REPORT TO 2012 –2013 THE COMMUNITY DEAR FRIENDS, This was a year we won’t soon forget. ...AND EVERY DAY It was a year of heroic volunteers climbing up darkened staircases to deliver food and water; a year of dancing in the streets of Jerusalem to mark Israel at 65; a year of rising to the challenges Crisis may have tested us but it never defined us. In the wake of disaster of today and preparing for the possibilities of tomorrow. Through it all — crisis, celebration, and and heartache, our essential work in New York, in Israel, and in more everything in between — UJA-Federation of New York was proud to work with our community than 70 countries around the world never faltered. And we never lost in our inimitable role as convener, funder, advocate, planner, and innovator. sight of the future that is ours to shape. From our first interfaith feeding initiative to the publication of significant new research on the New York Jewish community, we continued innovating and planning. We also STRENGTH IN CRisis… celebrated Israel at 65 with the William Rosenwald Mission and a new communitywide event on the Upper West Side. And we marched along Fifth Avenue with our flags waving for the Celebrate Israel parade, showing the world that we stand with the people of Israel — always. BECAUSE WE STAND TOGETHER One year can change everything; it can also show what you’re made of. When we look at ourselves, we see donors who gave with inspiring generosity, contributing $206.5 million to all campaigns. We see lay leaders, volunteers, and staff of UJA-Federation and network agencies, who raised the bar in every way, taking care of one another with remarkable resilience. And, most of all, we see all the good we do together. What a privilege it was to stand with each of you through this year and every day since. With our warmest thanks, In the wake of Hurricane Sandy, we responded as few could. We had the resources through our endowment to make $10 million immediately available.We also had the trust of our donors who gave an additional $6.5 million in Hurricane Sandy relief, knowing we had the expertise to distribute these funds for maximum impact. We mobilized thousands of volunteers, and with our network agencies and local synagogues, we embraced individuals and families shattered by the storm. Then, just two weeks after Sandy, our network was suddenly called to another front. For eight excruciating days rockets rained on Israel. And once again, our overseas beneficiary agencies Jerry W. Levin Alisa R. Doctoroff John S. Ruskay did whatever was needed to care for men, women, and children under attack. President Chair of the Board Executive Vice President & CEO WE REMEMBER the eerie quiet of a city brought to a standstill, of a region battered and flooded, of a death toll rising. We lived through the storm together. We stood as one in the aftermath. And we continue to rebuild and heal. This is the story of UJA-Federation’s response to Hurricane Sandy. ACTION RESILIENCE “Every weather forecast told us it was going “Our Oceanside location took on about four to be bad — but for those who lived through inches [of water] throughout the building. Our it, it is something else altogether. From Long Beach building had five feet of water the beginning, we were on calls nonstop, come in. At the same time, we couldn’t get in e-mailing, connecting with one another, with touch with our families. We had to drive for agency leadership, with day schools, with miles for supplies. The first call that I made was rabbis. The winds had barely subsided and staff to our insurance company and the second was and volunteers were already out in the field. to UJA-Federation. We told the agencies and synagogues that were impacted: ‘Do what you need to do. We have UJA-Federation’s support allowed members your back.’” who couldn’t otherwise afford membership to continue receiving services, provided John Ruskay, Executive Vice President & scholarship funding for day camps and schools CEO, UJA-Federation to keep kids enrolled, and provided emergency cash for those whose homes and belongings had been destroyed. It kept operations stable. EXPERTISE We would not have come through this the way “Right away, our professional leadership we did without UJA-Federation.” communicated with those on the ground and they developed a picture of what was needed Arnie Preminger, President & CEO, and how urgent the needs were. People were Barry and Florence Friedberg Jewish drowning, freezing, and hungry, and the Community Center traditional sources of crisis relief were not mobilizing fast enough to alleviate the suffering. Some of us among UJA-Federation leadership 2012 – 2013 WHAT SETS US APART IN CRISIS and staff didn’t have electricity; transportation