Federation Report: Let’s be ‘Better Together’ on Mitzvah Day

By Leslie Feldman and Mike Klein

Mitzvah Day Co-Chairs

We are thrilled to be co-chairing the Jewish Federation of Ottawa’s 14th annual Mitzvah Day event to be held at the Soloway Jewish Community Centre (SJCC) on February 2.

The purpose of this day is two-fold: to play and be active in fun-filled creative ways, but also to instil the Jewish values of helping others and giving back to the community. While enjoying one of the many different activities at Mitzvah Day, we should all be mindful that helping others can be fun and fulfilling.

The theme this year is “Better Together” and it depicts how we are all stronger when we are united and working toward a common cause. In an effort to include all age groups, from toddlers to teens, there are activities embodying a wide variety of mitzvot, from creating blankets to be donated to CHEO, to planting herbs and building donation towers.

As an integral part of Mitzvah Day, each year we collect several items to give to the needy or disadvantaged. This year, we are collecting single socks and kosher food cans and boxed food items at the SJCC (in the lobby) until Mitzvah Day.

We will take your clean, unmatched socks in any size and colour. These socks will live on as cat toys being made as a Mitzvah Day activity for the Furry Tales Cat Rescue organization.

And we are looking for many hundreds of kosher food cans and food boxes to supply our “can-gineering for food security” activity on Mitzvah Day. All the items will then be donated to the Ottawa Kosher Food Bank. Items that will be especially appreciated are diced tomatoes, cereal boxes, pasta boxes, matzo meal boxes, baby formula, granola bars, gluten-free items, canned tuna/salmon/corn/peas/fruit, and tomato paste.

The goal of these activities is to embrace tikkun olam and show our children how important it is to perform acts of kindness to better our world. As Jews, this is ingrained in our teachings and something we hope to pass on to the next generation.

Our favourite part of the day is seeing the children’s eyes light up as they grasp that they have done something good to help someone else. The recognition they wear on their faces and the pride they exude is very rewarding. Understanding what it means to give back is a lesson one is never too young to be taught.

Our hope for this Mitzvah Day and for future ones, is that the children and the community continue to recognize different and creative ways we can give back to the community and those around us. As our world continues to change, as will the diversity the mitzvot we can perform and the reach that they can extend to. We encourage future planners to jump on board and offer feedback and ideas to help make the future of Mitzvah Day even brighter for our Ottawa community. We can’t think of a more relevant time in our recent history to remind the world of the significance of community, sharing and mitzvah. Much thanks to our committee for all their hard work: Deanna Bertrend, Irena Beylis, Julie Bennett, Jonathan and Naomi Mitchell, Melissa Thompson, Rabbi Gavriel Rudin, Ranit Braun, and Sara Miller.

We hope to see you all there! Visit www.mitzvahdayottawa.com for more information and to register.

Federation Report: Jewish legacy giving program launched

Lawrence Weinstein, Chair, Ottawa Jewish Community Foundation

By Lawrence Weinstein

Ottawa Jewish Community Foundation

The Ottawa Jewish Community Foundation is excited to share that we were selected as one of four new organizations to join 62 others participating in a Jewish legacy giving program that to date has secured more than 25,000 after-lifetime commitments with an estimated value of almost $1 billion for communities across North America.

Why is the Foundation so pleased to be involved? A successful legacy campaign launches a conversation about what the whole community wants for its future – the Jewish Ottawa we hope our great-grandchildren will inherit. We aim to inspire everyone, all potential donors, to develop a sense of mutual responsibility for that future, where securing legacy commitments is a win for the whole community.

Beginning immediately, we are partnering with the Harold Grinspoon Foundation (HGF) to help start this community-wide legacy giving program, creating a shared goal for 13 other local Jewish organizations to work toward. As a part of the collaboration, we have partnered with area social service organizations, day schools and synagogues. These organizations join us as a part of the four-year initiative that provides coaching, training and incentive grants to ensure that legacy giving becomes integrated in the philanthropic culture of the community.

As a participant, Foundation will receive a grant from the Grinspoon Foundation with matching funds of approximately $100,000 each year to provide participating local organizations with the opportunity to receive unrestricted incentive grants based on meeting legacy commitment benchmarks. And our Foundation is very much engaged to ensure that all 13 of our partners are successful.

