THE BALTIMORE JEWISH HOME
JULY 10, 2014
8
Around the
Community
The Associated Annual Meeting Honors Howard Tzvi Friedman Jeff Cohn/BaltimoreJewishLife.com
It was about caring for the vulnerable, deepening Jewish life and developing a global peoplehood. That’s what the approximately 330 people who came out to The Associated: Jewish Community Federation of Baltimore’s Annual Meeting were reminded of as they celebrated the accomplishments of The Associated during the past year. During this year’s Annual Meeting, which also honored Howard Friedman for his successful two-year term as Chairman of the Board of The Associated, the attendees learned that the 2014 Annual Campaign — expected to reach $30 million, according to Campaign Co-Chair Michele Lax – continued to meet the needs of the Jewish community in Baltimore and around the world. Speaking about the past year, Linda A. Hurwitz, Chair of Community Planning and Allocations, recounted several of those accomplishments.
More than 1,300 job seekers of all ages and abilities, half of whom had significant barriers to entry, turned to Jewish Community Services for career services. Approximately 20,000 individuals in the community used the Baltimore Jewish Abilities Alliance (BJAA) website, which provides resources, programs, events and forms for families whose loved ones have disabilities. In addition, CHAI: Comprehensive Housing Assistance, Inc., celebrated its first anniversary of Northwest Neighbors Connecting, a village community to help seniors remain in their homes, and the Jewish Community Center, along with the Macks Center for Jewish Education, educated Baltimore’s Jewish learners. Beth Goldsmith, Co-chair of The Associated’s Israel and Overseas Committee, announced that The Associated distributed more than $1 million in grants to organizations that help strengthen the bond between
Baltimore and Ashkelon, Baltimore’s partner city. At the same time, The Associated worked locally to advocate
for the Jewish State. In fact, this year, the Baltimore Jewish Council was successful in ensuring that Maryland passed the country’s only language reaffirming
Maryland’s Declaration of Cooperation with Israel, opposing Maryland public institutions’ support of the Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions (BDS) movement and condemning the American Studies Association (ASA) boycott against only Israeli institutions. When the crisis erupted in the Ukraine, The Associated made Annual Campaign funds available, as well as raised additional funds, to add heightened security measures for Jewish institutions and provide a life line to the vulnerable in Odessa. The evening culminated with the honoring of Friedman, who then passed the gavel on to Mark D. Neumann. Neumann, who spoke about the role of The Associated in taking care of the vulnerable, ensuring Jewish education and advocating for Israel, will serve as Chair of the Board for the next two years.