New trip to Israel for Russian speakers
Bay Area Russian-speaking Jews looking for a trip to Israel now have an alternative to Birthright.
The S.F.-based Congregation of Russian Jews and N.Y.-based Russian American Jewish Experience are co-sponsoring a subsidized, 16-day trip to Israel for up to 20 Russian-speaking Jews between the ages of 20 and 30.
Organizer and CRJ Rabbi Shimon Margolin says the trip is part of a national summer youth Israel tour, and provides an alternative to Birthright, which has been inundated with applicants. The tour departs from New York on June 18, stops in Vienna for one night, then goes on to Israel for 16 days, visiting much of the country — from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem to the Judean Desert.
Applications will be accepted through Wednesday, April 8. For more information, call (415) 221-5280 or e-mail [email protected].
Camp Kesem to host annual fundraiser
Camp Kesem U.C. Berkeley will host its annual auction-fundraiser “Make the Magic” at 2 p.m. Sunday, April 5, at Berkeley Hillel.
Camp Kesem (“magic” in Hebrew) is a free, student-run summer camp for children who have a parent with cancer. The group needs to raise $61,000 over the next four months to accommodate this year’s campers. The money will go towards materials for 55 children to attend the weeklong camp along with facility and counselor costs. This will be the largest group to attend since Camp Kessem Berkeley’s inception in 2007.
Some of the items to be auctioned at the event include gift and wine baskets, tickets to the aquarium at Pier 39, autographed San Francisco Giants memorabilia and artwork created by local artists.
Berkeley Hillel is at 2736 Bancroft Way, Berkeley. For details on the event, contact camper care coordinator Tina Yep at (209) 679-1823. To learn more about Camp Kesem, visit www.campkesem.org/berkeley.
Workshop offers training for Israel survey
The pro-Israel media company BlueStar PR will conduct a the free workshop ‘What Your Neighbors Think of Israel,” with the goal of training people to survey local attitudes about Israel.
Taking place Sunday, April 5, at San Francisco’s Jewish Community High School of the Bay, the session will teach participants how to fan out in the local neighborhood, show residents a series of BlueStar PR posters and print ads and seek reactions. Participants will also learn how to survey residents on their attitudes toward the Jewish state. The collected data will be used to help the S.F.-based BlueStar PR better design and target future pro-Israel ad campaigns.
The session runs from 10:30 a.m. to 2:30 p.m. at JCHS, 1835 Ellis St., San Francisco. For more information or to RSVP, call (415) 543-6300.
Strictly Business luncheon honors employees
In today’s economy, it can be inspiring to see people in the community meeting their goals and finding new jobs, against heavy odds. Jewish Vocational Service will recognize and celebrate four such individuals during its 17th annual “Strictly Business” awards luncheon 11:30 a.m. April 20.
The luncheon will honor four “Employees of the Year” — people who have overcome personal obstacles and worked with JVS to find jobs this past year. JVS will also recognize Safeway with its Business Leadership Award.
The event will take place at the San Francisco Marriott, 55 Fourth St. Tickets are $60 to $120. Respond by Wednesday, April 8, at www.jvs.org.
Teaching fellowships available for Jewish educators
Two new teaching fellowships aim to increase the number of qualified Jewish educators by enabling recent graduates to combine their studies with placements in schools.
The fellowships are offered by the Institute for University-School Partnership at Yeshiva University’s Azrieli Graduate School of Jewish Education and Administration.
Participants in the Teacher Training Fellowship are placed at a day school for two years while studying for a graduate degree over three consecutive summers. The training fellowship provides them with an onsite mentor, a professional development stipend and Yeshiva University–sponsored educational conferences.
The Give-Back Fellowship enables recent college graduates to return to their former Jewish day schools to teach.
Both fellowships are open to students from all colleges. For more information or to apply, check www.yu.edu/azrieli/schoolpartnership.
S.F.’s Goldman Fund, JFN to offer environmental grants for Israel
The S.F.-based Richard and Rhoda Goldman Fund and the Jewish Funders Network in New York will give $750,000 in matching grants for environmental projects in Israel.
The grant initiative is open only to members of JFN, an organization of about 900 individuals and foundations granting at least $25,000 annually to Jewish and/or secular causes.
Grants will be given to match either first-time gifts or gifts that are at least double a donor’s previous gift to an Israeli environmental nonprofit.
“The need for protecting Israel’s environment is a growing challenge, even as natural-resource depletion and clean-water shortages escalate,” Richard Goldman said. “There is a pressing need to proactively and effectively address the environmental impact of rapid industrialization and population growth.”
Applications for matching grants will be accepted online through July 31. For more information, visit www.jfunders.org.