FEBRUARY BULLETIN - Stay Busy This Month!

UPCOMING EVENT

JOIN US FOR AN EXCITING WINTER MEETING!

Like to shop? Enjoy great music ... fabulous food ... fun movies? Then NCJW's Winter Meeting is the place for you!

Galit Roichman, an Israeli screenwriter and cinema lecturer, will speak about Israel Through A Lens, focusing on the changing role of Israeli women presented through film.

Come early to our Pop Up Israeli Street Fair from 10:00 a.m. - 11:30 a.m. Fabulous Israeli-themed lunch and speaker will follow at 11:45 a.m. We will also present the NCJW Emerging Leader Award.

Date: Tuesday, February 13

Time: 10:00 a.m. - Pop up Israeli street fair; 11:45 a.m. - Lunch and speaker

Place: Landerhaven, 6111 Landerhaven Dr.

To Register: Click Here to register online or mail back the registration card

Chair: Rosean Schmidt

Contact: Lisa at the NCJW office at 216-378-2204

ADVOCACY

Roberta Herman, Vice President

LET'S ROE TOGETHER - MAKING OUR VOICES HEARD

NCJW's Women's Health and Reproductive Justice Committee, in a coalition with Freedom of Choice Cleveland (FOCC), is holding an evening of education and activism on reproductive choice. Speakers from the front lines of the abortion fight will reveal insider information on what's at stake and how we can make our collective voices heard.

What: ROE Together 2.0: "Taking Your Advocacy to the Next Level"

Date: Thursday, February 8

Time: 7:00 p.m. - 8:30 p.m.

Place: Trinity Cathedral, 2230 Euclid Ave., Cleveland

Registration: Click Here to register online or for more information

Note: Busing is available from Fairmount Temple, but you must reserve your seat on the bus when you register.

PLEASE JOIN US AND HELP FIGHT THE CONSTANT ATTACKS ON WOMEN'S RIGHTS!

HOW TO WIN FRIENDS AND INFLUENCE LEGISLATORS

NCJW has a strong group of 42 women (so far) who are interested in building relationships with our legislators to effect change.

Date: Friday, February 2

Time: 9:00 a.m.

Place: NCJW office initially to prepare for the trip to Cleveland. We'll be leaving in groups.

SAVE THE DATE: Thursday, March 1 -- lobby in Columbus and hear the famous Lilly Ledbetter speak. It was her case that pushed Congress to pass the Lilly Ledbetter Fair Pay Act of 2009. Click Here to read about this dynamic signing. We will be joining NCJW/Columbus section for this exciting day! Contact Susan Reis at [email protected] or 216-570-1192 if you are interested in either of these events or joining our team.

GIVE MOTIVATED YOUTH A HAND UP

Help the Focus on Foster Care Committee plan four monthly sessions of Lunch and Self-Esteem Workshops with the Sullivan-Deckard scholars. These scholars are highly motivated youth who are aging out of foster care and are able to pursue an undergraduate degree at CSU through the generous Sullivan-Deckard Scholarship Program. Click Here to read about the program. Spring sessions for our self-esteem classes are also available at Beech Brook and the Renee Jones Empowerment Center. Contact Jeannie Citerman-Krager at [email protected] for more information.

GCC: COMMUNITY ORGANIZING WORKS!

Join a new class of NCJW members where you will meet a diverse group of dedicated Clevelanders to learn about the importance of community organizing and how to effect change in our turbulent society. Click Here for more information.

What: GCC University

Dates and Times:

Sunday, February 4, 3:00 p.m. - 7:00 p.m.

Monday, February 5, 9:00 a.m. - 5:00 p.m.

Tuesday, February 6, 9:00 a.m. - 5:00 p.m.

Place: Forest Hill Presbyterian Church, 3031 Monticello Blvd., Cleveland Heights

Contact: Lynne Kleinman at [email protected]

COMMUNICATIONS

Leslie Resnik, Vice President

DID YOU SEE IT?

