Officers Marshall Kapp President Mark Goldman Vice President Sam Kimelman Treasurer Sarah Wachman Secretary Allen Grossman Past President Campaign Chair Irwin Kantrowitz Members at Large Rochel Abrams Brian Katz David Markell Valerie Mindlin Steven Reznik Arthur Stern Jan Tannenbaum Organization Representatives Big Bend Jewish Social Club David Pepper Canaan Cruisers David Pius Chabad Vacant HERC Barbara Goldstein Hillel Melanie Annis Jewish Genealogical Society Robert Cohan National Council of Jewish Women Marion Merzer Shomrei Torah Ellie Simon Temple Israel Melanie Rice Past Presidents Jodi Chase Bob Cohen Art Cooper Lois Friedman Richard Greenberg Wayne Hosid Irwin Kantrowitz William Kaufman Maurice Levy Bruno Linder David Markell Rhea Schwartz Alvin Stauber Al Sulkes

Why Do We Need a Tallahassee Jewish Federation? It is my hope that, as you read through this issue of the Federation Focus, the answers to this question—indeed, the relevance and importance of the Federation to the life of the Tallahassee Jewish community and its individuals and families—will become readily apparent. If you are favorably impressed with what your local Federation is doing and how we are prudently directing the resources that you generously entrust to us, please consider making a pledge or sending Federation a tax-deductible check to help us continue our efforts on your behalf. As this issue of the Focus amply illustrates, your Federation is hard at work to justify your continued support. On the local level, our efforts enhance the quality of Jewish life for all segments of the Tallahassee community. For instance, this Fall, with the support of the Rintels Foundation and the assistance of the Institute for Southern Jewish Life (ISJL), we are for the first time in the midst of presenting a three-part Cultural Enrichment Series for your enjoyment and edification. Investing in our youth, we continue to support the Teen Philanthropy Initiative that attracts Jewish teens from several area high schools, we sponsor Camp Shalom and the wonderful environment that it provides to our children in the summer, and we provide scholarship support to help local Jewish youngsters attend Jewish overnight summer camps and participate in formal educational experiences in Israel. In addition, Federation supplies substantial assistance to other organizations doing significant work in the local Jewish community, including the Holocaust Education Resource Council, FSU Hillel,

Chabad, the National Council of Jewish Women and its tremendous PJ Library program, the Young Leader’s Initiative to prepare the next generation of community leaders, the Jewish Genealogical Society, and the Big Bend Social Club mainly serving the area’s senior population. On top of all that, we sponsor a Jewish Film Series that provides cultural enrichment and entertainment for the whole community. On a broader horizon, we work in collaboration with the Jewish Federations of North America to fulfill our commitment to support needy individuals and causes in Israel and other places around the globe

Federation President Marshall Kapp presents tickets for the Itzhak Perlman Concert to Rochel and Michael Abrams.

The Abrams won the tickets at the 2014

Campaign Kickoff event as the individual or couple with the largest increased donation to Federation for 2014. We thank Jodi and Charles Chase for donating the prize. The next Kickoff event will be held at the Hillel on January 25, 2015 at 1 pm. Our speaker for the 2015 event will be Robert Goldsmith, Executive Director of Blumberg Family Jewish Community Services of Dothan.

The Jewish story of Dothan,

Alabama, is quite extraordinary and you’ll want to hear it!

where Jews in distress can benefit from your generosity. Federation’s international efforts are predicated on the concepts of Jewish solidarity, collective responsibility, and mutual respect, as we endeavor to bring a diverse world Jewry together under one supportive umbrella. The Tallahassee Jewish Federation is a completely volunteer organization and all your contributions go to support the activities described here and in the following pages. We are not paying for a fancy edifice, staff salaries, board perks, or other substantial overhead expenses. For that reason, I do not hesitate to encourage your continued generosity and support of the 2014 Annual Campaign. Please do make a difference in the lives of your fellow Jews here and everywhere. Contributions can be made on the website, www.jewishtallahassee.org or by sending a check to Tallahassee Jewish Federation, P.O. Box 14825, Tallahassee, FL 32317-4825. Thanks so much.

Where do the Dollars go? The paragraphs below describe the final distribution of funding

day camp. Our goal is to foster Jewish identity and strengthen

and expenses (by dollars and percent of total) for calendar year

the local Jewish community.

