportunity to develop and enhance leadership skills for their volunteer or professional involvement.
| |
AGENCY HIGHLIGHTS
Over 350 Local Holocaust Survivors Gather for JFS' Cafe Europa
Ruth & Norman Rales Jewish Family Services held its semi-annual gathering and luncheon for Holocaust Survivors, Café Europa, at B'nai Torah Congregation last week. Over 350 people comprised of Holocaust Survivors and their spouses or aides attended the event. Like the previous Café Europa, many new Holocaust Survivors joined JFS from northern Broward County and the Boynton/Lake Worth in addition to the Boca Raton and Delray Beach areas.
Attendees were treated to a luncheon while the Holocaust Survivor Band provided entertainment. At times there were large crowds on the dance floor as couples and groups of circle dancing occurred throughout the event.
The highlight for many came later in the program where survivors connected with other survivors from their home towns in Europe. This season's event matched people from Berlin, Odessa and Lodz among others. During previous events, survivors have found long lost friends whose friendship was made while in the same concentration camp. In most instances, they did not even know if the other survived.
| |
Senior Resource Connect - AJFCA's New Older Adult Services Website  AJFCA recently launched our new older adult services website, Senior Resource Connect. The website aims to leverage the expertise of Jewish family services agencies assisting older adults in the community, increase referrals to member agency programs, streamline referrals between agencies, and act as an information hub on all matters of senior services. Has your agency gotten involved? Don't miss the chance to be listed as a member on this new platform. Make sure we have your information and contribute your resources for older adults and their caregivers to the site by emailing Liz.
| |
Apricot Essentials: A Platform for Small (D&E size) Agencies  JFS Canton and JFS Lehigh Valley
both say Apricot Software has made an impressive difference for their organizations. Apricot is a unique data and case management system designed to manage workflow, measure outcomes, and prepare reports. Developed by a nonprofit professional, Apricot is extremely secure and flexible for all size organizations. The software continues to level the playing field between those running on a shoe-string budget and others with considerably greater resources. Click here to learn more.
| |
Please add and/or update AJFCA's logo on your agency website.
Contact Megan with questions.
| |
|
Stay updated on AJFCA offerings, agency news & current trends . . .
|
|
|
D'Var Torah
Lee I. Sherman
Last week, we held a staff retreat to assess the breadth and inter-relationships of our programs, services, and other activities, and to do some in depth thinking on a couple of specific issues. We began the day with a brief exercise of sharing some personal information that was designed to build a community of trust among us. Based on the rich and engaging conversations that we had the rest of the day, I believe the initial exercise was integral to laying the proper foundation for each participant to share and listen for the substantive discussions which followed.
This week's parashah, Shelah Lekha, has some important lessons on trust and the consequences in a community in which trust is lacking. We read about the 12 spies who serve as the advance party for the Israelites mass movement into the Promised Land. Only two of the spies, Caleb and Joshua, recommend the immediate entry into the land. The other ten acknowledge the great natural abundances of the land of milk and honey, but they are intimidated by the physical presence of the land's inhabitants. So, they caution against entry and the people endorse this position and spend the night bemoaning and bewailing their situation, even wishing for a return to Egypt. Despite their personal experience over the previous year, with God leading and supporting them to their redemption from slavery and journey to a new land and nationhood, they exhibit doubt, both the 10 spies and the rest of the people, and declare defeat before even attempting to move forward. Their punishment is swift and decisive, none of them will be allowed to enter Israel and they will be forced to wander for the next 39 years until the last of the adult population are gone.
How much better off would the people have been if they had trusted their experiences, and the wise reports of Caleb and Joshua? They had been challenged to trust that God would be there for them at this ultimate stage of deliverance and they were overwhelmed by the challenge and succumbed to fear. This exhibits a lack of faith in themselves, as well as their ability to build a community together. Trust in the process and what got you this far can continue to move you forward. A valuable lesson for us all.
|
Tears of Sorrow, Seeds of Hope - Infertility and  Pregnancy Loss
AJFCA is pleased to offer Tears of Sorrow, Seeds of Hope at the discounted rate of $4. This book, written by Rabbi Nina Beth Cardin, explores infertility and pregnancy loss from a Jewish perspective. Tears of Sorrow, Seeds of Hope has proven to be a powerful tool. Click here to order copies for your agency.
"To those who have struggled with issues of infertility and with the ardent desire for children . . . this book offers guidance and consolation in the form of prayer, poetry, and reflections which will enrich the lives of any seeking soul, and will offer comfort to those in pain." -Rabbi Bradley Shavit Artson, dean, Ziegler School of Rabbinic Studies
|
Emerging Adulthood: Successful Transitioning from School to the Adult Community 
Deborah Fisher, Strategic Change Consultant at Jewish Foundation for Group Homes, will present on the elements of a program that promote transitions of young adults with disabilities from the safety and familiarity of their schools to the adult community. The Meaningful Opportunities for Successful Transitions (MOST™) program that addresses the growing needs of adults who either do not fit into existing programs, or who preferred to take time to focus on a particular skill or skills will be highlighted.
