The Charlotte
JEWISH
Vol. 42, No. 10
Kislev - Tevet, 5781
December 2020
Federation 2021 Annual Campaign Planning
Underway as Co-Chairs Are Announced
By Shim Firestone
J ust as a successful annu
al campaign is critical to
support more than 70 Jewish
agencies and programs locally
and worldwide, having the right
leadership is critical to the cam
paign. As planning is underway
for Jewish Federation of Great
er Charlotte’s (JFGC) 2021 An
nual Campaign, that leadership
has been selected. Jake House
and Sara Kulbersh will co-chair
what will be a unique campaign
for unique times.
As the second milepost on
the Road to $5 Million, the goal
for 2021 is $4,750,000. While
there will be special challenges
this year, both Jake and Sara are
confident that the community
will respond again as it did in
2020 when they not only do
nated more than $4,500,000 to
Jake House
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the Annual Campaign, but also
contributed over $500,000 to
the JewishCharlotte Emergency
Response Fund. Sam Bernstein,
chief development and market
ing officer for JFGC points out
that, “While last year the Emer
gency Response Fund sustained
our agencies during the height
of the shutdown, the needs re
lated to reopening still exceed
their usual operating expens
es. The increased goal for this
year's Annual Campaign reflects
those expected needs.”
Jake came to Charlotte eight
years ago to lead a statewide ed
ucation nonprofit. After catch
ing the entrepreneurial bug and
launching his own successful
business, he returned to the
world of nonprofits and is cur
rently CEO of Smart Start of
Mecklenburg County. A friend
of his suggested that he get in
volved with Federation, and
before long, he was on the Al
locations Committee and going
to Cuba with the Ben Gurion
Society.
Sara is also an eight-year res
ident of Charlotte, moving here
from Los Angeles. Shejokesthat
when planning her move with
her husband, Jon, she could not
have pointed to Charlotte on a
map! But after visiting multiple
cities, she knew that Charlotte
Sara Kulbersh
was the best choice. At first,
becoming involved with Fed
eration was a way to meet new
people in a new city. She served
on the Women’s Philanthropy
Spring Lecture committee and
became heavily involved in the
work of JFGC from that time
forward, including serving as
co-chair of the Lion of Judah
Society. Not only did she meet
new people, she made some of
her closest friends through her
Federation involvement. The
coming year will bring unique
challenges to the way in which
the Annual Campaign is run.
The Main Event, which is the
formal kickoff of the Annual
Campaign, is the most widely
attended event of the campaign
season. Last year’s event with
Mitch Albom sold out. In 2021,
the Main Event will be virtual
for the first time. But after ten
months of learning how to pro
gram virtually, the committee
co-chairs are confident that the
Main Event will be inspiring
and memorable.
In addition, it may be more
difficult to have the kind of
in-person, meaningful conver
sations with donors that usually
take place. Jake notes that these
conversations about donating
money can be quite personal
and that it is easier to meet face-
to-face with someone to talk
about how their support will
enable JFGC to continue meet
ing the needs of our community.
But this year, many aren’t going
to want to sit down and talk in
person.
These challenges don’t in
timidate Jake or Sara. In fact,
quite the opposite. Sara points
out that the challenges are just
a call for creativity, an oppor
tunity to brainstorm, plan, and
execute in unfraditional ways
to engage with donors. Both co
chairs expressed great faith in
the employees and lay leaders
of JFGC, but most of all, in the
generosity of Charlotte’s Jewish
community.
Jake and Sara are excited to
work with the other leaders of
the 2021 Annual Campaign in
cluding Major Gifts chairs: Lar
ry and Dale Polsky, Men’s Di
vision chair: Brian Bernhardt,
Family Division chairs: Bill
and Angie Zimmem, Women’s
Philanthropy Leadership chairs:
Lisa Levinson and Debra Van
Glish, Community Campaign
chair: Jason Tanenbaum, Super
Sunday chairs: Jonathan and
Rachel Friedman, Thank Chair:
Jill Blumenthal, and NextGen
chairs: Luis Yaquian and Mark
Roth. It’s not too early to make
your gift to the 2021 Annual
Campaign. You can donate at
www.jewish.charlotte.org or
call 704-944-6757.
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Street Art, Painting Jewish
Identity in Charlotte and
Beyond
By Rabbi Judy Schindler
Charlotte learned the power of street art this
summer as 22 artists came together to paint a
Black Lives Matter mural on South Tryon Street
between East 3rd and East 4th Streets. Each let
ter was its own piece of art expressing the artists’
messages combatting racism, illustrating protest
and pain, and promoting healing and hope. In the
midst of global racial justice protests, the work
aimed to inspire social change.
Jewish street art brings Jewish content to the
public eye and like secular street art is democratic
— accessible to all. Yitzchok Moully, dubbed the
Pop Art Rabbi (whose #WeAllBelong mural was
created with Charlotteans at Chabad’s Friendship
Circle), describes Jewish street art as “bringing
it to the people. All my work has deep kabbal- Street art Chanukah menorah painted by Yitzchok Moul-
istic meaning. It’s a way of communicating. It’s ly in Jersey City, just 12 days after the 2019 attack in a
Jersey City kosher grocery store that killed three people.
(Continued on page 3)