2013. A total of $94,227 was distributed. Cultural and Social Programs ($11,298 – 12.0%) Federation Jewish Federation of North America ($51,000 – 54.1%) JFNA is

provided books of Jewish interest to the Leon County Library

an umbrella organization,

formerly called UJA, which

and supported a National Council of Jewish Women program

represents 157 metropolitan federations and 400 independent

(PJ Library) which provides free Jewish-themed children’s

Jewish communities across North America. Tallahassee Jewish

books to families in our community; maintained a community

Federation funds are mostly earmarked for pre-school

web site (www.jewishtallahassee.org); and sponsored both the

programs in Lod (the Ethiopian National Project), after-school

Jewish Film Series, and our “seniors” group, the Big Bend

programs in Dimona, and elder care in Tiblisi, Georgia.

Social Club.

We supported the local Holocaust Education

Resource Council that trains educators to teach the StateTeen Philanthropy Initiative ($10,010 – 10.6%) Federation

mandated Holocaust curriculum. Please make sure we have

initiated this program, supported by a grant from the Rintels

your email address so you can be informed of all these events.

Foundation, to empower Jewish teens to help meet community needs through a process that helps them develop decision-

Campus Services ($9,200 – 9.8%) Federations throughout the

making skills and the ability to work collaboratively. The funds

country traditionally support Hillel’s presence on major

indicated here were designated for the Jaffa institute, the

campuses. Believing that a strong Hillel not only enhances

Ethiopian National Project, Atidim, and Save a Child’s Heart in

Jewish student life on campus but also benefits the broader

Israel; and locally to St. Francis Wildlife Association, Damayan

Jewish community, we have provided assistance to the Hillel

Gardens, and the Big Bend Homeless Coalition.

chapter at FSU. We also subsidized a student Seder at Chabad and an FSU Jewish student advocacy group (Noles for Israel).

Scholarship Programs ($9,220 – 9.8%) Federation has made it an important priority to award scholarships for Jewish youth in

Indigent Assistance ($400 –0.4%)

Tallahassee to help them experience sleep-away camps and day

assistance to individuals in need. A separate gift to the Big

camps,

Bend

leadership-training

activities,

and

programs

in

Israel. In 2012 we continued our need-based scholarship

Homeless

Coalition

was

These funds represent given

from

the

Teen

Philanthropy Initiative (see above).

program in partnership with Congregation Shomrei Torah and Temple Israel. We also underwrote and provided scholarships

Administration ($3,099– 3.3%) These costs reflect bulk-mail

for our own Federation local day-camp program, Camp

postage and box rental, insurance, accounting and auditing

Shalom, as well as providing scholarships for Camp Gan Israel

fees, and State-mandated registration fees.

Creation of Jewish Community Relations Council Unfortunately, evidence and instances of extreme ill-feeling toward Jews have become increasingly apparent worldwide in recent months, as overt and aggressive anti-Semitism has once again seemingly become respectable. Although much of our focus in monitoring this disturbing development has concerned the Middle East and Europe, neither the United States generally nor our own Tallahassee region have been immune. The need to respond robustly and rapidly to the threatened repetition of history can no longer be denied. Most other Jewish Federations in the U.S. have maintained positive ongoing interactions with their local communities— characterized by consensus, civility, and commitment to Jewish values—by establishing a Jewish Community Relations Council (CRC) to act as a permanent political and social advocacy arm of the Federation. The primary

function of the CRC is to create and sustain long-term relationships with other religious and civic groups, institutions, the media, and government bodies and to use those relationships to inform and educate others in the locality about issues of vital importance to the Jewish community. At a recent meeting, the Board of your Tallahassee Jewish Federation voted to explore the creation of a Jewish Community Relations Council in Tallahassee. We are now soliciting volunteers to serve on this body. Time commitment and other operational details will be determined by the CRC itself in its establishment phase. If you are interested in volunteering for this important service or learning more, I would welcome hearing from you. Please communicate your interest to me at [email protected]. Thank you for your support.

