The Jewish Federation of Greater Dallas' JDC Ambassadors Circle Mission Featured in Community Newsletter

In the November issue of Community Connections, the Jewish Federation of Greater Dallas' e-newsletter, CEO and Federation President, Gary Weinstein writes about his experience on the recent mission to Moldova and Ukraine for members of the Dallas JDC Ambassadors Circle. 

Mission Participants included from L-R: Steve Lieberman, Gary Weinsten, Darryl Freling, and Seth Davidow.

 Also pictured is a single mother with her son (who has cerebral palsy) and her daughter.

This photo was taken on a home visit.

To read about the mission and to see the full community message, please go HERE. 

And to see a short video of mission participants' Shabbat experience at the Hesed Shaary Tzion, check out this LINK.

Jewish Women in Philanthropy: A Conversation with Susan Stern

JDC Board member, Susan K. Stern speaks about Jewish philanthropy and the roles women can and do play in today's nonprofit world. 

From eJewish Philanthropy blog
November 2, 2009
by Robert I. Evans & Avrum D. Lapin

“Your responsibility is to give back; make the world a better place.” Susan K. Stern

Much of the most recent data tracking various “groups” of donors centers directly on women. In our professional dealings with donors and nonprofits, we know that some women donors might be more likely to fund programs designated specifically for the benefit of women. This pattern is largely a response to practices traced to the years when organizations historically were run entirely by men who were not especially sensitive to female motivations. So women donors today are making a point to speak out more loudly and are making demonstrable impact on decision-making processes . . . both in their individual households regarding charitable priorities and in institutions which are allocating precious resources.

As we look more closely at women as donors, we turned to one of the most well-known Jewish women identified as a prominent role model: Susan Stern, of Scarsdale, New York. Former board chair and campaign chair at UJA Federation of New York, chair of United Jewish Communities National Women’s Philanthropy, Chair of Government Affairs for the American Jewish Joint Distribution Committee and Chair of the New York State Commission on National Community Service, serving as a member of Governor Patterson’s Cabinet and an influential member of a myriad of transformational and well-known Jewish (and other) nonprofits, Susie, as she is known to her friends, has had her pulse firmly on Jewish philanthropy and the impact women can and do play in the nonprofit world.

We have all witnessed a steady increase of women taking on leadership roles in nonprofits of all sizes. Susan commented on this trend and how she feels women are uniquely suited to handle the challenges and stresses of the leadership roles they assume.

Susan: “Women are uniquely suited to handle the challenges and stresses of the leadership roles they assume. Many years ago I learned from Shoshanna Cardin about how suited we are as leaders because of our parenting roles. She spoke of how she had raised 5 children and had spent every night around a dinner table in the role of negotiator, peace maker, and consensus builder. These are the very skills we use every day in our role as leaders.

In addition to these skills, you need to find and act on your passion. In my case, it happened when I started my involvement with UJA Federation of New York. I visited the Brighton Beach Y. The center was running a program teaching English as a second language to women who UJA Federation had helped bring here from Russia. As I stood there, being introduced as one of ‘the women from UJA,’ a woman from Riga, Latvia, gently took my hand and thanked me for bringing her to the United States, for the English classes and a chance at a better life. I thought, ‘there but for the grace of God go I.’ My grandparents, too, had escaped Latvia, and when that woman touched my hand I saw my grandparents’ experiences in her eyes. I knew right there that philanthropic work can really make a difference and I threw myself into it.”

Jewish Young Adults Building Community Beyond Borders in Europe

Each year, hundreds of Jewish young adults from JDC’s Weinberg Balkan-Black Sea Gesher region of Europe transcend traditional notions of geography, language, and culture to engage together in Jewish exploration. The following is a first-person account of the 2009 Gesher Conference—a flagship initiative of JDC in Europe that is propelling the meaning of community beyond physical borders.

There are some ideas—like Israel itself—that are so visionary that few believe they are even possible … until they actually come to pass.

The Gesher Conference, which each year draws hundreds of enthusiastic Jews in their early to mid twenties from the Black Sea Region to a distinct European destination, is one of those ideas. As one observer said at the 6th annual conference, held recently in Halkidiki, Greece: “If someone had told me years ago that there would be 400 young adults who would come together from this region every year, who are so proud to be Jewish that they are dancing to traditional songs and debating the same questions our ancestors debated, I would have said that they were completely meshuguna (crazy)!"

JDC Celebrates 95 Years of International Humanitarian Aid

In 1914, U.S. Ambassador to Turkey Henry Morgenthau sent a telegram to philanthropist Jacob H. Schiff asking for $50,000 to feed starving Jews in Palestine during World War I. Within one month, the money was raised through a collaboration of three American Jewish relief organizations, and the American Jewish Joint Distribution Committee (JDC) was founded. This year marks JDC’s 95th anniversary of reaching out to Jewish communities and people in need worldwide.

The American Jewish Joint Distribution Committee is the largest international Jewish humanitarian aid organization in the world today. By partnering with local governments and organizations around the world, JDC is touching lives and transforming communities in over 70 countries through programs of rescue, relief, and Jewish community renewal; helping Israel address its most urgent social challenges; and delivering humanitarian relief on a non-sectarian basis.

“We’re thrilled to celebrate our 95-year history which serves as a solid foundation as we work to continue our enduring connections to the global Jewish family well into the future,” says Steven Schwager, CEO and Executive Vice President of JDC. “Through decades of experience and strong partnerships on the ground, we remain extremely proud of JDC’s efforts to intelligently leverage resources so funds have the furthest reach and impact."