“The Harold Grinspoon Foundation (HGF) is very excited to be partnering with the Ottawa Jewish Community Foundation to establish a culture of legacy giving in Ottawa,” said Arlene D. Schiff, national director of the program. “The time is right. This legacy program will make the most of the generational transfer of wealth, change the language and landscape of giving and provide generous and forward-thinking members of the Ottawa Jewish community with the opportunity to express their passion, purpose and commitment to their most valued Jewish organizations.”

Life & Legacy is the newest initiative of HGF, which is investing $30 million over a 10-year period to preserve vibrant Jewish life for future generations by ensuring the long-term financial health of Jewish community organizations in cities across North America, including Ottawa.

“Providing Jewish communities with proven tools and training to help them secure their long-term financial goals is absolutely vital. Through the Life & Legacy program, I’m hopeful that we will be able to help sustain vibrant communities that allow future generations to enjoy our rich Jewish culture and heritage,” said Harold Grinspoon, the founder of HGF.

Every member of the Jewish community benefits from strong Jewish institutions. Now is your chance to assure continuity of services and programs in Jewish Ottawa by making a legacy gift in your will or estate plan. Within this special partnership you can then choose one or more of these partner organizations to benefit from your gift. It’s simple and yet very powerful. The more successful we are together, the more all the organizations, and entire community, benefits. The endowments you will create will ensure the long-term sustainability of our values and our dreams for all future generations.

What will be our legacy? Find out how you can become involved by contacting Micah Garten at 613-798-4696, ext. 270, or mgarten@JewishOttawa.com.

Lawrence Weinstein is chair of the board of the Ottawa Jewish Community Foundation.

Federation Report: Ensuring ‘Never Again’ becomes a reality

By Shelli Kimmel

Shoah (Holocaust) Committee of the Jewish Federation of Ottawa

The purpose of the Shoah (Holocaust) Committee of the Jewish Federation of Ottawa is to “raise awareness, sensitivity and understanding of the history of the Shoah through commemoration and education.” For this reason, we take part in Holocaust Education Month, held every November.

This year, we are happy to partner with the Embassy of Cyprus for a talk and photo exhibit, “From Dachau to Cyprus.” Between August 1946 and May 1948, the British government intercepted more than 50,000 Holocaust survivors seeking to resettle in Palestine. They interned these survivors in detention camps established on the Mediterranean island of Cyprus. The Cyprus detainees were primarily young people. About 80 per cent were aged 12 to 35, with as many as 8,000 between 12 and 18. The majority were orphans.

“From Dachau to Cyprus” features a talk by Professor Eliana Hadjisavvas, who holds a PhD in history with an emphasis on Jewish displacement in post-war Europe, and a particular focus on the Cyprus internment camps. We will also be privileged to hear the personal story of Rose Lipszyc, a survivor who was detained in Cyprus. The event takes place Wednesday, November 27, 7 pm, at the Soloway Jewish Community Centre. [An interview with Hadjisavvas will be published in the November 11 edition of the Ottawa Jewish Bulletin.]

As each year passes, the importance of Holocaust education grows. Our survivors’ numbers are dwindling, so the obligation to keep the stories alive passes on to younger generations. This is a responsibility the Shoah Committee takes to heart. We strive to bring programs to Ottawa that are interesting, engaging and novel, and which will hopefully attract people from beyond our own community.

An example of this outreach is the play “My Heart in a Suitcase,” which we brought this past spring, for the second year in a row, to a local high school. The play tells the story of a young girl uprooted from her loving and protective family and forced to flee Nazi Germany on a Kindertransport. It was a difficult play for me to watch, as this was my mother’s story. At the same time, though bringing the play to Woodroffe High School, with its diverse student population, and seeing the incredible reaction of the audience gave me hope for our future. I am looking forward to bringing the play to Ottawa again this coming spring, this time hosted by Nepean High School, where we also hope to include the students from Ottawa’s Jewish day schools.

We often use the phrase “Never Again,” but sadly, we know that throughout the world, people are being persecuted just because of their religion and race. It is only by remembering the extremes that people will go to when fueled by hate that we can hopefully make “Never Again” a reality. Each of us must do our small part to promote tolerance and acceptance.

For information on programs being presented during Holocaust Education month visit www.jewishottawa.com/HEM. I look forward to seeing you at some of these events.

Shelli Kimmel is chair of the Shoah Committee of the Jewish Federation of Ottawa.