Jewish Women's Foundation Grant Wishes - Program

VIRTUAL CELEBRATION

2020 JWF GRANT AWARDS

May 13, 2020

P R E S E N T S

JWF Leadership Award

SARAH FRANCO

Founding Executive Director of JAFCO, Jewish Adoption and Family Care Option

OF BROWARD COUNTY

We are so honored, along with Secured Futures

to congratulate

Sarah Franco on receiving the 2020 JWF Leadership Award.

We want to take this time to thank the Jewish Women’s Foundation for their continued dedication to the community and women across the world.

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C O N G R A T U L A T I O N S

SARAH FRANCO JWF Leadership Award Winner for 2020 FROM

TRUSTEES Arlene Backman Jane Basch Terry Breitbord Karen Dombey Goldie Dropkin Wandy Druss Adrienne Frank Randi Grant Agnes Gray Sheryl Greenwald Laura Gordon Gladys Hirschman Bette Hochberger Marcy Hoffman Stephanie Houser Joan Kuriansky Carol Lasek Denise Lettau*

Jami Levy** Audrey Meline Elissa Mogilefsky Robbin Newman Karen Roberts Susan Samrick Karen Saster Stephanie Saunders Susan Schneider Hanita Schreiber Ibby Schulman Esther Shacket*** Nicole Shacket** Merryl Shapiro**** Gina Shull Gina Stelnik Corina Waldman Karen Zemel

*Chair **Past Chair ***Founding Trustee

To Life: It Goes On…

Highlights of an Amazing Year

BY DENISE LETTAU

“Life can only be understood backwards, but it must be lived forwards.” —Soeren Kierkegaard It has been a whirlwind year, one in which JWF started off strong in person and then proudly soldiered on via Zoom. We have not wavered from our mission, supporting Jewish women and girls in Broward County and Israel. If anything, we have felt the need to do more as a result of the crisis.

We kicked off our year with our annual retreat in October which was organized by co-chairs Ibby Schulman and Jane Basch and held at the home of Founding Chair, Esther Shacket. We were enthralled by the Judaic teachings as conveyed by Rebbetzin Sandra Lillienthal illuminating the rich history of the role of Jewish women in philanthropy.

In December, JWF Secretary, Susan Schneider, arranged a private tour tour at the Craig and Barbara Weiner Holocaust Reflection and Resource Center, along with Federation’s Women’s Philanthropy.. Craig Weiner, of the Craig and Barbara Weiner Holocaust Reflection and Resource Center, gave a talk highlighting most of the historic pieces within the museum as well as a tour of the exhibit, “Women and Children”. Later, Stacey Nowack presented the incredible story of Lili Jacob and the Auschwitz Album, a photo album that she discovered in deserted SS barracks. The album contains the only known photographic evidence of Jews arriving in Auschwitz or any other death camp. The album was donated to and is safely kept at Yad Vashem.

Our last in-person event was in February and featured author, Talia Carner at the home of Karen Dombey. Ms. Carner provided us with a history lesson, largely unknown by many of us, about the human trafficking of predominately Eastern European Jewish women during the 1800s. Her novel, The Third Daughter, illustrates the tragic circumstances of many of these women through the main character Batya.

And here we are, celebrating our grant recipients with our signature event, Grant Wishes.

Our grant committee was led tirelessly by Sheryl Greenwald and Robbin Newman.

The committee poured over countless grant applications and passionately reviewed and debated the virtues of each program. Ultimately, we decided on the following and wholeheartedly congratulate the recipients: 1. Goodman Jewish Family Service for their program “Your Voice, Your Choice”; 2. Hillel of Broward and Palm Beach for “Women’s Jewish Leadership Fellowship”; 3. Be’er Sova for “The Recipe for Success Project”; 4. Eretz-Ir for “Tech Training with Guaranteed Jobs for Negev Women”.

The desire of the trustees to respond directly to COVID-19 was discussed. As a result, funds raised, because of and specifically for a COVID response, will be used for an additional grant. We also have the extraordinary blessing of a match of up to $10,000 by the Sam Berman Foundation. To date, JWF has granted more in funding this year than any other year, in the amount of $28,300. This figure does not include the additional grant.