THE RUBY DIAMOND FOUNDATION The Ruby Diamond Foundation was established in 1982 following the death of Miss Ruby Diamond, a life-long resident of Tallahassee and a benefactor of Florida State University and Jewish charities. It was Miss Diamond’s intention to use the Foundation to perpetuate her lifelong commitment of support for Florida, national, and international charitable institutions. We received a gift of $29,770 as part of the 2013 charitable distribution from the Foundation. These funds, received in December, were part of our 2014 allocations. Starting our year with the Ruby Diamond gift enables us to fund our camp-scholarship program prior to beginning our annual campaign. In addition, the Jewish Federations of North America received a direct distribution of $45,800. We are grateful for the support provided us by the Foundation over the years and look forward to keeping alive Miss Ruby’s commitment to Judaism and Jewish survival.

The Teen Philanthropy Initiative In August 2008, the Tallahassee Jewish Federation launched a new Teen Philanthropy Initiative intended to bring together Jewish teens in the

Capital

appreciates

Region. the

Federation

generosity

of

very the

much Rintels

Foundation, which made a substantial contribution to help underwrite this important Initiative. Each

year

the

Teen

Board,

generally

consisting of a dozen or more Jewish high school students,

invites

organizations

to

several apply

local for

and funding.

Israeli The

organizations are asked to identify one or more specific projects that would help to meet important 2013-2014 Teen Board

community needs, to explain how the money would

be used to support the project, and to explain how the effectiveness of any grant the Board provided would be monitored. Teen Board members review each application for funding and conduct site visits or Skype interviews with each applicant. These sessions give the teens a chance to learn about the organizations and the specific projects for which funding is being sought and to ask questions about the projects. The funding decisions are completely up to the Teen Board. Each year, the Board members have had very constructive discussions that led to their allocation decisions. In 2014, the Board made grants totaling $12,500 to the following organizations: (1) Jaffa Institute, (2) the Tallahassee Homeless Shelter, (3) Ethiopian National Project, (4) the Jewish Agency Lone Soldiers (Wings) Program, (5) the Jewish Agency FSU Masa Doctors Program, and (6) the Big Bend Homeless Coalition.

Special Campaign for Israel -- Stop the Sirens Emergency Campaign When Israel came under rocket attack this summer, we reached out to the Tallahassee community to provide relief aid. Thanks to people like you, we were quickly able to send $10,000 to the Jewish Federation of North America (JFNA). These funds helped provided immediate relief from the line of fire for more than 45,000 children, extended an extra helping hand to 20,000 of Israel’s most vulnerable citizens, expanded trauma support for 15,000 Israelis, and strengthened assistance to the dozens of communities hit hardest by the conflict. Our contribution was a part of the $370,000 raised by over 90 small communities like ours that responded to the appeal of the JFNA’s Network of Independent Communities.

2013 ROLL OF HONOR The following list of 136 contributors includes gifts totaling $56,936 received to our Annual Campaign, the Teen Initiative, the James Streem Concert, and the Chanukah Drive. We wish to take special note of additional gifts received from the Ruby Diamond Foundation ($29,770) and the Dorothy and Jonathan Rintels Foundation ($17,500). We pay tribute to all our givers; thank you for your generosity and support. It is because of your support that we are able to serve the Tallahassee Jewish community, through our Camp Scholarship Program and other initiatives. Gifts of more than $2500 *Mr. & Mrs. Robert Cohen *Dr. & Mrs. Rick Hyson Gifts between $1500 and $2499 *Mr. & Mrs. Phil Blank *Ms. Lois Friedman Mr. & Mrs. Allen Grossman Dr. & Mrs. Jerry Harris *Elaine Harris & Irwin Kantrowitz *Mr. & Mrs. Sam Kimelman Ms. Sheila Rachin Rabbi & Mrs. Jack Romberg *Nat Stern & Karen Oehme *Mr. & Mrs. M. Stephen Turner *Judge & Mrs. James R. Wolf Gifts between $1000 and $1499 *Anonymous *Ms. Trudy Avirom *Dr. & Mrs. Bruno Linder *Mr. & Mrs. David Markell *Mr. & Mrs. Steven Reznik Ms. Ellen Simon *Mr. & Mrs. Alvin Stauber Gifts between $500 and $999 Mr. & Mrs. Boris Bayevsky *Mr. & Mrs. Raymond Capelouto Drs. Raymond & Paula Chambers *Mr. & Mrs. Charles Chase *Mr. & Mrs. Arthur Cooper Ms Sheila Erstling *Mr. & Mrs. Daniel Fuchs Mr. & Mrs. Mitchell Gilberg *Mr. & Mrs. Stephen Kahn *Mr. & Mrs. Marshall Kapp Dr. Dan Markel *Dr. Charles B. Nam *Dr. & Mrs. Ronald Saff Dr. & Mrs. Loren Schreiber *Dr. Rhea Schwartz *Dr. & Mrs. Brian Sherman *Mr. James Streem Dr. & Mrs. Jan Tanenbaum Temple Israel -- Israel Committee Gifts between $200 and $499 Anonymous Dr. & Mrs. Charles Aronovitch *Mr. & Mrs. Laurie Dozier Mr. Marc Friedman

