Recent grants: 2003-04

Beth Chaim Congregation
(San Ramon)
In collaboration with Contra Costa JCC; Diablo Valley College
TOV-Twenty-Somethings of the Valley

$5,750 Matching Grant

This project will develop and implement programming for young Jewish adults in the tri-Valley area. The program will consist of social, cultural, Tikkun Olam projects, career building, educational, and spiritual. TOV was designed to fill the void in programs geared toward this segment, and to get this group involved in the Jewish community.

Temple Beth Hillel
(Richmond)
A Celebration of the Aleph Bet!

$1,500

This project is a follow-up to a 5-week Hebrew reading program the Temple is participating in with the National Jewish Outreach Program. As a means of learning and remembering the Aleph Bet, adults and children will silkscreen, paint and use fabric to make T-shirts, pillowcases and wall hangings with their Hebrew name and/or the Aleph Bet.

Central Region West B'nai B'rith Youth Organization-BBYO
Outreach to East Bay Jewish Teens

$5,000

Central Region West BBYO aims to increase involvement by East Bay Jewish teens by coordinating with synagogues without youth groups, reaching out to the Russian émigré community and engaging unaffiliated youth. An East Bay fieldworker will be hired, dedicated to strengthening current chapters and expanding BBYO to new East Bay communities.

Contra Costa Jewish Community Center - Camp Shelanu
Judaica Specialist

$4,000

Camp Shelanu's new summer Jewish educator, as a Judaica Specialist, will support existing programs and integrate new projects that enhance the quality of the Jewish educational and cultural components of the camp experience. Adding this specialist will help Camp Shelanu meet the standards for excellence set by Jewish Community Centers Association.

Contra Costa Midrasha
In collaboration with Walnut Creek United Synagogue Youth; LHA-BBG & DBG-AZA; B'nai Tikvah Temple Youth
Gesher l'Kesher

$1,660

Gesher l'Kesher matches 8th and 10th grade students for peer leadership and guidance. 8th graders are provided older classmate role models and confidants who will help them learn the ropes of Midrasha and coping strategies for confronting normal teen angst. Gesher l'Kesher benefits 10th graders as they complete leadership training and community service.

Hillel-UC Berkeley
Berkeley Hillel Outreach and Engagement Initiative

$8,000

In order to effectively engage ever more Jewish students at Cal in Jewish campus life, Hillel this year increased its number of Campus Service Corps Engagement Fellows and added new student interns to assist in their work. Funding will support new programming initiatives developed by the Fellows' and student interns'.

JVS-Jewish Vocational Service
2004 Kohn Summer Intern Program

$10,000

JVS will recruit and place up to 36 college students from the San Francisco and Greater East Bay Federation areas in eight-week internships in Jewish communal agencies to develop future lay and professional leadership for the Jewish community.

CJLL-Center for Jewish Living & Learning, JCFGEB
A Shabbat Weekend for Jewish Children with Disabilities and their Families

$4,000

To subsidize participation of East Bay families in the Shabbat retreat program at Camp Newman, offered through the Bureau of Jewish Education in San Francisco. Families have the opportunity to learn and laugh together in a Jewish setting, and to break through personal barriers. Activities include singing, arts and crafts, hiking, and celebrating Shabbat and Havdalah.

JCL-Jewish Coalition for Literacy, JCRC
Expanding the Jewish Coalition for Literacy

$5,000

In an effort to fulfill the goals of the Jewish Coalition for Literacy, a greater number of tutors are needed in the schools. This grant enables JCL to increase its recruitment efforts, particularly within the Jewish community, so that the program may expand appropriately while proactively engaging the Jewish community in Tikkun Olam.

RCJL-Reutlinger Community for Jewish living
Increased Transportation

$5,600

To increase hours of transportation provided to residents by RCJL's handicapped accessible bus. Last year's $3,500 grant provided the opportunity for residents to go out on Sundays and one evening per week in addition to routine weekday transportation. This grant allows this very important program to continue.