Emerging Adulthood
|
|
Disabilities Services Discussion Call: Vocational Services
Join AJFCA professionals for an exploratory discussion call on vocational services and how new federal policies will impact the provision of these services to persons with disabilities. Liz Leibowitz, Senior Legislative Associate at the Jewish Federations of North America will share information on key policy changes related vocational services and assist in guiding a discussion. Plan to share your programs, experiences, outcomes, ideas and questions with other network members.
Vocational Services
|
2015 White House Conference on Aging 
The 2015 White House Conference on Aging will be held on July 13th. The conference will bring together government officials, members of the public, caregivers, older Americans, business leaders, and community leaders to discuss a vision for aging in the next decade. Click here to learn more.
|
World Elder Abuse Awareness Day - June 15th 
World Elder Abuse Awareness Day (WEAAD) was launched on June 15, 2006 by the International Network for the Prevention of Elder Abuse and the World Health Organization at the United Nations. Learn more here. AJFCA is proud to support agencies that make education about elder abuse a priority. At the 2015 AJFCA Annual Conference representatives from JFS agencies in Calgary, Edmonton, Winnipeg, and Ottawa presented their work on the Pan-Canadian Elder Abuse Awareness and Education Program for Ethnocultural Communities incorporating socio-drama performances. Learn more about this creative program on the AJFCA conference page. |
|
AGENCY PROGRAMMING/OPERATIONS
|
Building Intergenerational Bridges 
The Jewish community is blessed with some of the best infrastructure and organizations in the Jewish world. This didn't come from nowhere; it was thanks to the efforts of the 'Foundation' generation (that's a fancy term for 'old people') who invested their time and money to build said institutions, often from nothing or very little. Read more here. |
Google's Pioneering $20 million Bid to Help Disabled Feel Empowered
Many of the estimated 1 billion people living with a disability rely on others to help them perform basic day-to-day tasks. Google's aim is to help organizations that help overcome these barriers. Learn more here.
|
Annual Foundation Center Renewal  AJFCA will be renewing the annual Foundation Center subscription. If you are interested please email Zahava by Wednesday, July 1st. Invoices will be emailed in late July. Service will begin in mid-August. We will be attempting to keep the subscription fee close to this past year's amount of $390. For more information regarding the Foundation Center click here or contact Megan.
|
Domestic Violence Professionals Fly In  Member Agency Domestic Violence Professionals are invited to attend AJFCA's Domestic Violence Professionals Fly In on Sunday, August 9th & Monday, August 10th at Jewish Child & Family Services of Chicago. Member agency domestic violence professionals will discuss engaging Jewish Institutions in education and policy development, reaching out to the Orthodox community, long term outcomes and clinical and community work. There will be time for networking and facilitated discussions on key topics. We hope you will join your colleagues for this informative and energizing day. Learn more here.
|
Midwest Older Adult Services Meeting
Member Agency Senior Service Professionals are invited to attend AJFCA's Midwest Older Adult Services Meeting on August 30th & 31st at Jewish Family Service of Metropolitan Detroit. Registration to those outside of the Midwest will open on July 1st. Click here to learn more. |
Refugee and Migrant Sharing Platform  The Red Cross, a 2015 AJFCA Annual Conference sponsor recently launched HumanitarianCommunity.com, an information sharing platform for refugee and migrant programs/organizations. More than 35 organizations actively participate by submitting content they'd like to share with the larger refugee and migrant community. Content can include blogs, newsletters, reports, event information, social media content, volunteer opportunities, etc. Submission are due the second Friday of each month. Subscribe here. Learn more about HumanitarianCommunity.com during a 45-minute conference call designed specifically for AJFCA member agencies. Refugee and Migrant Sharing Platform
|
|
Nonprofit 911 - 10 Tips to Get Your Board Fundraising in One Hour 
Download the recording of the webinar with Rachel Muir, vice president of training at Pursuant, here. Get ready to take lots and lots of notes. Rachel shares some amazing insights on how to motivate board members and how to turn them into fundraisers. |
|
Effectively Attribute Revenue to Each Marketing Effort
Sometimes we struggle to tie marketing activities to revenue. In particular, the siloed nature of B2B sales data and marketing automation systems has made revenue attribution a challenging task. Even when companies have attempted to tie revenue to marketing activities, it's typically been limited to attributing revenue to the first touch in the buying cycle. Read the whitepaper here. |
|
|