In short, this year has been unlike any other. We are living during a pandemic. We have not slowed down. We are working even harder. It has been such an incredible honor for me to

Secured Futures JWF Leadership Award

Sarah Franco Sarah Franco is the founding Executive Director of JAFCO, Jewish Adoption and Family Care Options. JAFCO was created to fill an unmet child welfare need in the Jewish community and JAFCO proudly serves any child or family in need. Over the past 22 years JAFCO has grown from a one person grass roots foster care, adoption and family preservation agency with an annual budget of $50,000 to a major child welfare agency with a staff of 200 employees and an annual budget of $10m providing an entire continuum of quality child welfare services to abused and neglected children and their families and also children with developmental disabilities and those traumatized by the Parkland school shooting. In 2002, along with the dedicated staff and Board of Directors of JAFCO, Sarah opened the Children’s Village providing either emergency shelter or group home placement for children from birth to age 21. In 2014, JAFCO expanded their child welfare services to the Northeast beginning with small two staff office in Philadelphia and opened a new $14m Children’s Ability Center providing intensive support services to families who are raising a child with a developmental disability. In 2019, JAFCO opened Eagles’ Haven, a wellness and support center for the MSD community affected by the tragic shooting in Parkland.

Sarah holds a Masters Degree from Nova University in Ft. Lauderdale, Florida and a Bachelors Degree from York University in Toronto Canada. On a personal basis Sarah is a parent and a second-generation Holocaust Survivor; her father, who was in Auschwitz is nearly 99 years old and still very much alive and well and is so proud that we have the only community in the country that has a safe and loving place for a Jewish child to live when they are left alone in the world, as he was. She was born in Israel and has lived in New York and Toronto.

Sarah has dedicated her entire career to serving abused and neglected children in her local community and feels that the words of Anne Frank best describe the meaning of life when she said “how wonderful it is, that one need not wait a single moment, before starting to improve the world”.

Thank You to our

$1,000 Sponsors

In honor of my father ABRAHAM ZALCBERG who survived the Holocaust and will be turning 99 this Rosh Hashanah.

All that I do at JAFCO I do in your honor.

Sarah Franco Executive Director JAFCO

There is actually only one person in the world that I admire and honor more than my mother of blessed memory, Deloise. And that is, my motherin-law, Golda “Jean” Chapnick.

Jean was born in 1923. She is a Holocaust survivor that endured, survived and eventually thrived after the War. Her absolute passion for life is evident to all that meet her. Before COVID-19, every Shabbat after morning services, her Tisch (table) was surrounded by 7-10 women who stopped by to chat, to bond and partake in coffee and cake. In addition to the neighborhood women, there was usually a throng of visitors that would stop by and check in on Jean.

“Because Jean is that rare individual, she is the kind that you honor in life.”

With love, Denise Lettau

&

Mazel Tov to

Sarah Franco

on receiving the 2020 JWF Leadership Award

Congratulations to my

friends and Trustees of the JWF of Broward on Changing Lives, One Woman at a Time.

With Love, Esther and Roger Shacket

OF BROWARD COUNTY

It is a great pleasure to congratulate the Jewish Women’s Foundation (JWF) on their 4th annual Grant Wishes Celebration. Tonight’s event provides a wonderful opportunity to celebrate an incredible year of accomplishments and reward four programs whose mission is so critical to the success and survival of many women.

For the past twelve years, JWF has had a home within our Jewish Federation of Broward County and has worked directly with our Jewish Community Foundation. It is imperative that we have a strong and vibrant JWF that is committed to transforming the lives of women and girls while fostering life-long social change, one woman at a time. The JWF Trustees are the decision makers and we admire their dedication, passion and commitment. It is crucial that we continue to inspire philanthropy to invest in Jewish life in Broward County, Israel and around the world by connecting people and igniting passion.

A special congratulations to this year’s grants recipients, Goodman Jewish Family Services, Hillel of Broward and Palm Beach, Be’er Sova and Eretz Ir. May these grants help you propel your programs forward and bring education and awareness to your communities.

