HamiltonHamilton JewishJewish NewsNews serving hamilton wentworth and area April 2007 vol 21:4 nisan/iyar 5767 Dates To UJA Campaign Results Demonstrate Remember First Seder Solid Community Commitment Monday, April 2 UJA Israel Emergency Campaign Approaches Goal Yom HaShoah With 20 days to go, the in late May. Between now and In some cases this means wait- depend on UJA that “What- Commemoration UJA 2007 and Israel Emergency then, every effort is being made ing for “snowbirds” to return. ever it takes, we will remain fo- Campaigns have combined to by community volunteers and In closing, Levin wanted to cused in our responsibilities un- Sunday, April 15 raise more total dollars than in staff to reach every single donor assure the community and all til this campaign is complete.” Beth Jacob Synagogue any previous year in history. Ac- from last year’s record campaign. of the beneficiary agencies that at 7:30 pm cording to UJA Men’s co-chair Larry Levin “the combined total now projects to go well past the Jewish Social Services Bids Farewell To Bea Matchen $1.5M mark by the end of March. This is an unprecedented success Hold The Date! for our Hamilton community.” However, our local campaign results may fall short of our goal. Sunday, June 10 Both campaign workers and con- for the all new tributors are asked to renew their energy and commitment in sup- 2007 UJA port of our local UJA Campaign. Our local Hamilton Community beneficiary organizations Walkathon are counting on all of us. According to UJA Federa- Proud, Strong, tion Executive Director, Gerald Together Fisher, “with three weeks to go we may still have a shot at reach- ing last year’s record total for dis- tribution to meet both domestic needs and our share of national collective responsibility for reg- ular overseas needs. But it has been the community response to • new starting point the Israel Emergency Campaign that has been so heartwarming.” • new route The final tally will be an- JSS staff gather to bid farewell to Bea Matchen, who is retiring after 23 years with the agency. • new funding options nounced at the Federation Annu- Pictured above are (back row, l to r) Suzanne Goldflus, Chris Nusca, JSS Director, Carol Krames, al General meeting, taking place (front row) Bea Matchen and Terry Nyp. See page 5 for story. To volunteer call Elaine Levine at 905-627-9933 JCC Consultation Process Nears Conclusion For sponsorship and The community con- cording to UJA Federation Presi- tor Gerald Fisher remarked that on a true consultative process.” sultation regarding the dent David Somer “I appreciate the “Regardless of the reasons, the One of the major issues ad- donation opportunities call JCC is nearing conclusion. time and effort of everyone who study took too long to complete. dressed in the research is the viabil- Chris Nusca at 905-628-9965 The team of professional participated in the focus groups, Over this long period some people ity of the current JCC venue. The consultants from the Jewish in the surveys and in the indi- became frustrated with the process current facility requires significant Community Centers Association vidual interviews. I am confident and suggested we were wasting capital repairs and improvements. and United Jewish Communi- that the results of the research will our time, that we could already It is unclear whether the commu- ties are returning to Hamilton be a valuable asset as community guess what the research would nity, already burdened with ma- to deliver the results of their leaders review the realistic options reveal and we should just follow jor funding challenges at all the research at the end of March. and make important decisions.” our instincts and get going… but schools, synagogues and Shalom The major components of the Recently elected JCC Presi- that would have been a mistake.” Village, will be prepared to assume research included six formal focus dent Joel Feldman amplified Volunteer JCC consultant this additional financial obligation. groups, a deposition from a group Somer’s remarks. “Despite what Larry Szpirglas, has played an in- Because of this, perhaps the of seniors who conducted their we might wish, the result of the tegral role in sustaining and de- most critical aspect of the research own focus group, three hundred research will not be a specific deci- veloping JCC programs over the has been the private interviews individual surveys, individual in- sion on the future of the Center. past seven months. In his view with the community’s major phi- terviews with community philan- The research results are not go- the research has been very useful. lanthropists. Without their sup- thropists and individual interviews ing to tell us what we should do, “This consultation has pro- port, the range of realistic options with community rabbis. Other im- but will inform us and guide us vided the community with an narrows significantly. We don’t yet portant information was