For the fourth year in a row, clients at the Jewish Family Service Barbash Family Vital Support Center in Clifton will enjoy a full Thanksgiving meal thanks to the Thanksgiving Mitzvah project, organized by Women’s Philanthropy of the Jewish Federation of Cincinnati. Last Sunday twenty women spent their morning packaging over 130 kosher and non-kosher Thanksgiving meals, complete with stuffing, green beans, corn, cranberry sauce and dessert. “Packing meals that can brighten someone’s Thanksgiving is giving back to me. It’s what it’s all about,” said Sarah Wise, Vice Chair of Women’s Philanthropy.

The Jewish Innovation Funds, a new grantmaking fund the Jewish Federation organized for innovative, leading-edge initiatives that meet local human needs and strengthen Jewish communities, today announced updates on what each of their four winning organizations for 2016 has accomplished in their initial three months. A total of $80,000 was awarded in 2016. The Jewish Innovation Funds macrogrants are funded by a giving circle—an innovative way to give in which a group of donors pool resources and make giving decisions together.

The most expensive thing in Belarus in winter? Heating. And prices are growing. “We go to the public baths sometimes, because to wash my hair at home I have to heat the water in the bowl,” said Natalia, a teenager from Bobruisk, Belarus. “It’s very hard. You have to bring the water, to heat it. It’s very uncomfortable.”

The most beautiful building on campus this month is a sukkah, built on October 16 for the recent Jewish holiday of Sukkot by over sixty University of Cincinnati students. The temporary, outdoors-welcoming structure was designed by four graduate students from DAAP, part of UC and known as one of the top 10 design schools in the world. Their contest entry was the winner of the first-ever UC Sukkah Design Competition.

“I don’t want to have just a passive Jewish life, I want to have an active Jewish life. So getting to explore Israel was a very important thing,” said Sarah Kleymeyer after her return last summer to Cincinnati. Organized by the Jewish Federation of Cincinnati, this trip brought 25 Cincinnatians and 10 Israelis—seven students and three soldiers—together for ten days. In this unique initiative, all the Israelis were from Netanya, the Cincinnati Jewish community’s partner city through Partnership2Gether. Partnership2Gether is a program of the Jewish Federation of Cincinnati.

On April 6, Jane Weitzman drew a large crowd of over 200 women to the Mayerson JCC for an inspiring speech about women and Jewish philanthropy. Jane Weitzman is a philanthropist, author, Founding Vice President of Stuart Weitzman Retail, and wife of top shoe designer Stuart Weitzman.
 

Danielle: How you have changed as a result of being in the land of your parents?

Karin: The most important thing is the feeling of gratefulness. Before coming to Ukraine I knew I was privileged and lucky. Now I truly feel it. I feel grateful for the opportunities that I had much more strongly and deeply than before, and especially have a lot more respect for my parents.

If you knew my mother, Cila Gold, you’d know that going back to Cuba this past February was going to be an emotional experience.

She fled Cuba at 23 with my newly born sister, but no possessions. My father had left Cuba months before. She had never been back. Fifty years later, she came from her home in Miami to join our group of 32 Cincinnati women on our trip to Cuba.

A group of 33 women just returned from a trip to Cuba, February 17-22, organized by Felicia Zakem of Women’s Philanthropy of the Jewish Federation of Cincinnati. I asked Evelyn Fisher of Amberley and Suzi Brant of Indian Hill, trip co-chairs, to share the highlights. Of particular note, Evelyn’s mother, Cila Gold, accompanied them—it was her first time back to Cuba after fleeing over fifty years ago. The travelers ranged from 35 to 83 years old. —Danielle