campaign of $4.51 million, under the chairmanship of Amy Levy. During the years since UJFT’s formation, there have been many offices, starting with a modest room in the Nusbaum Building, which was located on Plume and Granby Streets. This was followed by its location in the old JCC building on Spotswood Avenue. But the years I remember best were at the former Norfolk Academy on Newport Avenue near Ward’s Corner, sharing a campus with the Jewish Community Center and Jewish Family Service.
Charles Goldman and Gary Rubin.
was the first woman’s campaign chair in 1936 and remained a tireless worker for Jewish and community causes for many years. In l945, the Norfolk Jewish Community Council was formed. In l968, the council name was changed to the United Jewish Federation of Norfolk and Virginia
Jewish Community Center on Spotswood Avenue.
The UJFT was to outgrow its space there and
Beach. In April, l981, the Portsmouth Jewish Federation
renovated part of the building, with the generosity of the
merged with UJFT of Tidewater, blending the region
Glasser Family. The UJFT was now housed in the Rose
into one unity with one purpose.
Frances and Bernard Glasser Pavilion.
In July 1948, the UJFT announced a “near record campaign of $490,000.” Compare that to the latest 2013
Based on the 2002 demographic study by Old Dominion University, funded by UJFT, it was determined that many people in the Jewish community were moving to Virginia Beach. The decision was made to rent temporary offices in Kempsville, while undergoing an intensive building fund campaign, under the leadership of Bob Josephberg and Bobby Copeland and a committee of volunteer capital campaign fundraisers. In 2004, the beautiful and sprawling Reba & Sam Sandler Family Campus opened, housing not only the UJFT, the Simon Family JCC and Jewish Family Service, but now also the Hebrew Academy of Tidewater.
B
ut, backtracking again,
On Sept. 24 1984, the
UJFT embarked on an ambitious project and
published its first four-color magazine, Renewal. In the beginning, we had six issues a year, plus a newspaper every other week. Another ambitious project was the 50th anniversary celebration of the Federation, officially
Sonny Lefcoe and Bob Gast.
40
marked with the publication of Renewal in 1988. Both