gathered toward choosing the best avail- opportunity to be engaged in a know what they said. As of this locally by Federation and JCC staff. able option to meet community process that will directly affect writing, the community has not Conducted over sixteen needs within the resources avail- the decisions regarding directions yet received a draft of the research months, the process took longer able. The results will assist the for future JCC programming and results or the interpretation of the than expected. At this point, the JCC and Federation Leadership possibly the JCC venue itself. results by the consultants. A first major aspects of the research are in making major decisions that Whatever the research reveals, draft is expected before the consul- concluded and community leaders will affect the future of the JCC.” it will have the imprint and the tants return at the end of March. are anxious to read the results. Ac- Federation Executive Direc- credibility of having been based Publications Mail Agreement #40007180 Return Undeliverable Canadian addresses to: HAMILTON JEWISH NEWS POB 7258 1030 Lower Lions Club Rd., Ancaster, Ontario L9G 3N6 Tel: 905-628-0058 Fax: 905: 627-7099 Page 2 Hamilton Jewish News April 2007 - Nisan/Iyar 5767 UJA Federation Hamilton Jewish News POB 7258 1030 Lower Lions Club Rd., UIA Canada Lends The Annual General Meeting Ancaster, Ontario L9G 3N6 a Helping Hand... of UJA Federation of Hamilton The Hamilton Jewish News will take place on is published 5 times a year by UIA Canada has offered Hamilton Jewish News Inc. and Hamilton additional support in Sunday, May 27, 2007 Wendy Schneider an effort to close the 2007 Israel Emergency Campaign. Brenda at PUBLISHER: Kaman will be calling commu- Temple Anshe Sholom Wendy Schneider nity members who have not yet EDITOR: been contacted to enlist their Wendy Schneider support of the 2007 campaign. Reception 7:00 pm Proceedings 7:45 pm MANAGING EDITOR: Brenda began as a volunteer with • presentation of committee reports Gerald Fisher UJA and has been associated with • presentation of year end audited statement TELEphONE: the organization on many differ- (905) 628-0058 • Asper Graduation Ceremony ent levels. Ms. Kaman has just Brenda Kaman FAX: returned from Israel where she spent some time touring the Galilee (905) 627-7099 and seeing how northern Israeli communities are still struggling on a Community members wishing to view the state- EMAIL: long road to economic recovery from last summer’s war. She hopes to ments prior to the AGM call the UJA Federation [email protected] communicate to donors the urgency of supporting UIA Canada’s re- for pick up. Nominations for the 2007 board must construction efforts in the north through the Emergency Campaign. Circulation be submitted in writing to David Somer, 2,000 one week prior to the AGM. EDITORIAL POLICY Errata The HJN invites members For more information call Gerry Fisher of the community to con- In the February 2007 Issue of the Hamilton Jewish News, the fol- at 905-648-0605 tribute letters, articles or lowing names were inadvertently omitted from the article about guest editorials. Written the Hamilton Maccabees: Morley Balinson had three volunteers submissions and advertise- helping: Joe Cohen, Bill Silverns & Larry Bieber. Shirley Scholes, ments must be forwarded by the deadline indicated whose late husband, George, was a veteran, has been a volunteer in each issue. This news- with the Maccabees. Anne Kwitco, whose late husband Harry was paper reserves the right to a veteran and did an oustanding job when he was able, has also edit, condense or reject any served as a volunteer. Julie Spiegel was also a member and both contribution for brevity or legal purposes. he and his wife have volunteered. Len Miller, also a veteran, has volunteered. M. K. Leibow was also a member. Deadline for submissions Travelling With The for the next edition of the HJN is April 16, 2007. Hamilton Jewish News Help Strengthen Our Jewish Community! UJA Federation of Hamilton President Part Time Position Available David Somer (15 hours/week) Past President Leslie Lasky UJA Federation seeks an energetic and creative person to join the professional team. UJA Campaign Co-Chairs Dr. Larry Levin Michael Kam This administrative/clerical person will be primarily responsible for maintaining the community data base, UJA Women’s Division issuing community mailings, maintaining the com- Co-Chairs munity calendar, managing tribute cards, preparing Jo-Ann Pomerantz Debbie Strub material for meetings, updating committee records and providing support to various program initiatives. VP Financial Resources UJA Federation staff, Elaine Levine and Chris Nusca (far left) and Development Successful candidates will demonstrate competence in Susan and Paul Roth at Ben Gurion Airport last month with Shirley Molot Microsoft Word and Excel, be eager to learn GT Pro, a copy of the Hamilton Jewish News.