*Rabbi Stanley Garfein *Mr. Leon Golden *Ms. C. Chenoweth & Dr. M. Goldman Dr. David Greenberg Mr. & Mrs. Alan Greenberg *Mr. Mark Holcomb *Mr. & Mrs. Paul Holzberger *Martin Jaron & Melanie Annis *Mr. & Mrs. Brian Katz Dr. & Mrs. Joel Kramer Mrs. Shirley Krishef Mr. & Mrs. David Lachter Mr. & Mrs. Jerome Novey *Dr. David Pepper *Mr. Leonard Pepper *Dr. & Mrs. Robert Reiser Dr. & Mrs. Terry Reisman Mr. & Mrs. Charles Rosenberg *Dr. & Mrs. M. Schneiderman Mr. & Mrs. Charles Slavin Mr. & Mrs. Arie Wellner Gifts between $100 and $199 Ms. Debbie Ashlin Mr. & Mrs. Brian Berkowitz *Mr. & Mrs. Mark Burk *Mr. & Mrs. David Byrne Captain & Mrs. Jeff Carlen Mr. & Mrs. Edward Coven Mr. & Mrs. Sandler Dickson Dr. David Edelson Dr. & Mrs. Brian Fairhurst Dr. Roy Forman & Paula Saunders Mr. Herman Frankling Mr. & Mrs. Michael Frieder Howard Glassman & Diane Salz *Mr. & Mrs. Ronald Goldstein Dr. & Mrs. Tomi Gomory *Mr. & Mrs. Peter Goren Mr. Robert Gorman *Ms. Shelley Hill & Mr. William Graham Drs. Alex & Mya Greenberg Dr. Robert Greenberg Susan Gross & Mikhail Souponitski *Dr. Dwight Kingsbury Dr. & Mrs. Sam Lamb Dr. Hilbert Levitz Ms. Helene Linn Mr. & Mrs. Steven Louchheim Ms. Elaine Markell Mr. & Mrs. Danny Massoudi Mrs. Lillian Mendelson

Barry Moline & June Wiaz *Dr. & Mrs. David Pargman *Mr. & Mrs. Peter Rice *Mr. & Mrs. Herb Rosinsky *Dr. & Mrs. Mark Shamis Mr. Philip Spitzer Mr. & Mrs. Bruce Wiener *Mr. & Mrs. Stephen Winn Dr. M. Winsberg & Ms. M. Simmons *Mr. & Mrs. Richard Yood Gifts between $50 and $99 *Ms. Catherine Campbell Susan Contente & G. Kurt Piehler Ms. Alice-Ann Darrow *Mr. Howard Eagelfeld *Mr. & Mrs. David Felder *Ms. Gina Harris *Ms. Lori Holcomb *Terry & Sharon Kant-Rauch Dr. & Mrs. Roger Kaufman Ms. Jill Klein Mr. & Mrs. H. Frederick Kreimer Ms. Gail F. Kurzer Mr. & Mrs. Eric Lipman *Mr. & Mrs. Steven T. Mindlin *Mrs. Eva Pelt Leah Pepper & Geoffrey Adams *Mr. & Mrs. David Rosen Mr. Thomas Skayhan, Jr. *Mr. & Mrs. Gary Sokolow Mary Haskins & Arthur Stern Mr. & Mrs. Al Sulkes *Ms. Sarah Wachman Mr. & Mrs. K. Zimmerman Other cash gifts *Mrs. Sandy Ballas Ms. Toni C. Bernstein Ms. Martha Billings Mr. Craig Bloch *Mr. Leonard Helfand Dr. & Mrs. Maurice Levy Ms. Sandra Lipner Mr. and Mrs. Akol Mirowitz *Mrs. Wilma Rosenbloom Steve Swirsky & Doreen DuMond *2014 donation or pledge received as of October 27