Shalom Bayit, a project of the Tides Center
In collaboration with JFCS East Bay, and multiple shelters
Support Groups for Battered Jewish Women

$6,000

The purpose of the grant is to fund the only confidential support group for Jewish battered women in the East Bay. The group will provide counseling, support, safety planning, and spiritual healing to Jewish women currently or formerly in an abusive relationship. Groups draw upon Jewish cultural and spiritual traditions of healing.

VAC-Volunteer Action Center, JCFGEB
Community Investing Forum

$2,500

This grant will help support a Community Investing Forum to educate Jewish individuals and institutions about investing financial resources that provide capital for building affordable housing and child care facilities, as well as establishing new businesses and job growth in low-income communities. This tzedakah-based Initiative also seeks to build bridges between the Jewish and larger communities.

Berkeley Richmond Jewish Community Center
From Sunset to Sunset: A Jewish Storytelling Festival

$2,500

"From Sunset to Sunset: A Jewish Storytelling Festival," is a unique event celebrating the art of Jewish storytelling. The Festival will directly impact the East Bay Jewish community by providing an innovative, community-wide, and inter-generational venue not available elsewhere in the Bay Area.

The Israel Task Force, JCFGEB
The Case for Israel: A Community Lecture with Alan Dershowitz

$7,500

This lecture will enhance people's identification with Israel. In addition, as Professor Dershowitz is known as a strong supporter of individual rights, this event will have a significant impact on those in our East Bay community-especially those in our student population-who question Israel's human rights stand and its position vis-a-vis the Palestinian people.

Jewish Film Festival
2004 Festival-East Bay

$4,000

To underwrite the production and promotion of the 2004 Jewish Film Festival in the East Bay, which brings the renowned array of the finest international Jewish Cinema to East Bay audiences, along with panels, dialogues, and community-building events.

Beth Jacob Congregation
(Oakland)
In collaboration with Building Jewish Bridges
Judaism-What's It All About: A Survey Series on Judaism, Jewish Life and Identity

$5,000

To fund advertising and a movie clip reel for multimedia use in an introduction to Judaism program. The 6-week program is designed to reach unaffiliated Jews, build a gateway for Jews/non-Jews involved in interfaith relationships, the children of interfaith marriage, and non-Jews interested in learning about Judaism.

BJB-Building Jewish Bridges, JCFGEB
Outreach to Interfaith Couples

$10,000

BJB, working in cooperation with synagogues and Jewish agencies, offers entryway programs to interfaith couples and their families. These workshops invite couples to explore Jewish life, and assist them as they consider choosing a Jewish identity for their home and their children.

Congregation Ha Makom
(Vacaville, Solano County)
Congregation Ha Makom Blessings Project

$882

The Blessings Project is intended to facilitate and encourage persons returning to Judaism as well as those already involved, to learn everyday blessings, including blessings for the Sabbath. We are a growing though underserved community that includes many assimilated and intermarried Jews. This grant will aid in purchasing materials for two workshops, plus materials for use in the home.

Temple Isaiah
(Lafayette)
Safe Passage: Finding My Way Into the Jewish Community

$5,000 Matching Grant

This multifaceted program will encourage unaffiliated adult and teenage Jews to take small, safe steps into the Jewish communal world by attending Jewish-themed social programs targeted at specific age groups and individual and family constellations.

Temple Sinai
(Oakland)
Kinder Club

$1,800

The purpose of this grant is to support Kinder Club, an outreach and education program for East Bay Jewish and interfaith families with children under two. The grant will be used to fund, in part, Kinder Club activities that include sharing of Jewish traditions, parent education, holiday and spiritual celebrations, and early childhood Jewish experiences.

Congregation Beth Emek
(Livermore)
In collaboration with Bay Area Council for Jewish Rescue and Renewal; B'nai B'rith Youth Organization; North American Federation of Temple Youth
Youth Exchange with Baranovichi, Belarus

$5,150 Matching Grant

The grant, together with in-kind resources from congregation Beth Emek and local families, will be used to bring four youth leaders from Baranovichi to the East Bay area for three weeks during the summer of 2004. They will interact with local peers and families, and take part in summer camps, Congregational life and other activities.