...The article about The Open Table, a national mentoring program for people at risk of living in poverty. It appeared on Sunday, January 22 in the Plain Dealer, and on Thursday, January 18 on Cleveland.com. Click Here to read the article. Cheryl Miller, an NCJW member of a Table, was quoted in the article on her positive experiences in the program. Cheryl and Leslie Kleinman appeared in a photo with their current Table.

NCJW/Cleveland is the first Jewish group in the country to participate in The Open Table. Started as a faith-based program primarily for churches, The Open Table has expanded its reach, thanks in part, to NCJW/Cleveland and our successes.

The Cleveland reach will expand even further, thanks to The Plain Dealer and Cleveland.com. They were so impressed with the program in Cleveland, that they have chosen to partner with Amber Donovan, Cleveland director of the Open Table, whom they call "an angel". Click Here to see their call to action.

YOU MAY HAVE SEEN THIS ALSO ...

... an opinion piece in the Cleveland Jewish News by Susie Gordon and Myrna Arlen Bloch about NCJW's values pertaining to human trafficking NCJW and 16 Jewish organizations submitted the statement to Congress on January 11, National Human Trafficking Awareness Day to enlist their support in fighting the crime. Click Here for the full text.

COMMUNITY SERVICE

Debbie Joseph, Vice President

READING BUDDIES

Are you busy on Tuesday afternoons? Reading Buddies at Warner Girls' Leadership Academy has three opportunities per month to spend one hour enhancing the lives of students by reading with them.

Warner School is a 20-minute drive from the NCJW office and it's easy to get to with ample parking. Sessions start at 11:30 a.m., 1:30 p.m. or 2:30 p.m., depending on which Tuesday you are available.

Contact chair Liz Rumizen at [email protected]

for more information or simply to be put on the email list.

LIVESPECIAL.COM

2018 Transition Boosters for Families of Transition-age Youth

These free sessions will provide information on the transition from high school to adult life for youth with disabilities. Families, individuals with disabilities, educators,

and other professionals are invited to attend. Click Here for detailed information.

HELLO ISRAEL

In January we held a meeting to unveil our updated Hello Israe l program. We are looking for new volunteers to be trained to host this energetic and informative program all about Israel that targets 6th graders in schools with little to no Jewish enrollment. If interested in learning more, please contact Becky Brouman, Director of Volunteers at 216-378-2204 ext 105 or

[email protected]. You can also contact Cheryl Gordon at [email protected] .

DDD

Jill Braun, Michele Kaminsky and Kelly Markowitz

Co-Vice Presidents

DONATING YOUR DESIGNER ITEMS FOR A GOOD CAUSE IS ALWAYS IN STYLE!

Let's make this year's Designer Dress Days bigger and better than ever. Please bring all donations to the NCJW office and we'll do the rest. Thank you for your support!

FUND DEVELOPMENT

Wendie Forman, Vice President

This month we wanted to share with you how your dollars make a difference in the lives of people we serve. This is just one program out of many that show how we impact and inspire within the community.

Readers' Theater is a three-week program for fourth graders that combines reading and performance. Last year, our first session began with an exercise to encourage students to express and understand different emotions, with the main goal of giving the students more confidence. For example, using only four words: "I like your socks," each student is asked to use a different emotion as they say these words to the person next to them.

A year later, a group of NCJW/Cleveland volunteers were at Eastwood Elementary School preparing to meet with a group of students when a group of fifth graders walked by. One student recognized one of our members and said: "Oh hi! I like your socks!" This was a full year after that student had participated in the program. She remembered! Those three hours had given her a little more confidence and comfort with her ability to express herself. That is exactly what we want to achieve. It's the small things that tell us we are making a difference.

If you haven't made your Annual Fund pledge yet, there is still time to do so. You can Click Here to make your gift. Thank you for helping to make Readers' Theater and our other important programs possible!

