"Spa" Options Still Available at
Our 2021 Annual Campaign
Please take a few minutes to step into our ReJEWvenation Spa and review your “spa” menu options, either through the letter you received from us or at our website! Thank you in advance for considering a generous donation to NCJW − GLB & WOC. 
Kindergarten Festivals are Back!
Saturday, January 8, 8:30 am, Dooley Elementary
Ten NCJW vaccinated, enthusiastic volunteers are needed on Saturday, January 8, to staff the outdoor sign-in and information tables and provide support at Dooley Elementary School, 5075 Long Beach Blvd., Long Beach 90805 at the first Kindergarten Festival of 2022. It is thrilling to be able to be in person again after being virtual last year so that we can help these young students entering TK/Kindergarten next fall and their parents receive important district information, participate in readiness workshops, and learn about resources from a variety of community agencies. NCJW volunteers arrive at 8:30 am and most finish by 11 am. You’ll be glad you helped with this mitzvah for young children from typically underserved areas of Long Beach. Bonus: engagement with adorable children and hospitality snacks and beverages for all volunteers!!

Please also mark your calendars for Saturday, February 5, at Roosevelt Elementary School, and Saturday, March 5, at Burcham Elementary School.

For more information or to volunteer for any of the festivals, email communityservice@ncjwlongbeach.org or leave a message by phone for Linda Fox, Judy Leff, or Trish Goldin at (657) 235-2511. RSVPs are a MUST!
NCJW’s HugPacks: A Very Special Way
to Give Youth Entering Foster Care a Hug!
Thursday, January 13, 6 pm, AJCC
HugPacks return to the Alpert Jewish Community Center Auditorium on Thursday, January 13, from 6:00 to 7:30 pm. In a mere 90 minutes, support students entering the LA County foster care system by assembling backpacks; you’ll feel so good that you did! Financial donations to the HugPacks Fund that will allow us to purchase needed items for the March and May packings are also gratefully accepted at ncjwlongbeach.org/donate, designating the Hug Pack Fund as recipient. 

All COVID 19 protocols for Long Beach/LA County/AJCC in place at the time will be followed, including proof of vaccination and masks. Snacks and drinks will be provided while you “stuff.”  RSVPs are a must!

Contact Linda C Fox at communityservice@ncjwlongbeach.org or call (657) 235-2511 and say you’ll volunteer!
Shirley Stein Joint Annual Book Review:
The Dressmakers of Auschwitz
Monday, January 24, 11 am, The Grand
Please join us for this year's Shirley Stein Annual Book Review, cosponsored by NCJW - GLB & WOC and Sharon-Carmel Hadassah, January 24, at The Grand, 4101 E. Willow St., Long Beach. English historian and author Lucy Adlington will tell us about her book The Dressmakers of Auschwitz: The True Story of the Women Who Sewed to Survive. Her amazingly researched book introduces us to a little-known aspect of the Holocaust, highlighting the role of clothes in the grimmest of societies imaginable and giving an insight into the women who stayed alive by stitching. At the height of the Holocaust, 25 young inmates of the infamous Auschwitz-Birkenau concentration camp were selected to design, cut, and sew beautiful fashions for elite Nazi women at an extraordinary fashion workshop. It was work that they hoped would spare them from the gas chambers. Drawing on diverse sources—including interviews with the last surviving seamstress—The Dressmakers of Auschwitz follows the fates of these brave women and offers a fresh look at a little-known chapter of World War II and the Holocaust.

We are offering both a wonderful in-person catered luncheon at the Grand as well as virtual access to the program via Zoom. To follow CDC recommendations, we are asking all attendees to bring proof of vaccination and wear a mask. All the Grand’s staff have been vaccinated. A complete, delicious salmon lunch will be individually wrapped to assure minimal interaction; please indicate in the comment section on your RSVP if you have dietary restrictions. The price for the lunch at The Grand is $40.00. Please register here (we gratefully appreciate your covering the credit card fee). If you prefer to pay by check, please make it out for $40 to NCJW and mail it to NCJW - GLB & WOC, 6216 E. Pacific Coast Highway, #239, Long Beach, CA 90803.

Alternatively, you will be able to zoom in to the presentation by Lucy Adlington at 12 noon at no charge, but a donation would be appreciated; all raised funds will be forwarded in their entirety to the Holocaust Museum LA. To register for the Zoom link, please click here, and to donate, click here and scroll down to the bottom of the page.

For further information, please contact Sharon Brannon via info@ncjwlongbeach.org or (657) 235-2511.
4th Thursday NCJW Movie Club
Thursday, January 27, 7 pm, Zoom
NCJW movie night is the 4th Thursday of the month. All movies can be viewed on either Netflix or Amazon. Watch the movie on your own, then come and share your thoughts!

The Power of the Dog takes place in 1925 in Montana. The Burbank brothers Phil and George are wealthy ranchers. At the Red Mill restaurant on their way to market, the brothers meet Rose, the widowed proprietress, and her impressionable son Peter. Phil behaves so cruelly that he drives them both to tears, reveling in their hurt and rousing his fellow cowhands to laughter − all except his brother George, who comforts Rose, then returns to marry her. As Phil swings between fury and cunning, his taunting of Rose takes an eerie form; he hovers at the edges of her vision, whistling a tune she can no longer play. His mockery of her son is more overt, amplified by the cheering of Phil's cowhand disciples. Then Phil appears to take the boy under his wing. Is this latest gesture a softening that leaves Phil exposed, or a plot twisting further into menace?  You can view this film on Netflix, then join us for discussion and comradery. You can register here for the Zoom discussion.
2022 Membership Directory - For Members Only
If you can’t find the email sent to you earlier to access the new NCJW Membership Directory, please let Dale Strok know by emailing her at info@ncjwlongbeach.org.
Here's an Idea for Two Great Gifts!
Our beautiful one-of-a-kind "Breaking the Glass Ceiling" pieces of fusion glass art jewelry are still available! Pins and pendants are $36 (with silver) and $50 (with gold). Purchases can be made via our local NCJW website.

Or, give the gift of membership to National Council of Jewish Women GLB & WOC. Cost is $36, one-third off the regular membership rate! Information available here.
Mark Your Calendars ... Save the Date!

Thursday, January 6: Board meeting, 7 pm. RSVP for Zoom link; all members welcome!

Thursday, February 3: Board meeting, 7 pm. RSVP for Zoom link; all members welcome!

Thursday, February 17: Childcare & Financial Insecurity Facing Women Post Pandemic: Concerns & Solutions, 7 pm. Cosponsored by NCJW - GLB & WOC and AAUW, to be held at Long Beach City College & on Zoom. For more details, email info@ncjwlongbeach.org.

Thursday, February 24: 4th Thursday Movie Night, 7 pm. Discuss the movie Passing. Click here for more details.
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HOW TO REACH US

Email us at info@ncjwlongbeach.org, call (657) 235-2511, or send mail to NCJW Greater Long Beach & West Orange County, 6216 E. Pacific Coast Highway, #239, Long Beach, CA 90803. Please add this contact information to your contacts list.