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The Newsletter for Chai Care, a program of the Jewish Community Foundation of Broward County MAY/JUNE 2020 | IYAR/SIVAN/TAMMUZ 5780
CONTENTS FROM THE DESK OF MICHAEL BALABAN......................... Page 2 CHAI LIGHTING
Sam & Audrey Meline......................... Page 3 COVID-19 BUSINESS UNINTERRUPTED
Secured Futures.................................... Page 4 MEDICAL MOMENT........................... Page 5 SOUTH FLORIDA'S NEWEST JEWISH CEMETERY DEBUTS IN BROWARD
King David Cemetery........................... Page 6 COVID-19 EMERGENCY RELIEF
.............................................................. Page 7 OUR MISSION STATEMENT
.............................................................. Page 8
PROUDLY SPONSORED BY:
CHAIR’S position
VOL. 3, ISSUE 6
T H E
Chai Care Chair: Carol Lasek
Communication Takes So Little and Means So Much A few months ago, I took a well-needed vacation on a cruise. It was a gorgeous ship with stunning amenities, fabulous food and excellent entertainment. But I was anything but relaxed. The reason? I could not communicate with the outside world, the people in my office, my children or grandchildren. I had purchased the Wi-Fi package but the signal was weak. I just could not get my devices to work out on the open seas until the last day on the ship. Technology is not totally to blame for our spotty communication. Sometimes it is how and to whom we pose our questions as well as how comfortable we are in asking for clarification that makes a difference. On the ship, I was searching for the IT guru and passed a cruise employee in the hallway. When I asked him where I could find IT, he directed me to the 11th floor, the official location for HIGH TEA. I ended up enjoying tea, crumpets and a string quartet...without Wi-Fi. The way we communicate has changed dramatically in my lifetime. As a child, we rarely called long distance and when we did, we placed the call after 11:00 pm when the rates were cheaper. Instead, we wrote aerograms to out-of-the-country relatives and letters to those near and dear to our hearts but physically not close enough to visit regularly. For local friends and family members, we actually picked up the phone and had a conversation or visited. There were no texts and no emails and I believe we had better communication than we have today. So much of our true intent is lost when we text. And sending a photo of flowers on Instagram is nowhere near as satisfying as ordering real deliverable flowers to mark an occasion for both the sender and receiver. In the aftermath of celebrating Mother’s Day and Father’s Day, let’s take some old-fashioned lessons in communication from previous generations and send a card or make an actual phone call to those we love. It takes so little and means so much.