April 30, 2021 | 18 Iyar 5781

Your invitation to participate in the online #2021Census will arrive in the mail on May 3. The last census underreported Jewish Canadians by a large margin, impeding our community's ability to address important issues we all care about, such as antisemitism, security, housing, healthcare, and fighting poverty. One in every four census questionnaires is the long-form version and will include questions about ethnicity (Q.23) and religion (Q.30). It is important for Jewish Canadians to be recognized by the Government of Canada as a thriving, growing, and engaged community. If being counted as part of the Jewish community in Canada is important to you, respond "Jewish" to question 23, question 30, or both. You Count. Be Counted. Learn more here.

Calgary Jewish Federation's Holocaust and Human Rights Remembrance and Education and the Calgary Public Library invite you to hear from Holocaust Survivor, Ann Dancyger on Sunday, May 2 at 2:00pm. We are the last generation to hear testimony from Holocaust Survivors first hand. Listen as living Survivor, Ann recounts the horrors of her Holocaust experience from her early days in Ratno, Ukraine – spent in hiding with her mother, to her two-year walking trek to West Germany. Registration for this free event is through Calgary Public Library online or by calling 403-260-2600.

Calgary's LIFE & LEGACY® program ended Year 2 on a high note. After a slow start due to the onset of the pandemic, all organizations got to work to ensure our Jewish future. These difficult months have taught the community that endowment funds need to be secured in order to safeguard the programs and services that we depend on to keep Jewish Calgary strong and vibrant. Yasher Koach to all the partner agencies! If you are interested in learning about LIFE & LEGACY, contact Diana Kalef.

What happens when you have over 150 PJ Our Way® children from six Canadian communities join Mad Science and The Ramon Foundation in Israel? You get an afternoon of hands-on creativity and interactive learning! On April 25, we learned about the Israeli connection to space travel through Rakia (the next Israel Space Mission), watched a video about how we can join The Big Dream and then made our own rocketships. PJ Our Way is the next step of PJ Library®, sending Jewish content books to children from ages 8½ to 12. Please email Kathie Wainer for information about PJOW and PJ Library (for children from birth to 8) and join this award-winning, international program.