We are so proud to honor and recognize Sarah Franco, Executive Director of JAFCO as she receives the very coveted, Secured Futures JWF Leadership Award. Sarah, you have been a tremendous advocate for the well-being of so many children and families all throughout South Florida, that it is a privilege for us to partner on programs and projects that only improve the lives of so many children in need. May you continue to provide your wisdom and love to all of the children and may you go from strength to strength.

What are we without a good leader who will guide and educate us throughout the process? Denise Lettau, thank you for your unwavering support and guidance as the Chair for JWF, your work and heart are always in the right place.

Thank you to Sheryl Greenwald and Robbin Newman for your leadership as the Grant Chairs and to the members of the Grant Committee - Arlene Backman, Jane Basch, Terry Breitbord, Karen Dombey, Laura Gordon, Randi Grant, Carol Lasek, Denise Lettau, Karen Roberts, Susan Schneider, Esther Shacket, and Gina Stelnik for this year’s process.

On behalf of the Board of Directors of the Jewish Federation of Broward County and the Jewish Community Foundation Board of Trustees, we wish you all much success and thank you all for your ongoing generosity to the well-being and future of our Jewish Community.

Bob Schneider Michael Balaban Board Chair, JFBC President & CEO, JFBC Bill Gross Board Chair, JCF

Keith Goldmann Chief Philanthropy Officer, JCF

Congratulations to

Sarah Franco on receiving the much deserved

JWF Leadership Award Terry Breitbord, JWF Trustee

Congratulations Sarah Franco

JWF Leadership Award recipient and to

My fellow JWF Trustees on another successful grant cycle.

Jami Levy

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2020 Jewish Women’s Foundation Grant Awards

$28,300

Broward County Programs Goodman Jewish Family Services You Voice, Your Choice Workshops for middle, high and college students.

Topics include safe dating, healthy relationship, consent, bullying, speaking up, how to get help, and more.

Hillel of Broward and Palm Beach Women’s Jewish Leadership Fellowship 10-week theme-based seminar for undergraduate and graduate woman focusing on study of rabbinic texts alongside contemporary analogues, leadership skills, weekly dinners together, and including Hillel JLF interns to enhance the social interactions in and outside of class, and Shabbat experiences together as a cohort.

Israeli Programs Be’er Sova The Recipe for Success Project Providing culinary training, skill building and emotional support to help southern Israeli women age 20-60 who suffer from nutritional insecurity and unemployment to break free of the cycle of poverty, eventually becoming financially independent and ensuring long-term job retention in the food industry.

Eretz-Ir - $10,000 Tech Training with Guaranteed Jobs for Negev Women Holistic 4-month comprehensive training program followed by a 4-month paid internship program that will teach young women to build websites.

Graduates will be able to work from home, with guaranteed 2-year job placements.

boardroom

we

you Sarah!

we

you Sarah!

we

you Sarah!

we

you Sarah!

we

you Sarah!

we

you Sarah!

congratulations on being awarded the 2020 JWF Leadership Award & all that you do for the children! you are an angel!

Mazel Tov Sarah on receiving the JWF Leadership award for 2020.

Your strength and leadership has changed and saved so many lives. Though you are primarily identified with JAFCO, your courage has changed our entire community and country.

You are a special person and we are all better people because of your love and devotion. You are a true inspiration.

We are so proud of you and so lucky to have you touch all of our lives.

With Love, Tami, Ronni, David and Perry

s g n i t e e r G Lauren Alperstein • Jane Fishman • Wandy Druss

In honor of

Sarah Franco Denise Lettau, Esq.

a true modern-day hero.

Love, Louise Allen

VICE PRESIDENT OF ADVANCEMENT

267.327.4087 dlettau@securedalliance.org 2875 NE 191 St. STE 500 Aventura, FL 33180 SECUREDFUTURES.ORG

Peer Rated for Highest Level of Professional Excellence

2020

Mazel Tov to Sarah Franco

on a well-deserved honor!

With love, Amy and Barry Sylvetsky

ROBBIN NEWMAN, ESQ. NEWMAN LAW OFFICE, P.L. COMMERCIAL AND LUXURY RESIDENTIAL REAL ESTATE SERVICES FLORIDA SUPREME COURT CIRCUIT-CIVIL MEDIATOR

954.817.5511 rnewmanatty@gmail.com