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The Charlotte Jewish News - February 2010 - Page 3
JEWISH FEDERATION NEWS
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An experience of a lifetime is just a click away!
FREE BIRTHRIGHT TRIP TO ISRAEL
» »
Young Professionals Ages 22 - 26
Summer 2010
CHARLOTTE COMMUNITY ISRAEL EXPERIENCE
This program is specially offered to young professionals who live in
or are from the greater Charlotte area.
REGISTRATION OPENS @ 12 NOON FEBRUARY 17
Log on to israeloutdoors.com
Click on SPECIAL GROUPS tag on left hand navigation bar.
Look for Charlotte trip information.
Let us know you registered!
Email us at info@jewishcharlotte.org
Spots fill quickly. Reserve your space today
This experience is made possible thanks to a generous
donation from The Leon Levine Foundation.
For more information, please contact
the Federation office at 704.944.6757.
JEWISH^
FEDERATIONS
OF GREATER CHARLOTTE
TAG LIT -
birthright Israel
www.birihnghiisrad.coin
Allocations Committee Hard at Work
for You
As the 2010 Campaign gets
underway, we’d like to thank the
members of the Allocations
Committee for the hard work and
long hours they dedicated to
ensure that our 2009 community
campaign dollars were well
spent. Each year the Allocations
Committee accepts the awesome
task of reviewing agency pro
grams, budgets and requests and
evaluating future needs. When
asked to share their experience
with the community, here’s what
several of the committee mem
bers had to say:
According to Ira Slomka, a
past co-chair of the Federation’s
Main Event, “I’ve been involved
with Federation for many years
but for me there was no better
way to understand the actual
impact each donation has on the
agencies than to be involved in
the process of allocations.”
David Levin, 2010 Super
Sunday co-chair expressed the
following: “1 found the three
years 1 served on the allocations
committee to be a wonderful
and enlightening experience.
Working with so many commit
ted members of our community
was humbling. Seeing presenta
tions from so many beneficiary
agencies and understanding the
true impact our dollars make in
so many lives locally and abroad
was inspiring. Witnessing the
amount of time, effort, and
thoughtful consideration that so
many people spent determining
how campaign dollars are allo
cated was heartening. 1 feel even
more confident that my annual
campaign donation is a smart
investment and a great way to
give back to the community. 1
highly recommend taking the
opportunity to get more involved
and to “answer the call” for this
year’s campaign.”
Pam Levy described her
experience by saying, “Serving
on the Federation Allocation
Committee for the past two
years has been a rewarding and
enlightening experience. 1
observed and admired each
member of the Committee spend
ing long hours studying applica
tions, listening to agency presen
tations, asking questions, and
discussing the most prudent and
effective allocation of communi
ty dollars. We were thoughtful
and deliberate about each
agency’s stewardship of their
prior years’ allocations and
worked hard to be sensitive and
fair. For those who wonder how
and to whom their annual contri
butions are applied, you will be
pleased to know how seriously
those on the Allocation
Committee take their responsibil
ities.”
“It was truly an honor to par
ticipate in the Allocations
process,” explained Phil
Warshauer, Executive Director
of the Foundation for the
Charlotte Jewish Community.
“The experience was enhanced
by the rabbis’ discussions of the
role of tzedakah and community
in the Torah. It was particularly
moving to hear from each organ
ization and it was powerful to
work collaboratively as a com
mittee to efficiently direct the
philanthropic resources of our
community.”
“Serving on the Allocations
Leon Levine Foundation
Gives $130,000 to Birthright
Israel for Charlotte
Community Buses
Committee for the first time rein
forced my belief that we have
many talented people in our com
munity who are willing to get
involved and be objective in ana
lyzing and prioritizing the
needs of our community,” said
Sam Bernstein, vice president
of the Federation Board of
Trustees.
Risa Miller, co-chair of the
2010 Allocations Committee
shared the following:
“Federation is truly the “umbrel
la” organization of all non-profit
Jewish agencies locally and over
seas. Your contribution to the
Federation touches the lives of
Jewish people of all ages across
the globe. Whether you feel pas
sionately about one or several
Jewish agencies, giving to the
Federation is the only way to
truly make a difference in the
lives of so many. 1 feel privileged
to be part of a committee that
works tirelessly as good stewards
of community resources, ensur
ing that our dollars are being
used to strengthen our Charlotte
Jewish community and other
Jewish communities in Israel and
around the world.”
The Federation thanks the fol
lowing members of our commu
nity for serving on the 2010
Allocations Committee: Leslie
Archer, Cary Bernstein, Sam
Bernstein, Irv Bisnov, Lisa Blau,
Stephanie Brodsky, Jennifer
Greenwald, Josh Greenwald,
Bob Haber, Mark Lemer, David
Levin, Pam Levy, Risa Miller,
Brad Rabinowitz, Larry
Schwartz, Colby Schwartz, Ira
Slomka, Lisa Strause, Phil
Warshauer and Brad Winer ^
Eighty Jewish Young adults
to Go on Educational Trip to
Israel
The Leon Levine Foundation
has given $130,000 to the
Birthright Israel Foundation,
leveraging a 2009 2-to-l chal
lenge match in order to send 80
Jewish young adults from
Charlotte, North Carolina, to
Israel.
“The Leon Levine Foundation
has made an investment in the
future of young Jews in
Charlotte and beyond,” said Sue
Worrel, Executive Director of
the Jewish Federation of Greater
Charlotte. “Sandra and Leon
Levine’s generosity offers 80
young Jews the opportunity to
connect with Israel, strengthen
their Jewish identity, and build
community - all of which
insures Jewish continuity for
our children and our children’s
children.”
The gift of $130,000 - the
cost of one Birthright Israel
bus - qualified for Birthright
Israel’s 2009 Adelson Family
Foundation grant, gaining an
additional bus for Charlotte and
sponsoring a third bus for
youngsters from elsewhere.
Participants will go to Israel this
coming summer and next winter
“This unique experience for
young adults in our community
will have tremendous positive
impact for their entire lives. We
can think of few better ways
than through Birthright to
emphasize tlie importance and
benefit of Jewish values than
this direct connection to the
roots of Judaism,” said Tom
Lawrence, Executive Director of
the Leon Levine Foundation.
Jewish young adults from
Charlotte have gone on every
Birthright Israel trip in the ten
years since the program was
founded, with 46 participants
during the largest round and 37
participants this winter, but just
as many applicants are left
behind every year for lack of
funding.
“This is a great example of
local leadership collaborating
with us to great effect.” said
Robert Aronson, President of the
Birthright Israel Foundation.
“This is the Charlotte Federation
telling dozens of young adults
that they are vital to the future of
the Jewish community.”
Since its launch in 1999, the
Birthright Israel program has
provided free educational peer
group trips to Israel to 220,000
Jewish young adults ages 18 to
26 from around the world. The
first ever study of the long-term
impact of the trips, published
this year by Brandeis University,
shows that Birthright Israel is
achieving its original objectives
of enhancing participants’ per
sonal Jewish identity and con
nection to the Jewish people,
closing the gap between Israel
and Jewish communities around
the world, and strengthening the
sense of solidarity among world
Jewry. ^
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