Giving
One Place to Build Community
"When I see the children come together, when they come together to celebrate being Jews,
what can I tell you, it brings tears to my heart."
-- Simon Shoikhet
Strengthening schools for the young and honoring those of every age who choose to open their hearts and minds to Torah is at the center of Jewish life. With your help, Federation can do more.
Eve Marks' kids were 3 and 1 when her husband left. Twelve years later, the kids were still angry and Eve was still working three jobs. While it's true that the kids always ate, even if there "wasn't always enough for me," it was only when Eve's daughter said, "What do your care who I marry? People are people," that the reality hit home. Maybe she was barely surviving, but her kids were barely Jewish. In September, with a federation scholarship, her kids enrolled in day school. "My daughter said it was like being home. The anger's gone."
The Jewish library with the special children's section at the JCC, the volunteers, the Hillel. Here, they're the lifeblood of the Jewish community. In the former Soviet Union, they're the first whispers of a community that lay silent for decades. It's children teaching their parents blessings. It's grandparents coming out from behind closed doors to teach Hebrew and tell their stories of struggle and now rebirth. It's book fairs, Passover Seders and Purim parties. It's pride in themselves and in a heritage passed down for thousands of years.