Cultural Programming in Tallahassee with ISJL Thanks to a generous grant from the Dorothy

and

Jonathan

Rintels

Family

Foundation, Federation has partnered with the Goldring/Woldenberg Institute of Southern Jewish Life (ISJL), to expand Jewish cultural programming in Tallahassee. ISJL, located in Jackson Mississippi, helps both small towns and big cities across the region host events by authors,

speakers,

musicians,

comedians,

actors, and storytellers that will appeal to a diverse range of interests. The first event in the ISJL Tallahassee series was the Keith Barany Comedy Show held on September 13, 2014 hosted at the new Hillel facility at FSU. We had a large audience in attendance for the Saturday evening show and everyone had a fabulous time.

The second 2014 event was a concert with Batsheva on October 19, also at Hillel. We had a great crowd for this very enjoyable concert featuring Ladino, Yiddish, Hebrew and English folk songs that brought back warm memories for many of the Federation members attending the show.

We were extremely

pleased to have Bruno Linder make it to Hillel to attend the Sunday afternoon concert. The third and final event will be a lecture by Rabbi Michael Cook on November 5 at Temple Israel. These events are announced and publicized via email. If we don’t have an address for you, please

send

an

email

[email protected].

We thank the Rintels Family Foundation and ISJL for their help in allowing us initiate this new program.

to

Hillel Moves into New Building Federation has been a long-time supporter of Hillel at FSU, the pluralistic Jewish student organization serving more than 4,000 students at FSU and TCC, and we are happy to pass along some good news. Taking advantage of the explosion in student-housing construction near campus, Hillel was able to exchange its building on the corner of Woodward and Pensacola for a new, larger facility around the corner on Woodward and St. Augustine. The new facility was built to Hillel’s specifications and opened in January 2014.

One of the first functions held there was the January 28 Federation 2014

Campaign Kickoff. (We will be holding our 2015 Campaign Kickoff at Hillel as well on January 25, 2015). We have also held some Big Bend Jewish Social Club programs there and were able to use the facility to host a regional meeting of the Network of Jewish Communities. One feature of the new facility that appeals to community members is the ample and free parking available across Woodward Avenue. We look forward to a continued “Town and Gown” association with Hillel and wish them continued success in their new building.

How much of your contribution reaches the people you want to help? The Tallahassee Jewish Federation is composed entirely of community volunteers and because no professional fundraising organizations are employed, almost 97 percent of the funds we collected in 2013 went toward program activities. This means that more of your dollars go to the programs and people you want to help. Additionally, every dollar donated to our annual or special campaigns is fully tax-deductible. We are registered with the Florida Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services as a nonprofit organization; our identification number is CH4114. We are similarly recognized by the Internal Revenue Service as a non-profit organization.

UPCOMING EVENTS November 5..........Rabbi Michael Cook, Lecture November 13.................. HERC Annual Dinner November 18........ James Streem Piano Concert November 21 - 23...................Jewish Film series, Havana Curveball January 11..............Federation Annual Meeting January 25..............................Campaign Kickoff

We’ll remind you of these events and others and give you all the details by email. Do we have yours?

Jewish Federations of North America (formerly UJA), the recipient of the bulk of our overseas allocation through our participation in the Network of United Jewish Communities, has one of the best records of efficient use of philanthropic dollars of any fund-raising organization and has been consistently ranked by Money, Forbes, and the Chronicle of Philanthropy in the top tier of best-managed charities.

Do you live outside of Tallahassee? The formal name of our organization is “Apalachee Federation of Jewish Charities”. We have shortened it to “Tallahassee Jewish Federation” for simplicity but our intent remains the same – to serve the entire Jewish population of North Florida and South Georgia. All our programs are available to you. Additionally, please let us know what special programs we can provide for your communities. And remember, you can earmark your donation for any of our programs. Tallahassee Jewish Federation P.O. Box 14825 Tallahassee, FL 32317-4825

Non-Profit Org. U.S. Postage PAID Tallahassee, FL Permit No. 367

Return Service Requested

Tallahassee Jewish Federation 2014 Campaign P.O. Box 14825 Tallahassee FL 32317-4825 I hereby pledge and promise to pay Tallahassee Jewish Federation the sum of: $75

Check enclosed____

Contributor's Name

$100

$250

Remind me monthly___

$500

quarterly___

$750

$1000

other________

Other