Vol.41, No. 11
Kislev-Tevet 5780
December 2019
The 2020 Main Event Featuring Mitch Aibom, v'
Author, Journaiist, Phiianthropist
Have a Little Faith: How Trusting Others Can Change The World
Co-chairs Holly and Hal Levin
son invite you to join them at the
Federation’s 2020 Main Event
on Sunday, January 26, 2020 at
7 PM at Temple Israel featuring
Mitch Aibom. The Main Event
is the Jewish Federation’s most
widely attended event of the cam
paign season.
Mitch Aibom is an internation
ally renowned and best-selling
author, sportswriter, screenwrit
er, playwright, radio and televi
sion broadcaster, and musician.
His books have collectively sold
more than 39 million copies
worldwide, have been published
in forty-nine territories and in
forty-five languages around the
world, and have been made into
Emmy Award-winning and criti
cally-acclaimed television mov
ies.
While nationally recognized
for his sports writing, Aibom
is perhaps best known for the
themes of hope and kindness that
weave through his books, plays,
and films. In his talks and pre
sentations, he brings the same
inspiring message of community
building, giving, and purpose.
Aibom shares stories about faith
amongst the poor, the well-to-do,
the homeless, and those who once
felt God did not exist. He ad
dresses questions such as: What
do we all have in common in our
hearts - no matter what house of
worship we attend? How does the
belief in something bigger than
us give us insight, wisdom, and
comfort? How does faith help
when bad things happen? And
what can we learn from each
other’s faith that can make the
world, the workplace, our neigh
borhoods, and our daily lives
more harmonious? Expanding on
themes already developed in his
bestselling books Tuesdays with
Morrie and The Five People You
Meet in Heaven, Mitch Aibom
weaves a captivating and uplift
ing message about the potential in
all of us for a giving, meaningful
life.
Main Event tickets are $36
each and are available online at
www.jewishcharlotte.org or by
phone at 704-944-6757.
Everyday, the Jewish Federa
tion of Greater Charlotte, together
with you, our donors and partners,
enriches lives, builds community
and fosters a thriving Jewish fu
ture locally, in Israel and around
the world. We are always at work
powering the community and
your Jewish experience in ways
you might not think of, in places
you would never expect. Right
now, thousands of people need
us in a multitude of ways. This is
your moment to help. Join us at
For more information about
the Main Event, please contact
the Federation office at 704-944-
6757 or info@jewishcharlotte.
org.
The mission of the Jewish Fed
eration of Greater Charlotte is to
raise and distribute funds to sup
port and enrich the lives of Jews
locally, nationally, in Israel and
worldwide. Through education,
planning and community build
ing, the Federation’s mission en
sures that Jewish values, goals,
traditions and connections are
preserved for current and future
generations.
Mitch Aibom
the Main Event, and be the start
of something powerful. You will
also have the opportunity to make
your pledge to the 2020 Annual
Campaign.
Jewish Federation
OF GREATER CHARLOTTE
Congratulations to Gabe Mathless on Becoming a JCPA Frank
Family Fellow
The Frank Family Leadership
Institute is a unique mentoring
opportunity for emerging lead
ers who want to be active in the
Jewish community relations field
that focuses on public policy and
advocacy, civic engagement, and
intergroup/interfaith relations. Its
goal is to build the leaders of to
morrow for the community rela
tions network at the national and
local levels.
The Frank Fellows Leader
ship Institute is a 10-month pro-
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gram run by the Jewish Council
for Public Affairs (JCPA). The
Fellowship program includes
educational webinars, a Poland/
Israel Mission, and attendance at
the JCPA National Conference.
As the program selects only 10
emerging Jewish leaders from
across the nation, we are thrilled
that Gabe Mathless will represent
the Charlotte community as part
of the 2019-2020 cohort.
Although Gabe and his family
moved to the Queen City only a
few years ago, he has already es
tablished himself as an energetic
leader within the Charlotte Jew
ish community. He is vice-presi
dent of Charlotte’s Levine Jewish
Community Center, serves on
multiple committees, and chairs
the LJCC’s governance commit
tee. In recognition of his contri
butions to the LJCC, Gabe was
awarded the LJCC’s President’s
Cup and Director’s Award in
2017 and was selected to repre
sent the LJCC at the biennial JCC
Association of North America
conference through the Esther
Leah Ritz Emerging JCC Leaders
Institute in 2018.
As part of the Frank Fellow
ship, Gabe be working with the
Jewish Federation’s Director of
Community Relations and Israel
Affairs, Laurel Grauer, to coor
dinate Israel advocacy efforts and
re-establish Charlotte’s Jewish
Community Relations Council.
Gabe Mathless is a corporate
restructuring and bankraptcy at
torney with the firm Moore and
Van Allen PLLC. He received
his law degree from the Univer
sity of Chicago Law School and
undergraduate degrees from the
University of Michigan. He lives
in Charlotte, with his wonderful
wife, Stephanie, and their two
beautiful sons.^^
Gabe Mathless
Thank you to the latest donors to
The Charlotte Jewish News
Your generosity helps us fulfill our mission to
continue publishing the latest information about
our community.
For the list of donors, please turn to page 13.
December 15, Temple Beth El’s Equity in
Education team presents Resilience, a documentary
about toxic stress and its effects on children.
See page 11 for more details.