was limited at best, but the Sunday after the HURRICANE SANDY TIMELINE storm we managed to convene the Executive Committee and then the Board of Directors via conference call. Our directive was clear — take Sandy is a Category 1 hurricane with winds of 80 mph. New York OCTOBER 26, 2012 action. Be bold. Do what we do best. declares a state of emergency. We voted to make $10 million of our OCTOBER 28, 2012 Mayor Michael Bloomberg orders evacuations in low-lying areas, endowment available. At that point, we were requiring 375,000 New Yorkers to leave their homes in advance of the storm. While many thinking food, water, security — the basics. residents of Zone A heed the evacuation, thousands remain. The MTA suspends service; Later we would have a better understanding public schools are closed. of long-term need. In moments like this we’re so aware of the expertise of our staff and the power of our network of agencies. And we’re OCTOBER 29, 2012 Sandy approaches land as a Category 2 storm. Hurricane-force winds so appreciative of the generosity of those who extend 175 miles out from Sandy’s eye, making it far larger and more destructive than similar left bequests to UJA-Federation, giving us the storms. Fires destroy at least 110 homes in Breezy Point, Queens. resources to respond immediately. Despite the chaos and uncertainty, we could do what OCTOBER 30, 2012 Approximately 2 million New Yorkers are without power. needed to be done. This is UJA-Federation at “OUR DIRECTIVE WAS CLEAR — take aCTION. its finest, and I couldn’t be prouder.” More than 110 deaths are attributed to Hurricane Sandy and its aftermath in the United States. BE BOLD. DO WHAT WE DO BEST.” New York State estimates the damage at $42 billion. Jerry Levin, President, UJA-Federation — JeRRY LEVIN 2 3 LEADERSHIP CONNECTION “When Mayor Bloomberg announced that “I felt a strong sense of being able to give back five of our network agencies — FEGS Health to American Jews. [Americans] always support & Human Services, Jewish Board of Family and give us help in Israel, and I believe it’s not and Children’s Services, Metropolitan Council a one-way street.” on Jewish Poverty, New York Legal Assistance Group, and the Shorefront YM-YWHA of Natan Mann, volunteer from Israel Brighton-Manhattan Beach — were among the seven selected to provide services at one-stop disaster relief centers as part of RELIEF NYC Restore, it was a clear moment of “We needed help cleaning up, to simply recognition for the essential work of our assess the damage, and we needed money. frontline network agencies.” And in those first days, we really didn’t have an inkling of what we were up against. Alisa Doctoroff, Chair of the Board, Along the way, we were connected with UJA-Federation UJA-Federation. Through their efforts many people who thought their lives were over, who were wallowing in uncertainty and depression, IMPACT had their lives restored.” “With so many people in dire straits, we needed to respond effectively and quickly. Within a Rabbi David Bibi, Sephardic Congregation month, UJA-Federation beneficiary agencies of Long Beach provided more than 281,000 meals; 270,000 bottles of water; cash assistance for 2,000 people; nonmedical supplies for some 25,000 people and HOPE medical support for 4,000; and social work “In April, I went to the Jewish Community assistance for more than 25,000 people. In just Center of Staten Island — I went there a few months, we allocated $13.3 million to looking for emotional help for my son who provide sustained recovery to 37 agencies, 106 was only 6 and was having nightmares and Jewish day schools, 77 synagogues, as well as a thought every night would bring a hurricane EMPATHY PERSEVERANCE number of relief organizations. and that we would live in a hotel forever. “We like to put the world into little boxes “Rebuilding houses and infrastructure is the and think we’re safe, but the thing with these visible work, but what we can’t see — and There is no better example of the strength of The JCC sent a counselor to our hotel to natural disasters is that they could really happen equally important — is the psychological our agency network than its ability to respond meet my son; she came once a week for three to anybody.” healing that needs to happen. We allocated immediately and continuously to a wide range months…When you are so desperate and have $1 million for mental health and trauma needs. of emergency demands.” nobody and don’t know what to do, it meant Johanna Sanders, Hillel volunteer who That’s the work that still continues, and a lot when someone would call when they said helped in the clean-up we’ll be there every step of the way.” John Shapiro, Chair, Connect to Recovery, they would.