MEMBERSHIP

Leslie Levine, Vice President

WELCOME TO OUR NEW LIFE MEMBERS:

Chelsea Beytas Linda Spitz

WELCOME TO OUR NEW ANNUAL MEMBERS:

Gayle Glick LaShelle Johnson

Mady Kaiser Mary Kaufman

Judy Paternite

PROGRAM AND EDUCATION

Barbara Shane, Vice President

JOIN THE BOOK GROUP: IT'S A PAGE TURNER!

The NCJW Book Group meets the first Thursday of each month, September - June. Led by Amy Rosenfield, the discussion is open only to NCJW members. There is no fee to participate, however we collect an optional donation ($5 suggested) per session for our moderator.

Date: Thursday, Febrary 1

Time: 1:00 p.m. - 2:00 p.m.

Place: Beachwood Library, 25501 Shaker Blvd., Beachwood

Book: Outline by Rachel Cusk

Chair: Susan Kahn

Future Dates and book selections:

March 1: Exit West by Mohsin Hamid

April 5 : Go, Went, Gone by Jenny Erpenbeck

BROWN BAG TRIO - BACK BY POPULAR DEMAND!

Join us for one, two, or all three of these topics! Our facilitator, Cheryl Gordon, MAT-MSJS, is an enthusiastic Jewish educator who helps teens through seniors discover personal relevance and joy in Judaism. She is a member of NCJW and serves on the board of Mandel JDS.

Dates: See below

Time: 12:00 p.m. - 1:30 p.m.

Place: NCJW office, 26055 Emery Rd., Warrensville Hts.

Cost: $5.00. Bring your own lunch.

RSVP: Call Lisa at the NCJW office at 216-378-2204

Wednesday February 7 - Israel... It's Complicated

News from current day Israel can be upsetting and may even shake our emotional connection and loyalty. What's true and what isn't? What's really going on? Who to believe? For certain, things aren't like they used to be. We'll look at the war of words, unsettling news reports, Israel's enemies, and today's real Israel -- all grown up, and, as ever, a source of pride.

Wednesday March 14 - Judaism as a Work in Progress

Three thousand years have passed and Torah is still relevant. That's because there's a process built in to keep it timely. In this session, we'll learn how and why Judaism continuously evolves. Additionally, we'll look at some fascinating recent "responsa" that address very contemporary issues through a Jewish lens.

Monday April 16 - Talmud, Torah, Tanach

Sometimes we feel lost when speakers use Jewish terminology and don't bother to explain. When an alphabet soup of Jewish terms gets tossed around with no opportunity to digest it, there's no shame in admitting we need help. In this session, we'll clear things up by examining the top 20 (or so) items critical to Jewish literacy.

LEARN ABOUT A PIONEER OF AFRICAN-AMERICAN ART AND CELEBRATED

COLLAGIST

Recognized as one of the most creative and original visual artists of the 20th century, the late Romare Bearden's works have been exhibited throughout the United States and Europe. He is best known for his textured collages, two of which appeared on the covers of Fortune and Time magazines, in 1968. A key figure in the Harlem Renaissance, Bearden's work hangs in the Cleveland Museum of Art as well as in the Metropolitan Museum of Art, the Whitney Museum of American Art, the Philadelphia Museum of Art,

the Museum of Fine Arts in Boston and The Studio Museum in Harlem.

Date: Thursday, February 8, 2018

Time: 10:30 a.m. - 11:30 a.m.

Place: Orange Library, 31975 Chagrin Blvd, Pepper Pike

Cost: A donation of $10 is suggested

RSVP: Call Lisa at the NCJW office at 216-378-2204

Co-Chairs: Judy Weingold and Laurie Biales

Upcoming Art Bio: April 12

Eugène Henri Paul Gauguin was a French post-Impressionist artist. Unappreciated until after his death, Gauguin is now recognized for his experimental use of color and Synthetist style that were distinctly different from Impressionism.

JOIN US FOR THE 2018