August 2009

As the Dow Jones crossed over 9,500 this week, it’s a good time to look around and take , er, stock,  as to how the rest of the globe is  recovering. One area of the world that isn’t faring nearly as well as we are, is the Baltics. Latvia’s economy, for instance, is in the middle of a seriously dramatic meltdown. So far, their economy has shrunk by a startling 18%. What is even worse is that experts are unable to see any end in sight. The physical and psychological effects of such a radical change are devastating, and have lead to dozens of suicides since the economic crisis began.

On their blog, the JDC, one of the Federation’s beneficiary agencies, says that “as the economy falters from outside, the Jewish community on the inside is teetering on the brink of a financial meltdown as well. The emerging middle class, which accounted for around 20% of membership fees within the community, are now struggling to cover their most basic needs…” Which means that 12,000 Jews in Latvia are in serious need of food, medicine, and housing, three things the agency has been committed to supplying since the late ‘80s, when the rebirth of Jewish life in the Baltics got underway.

Check out the full story right over here, and be pleased that part of your Federation gift is helping people in the Baltics who desperately need it. The Federation’s Israel and Overseas Cause, in addition to funding JDC core human services, also sponsors the Baltics Jewish communities of Latvia, Lithuania, and Estonia.  Our funding and relationships support the summer camp, winter camp, Limmud Baltics, cultural, sports and other programs.  These programs have helped to rebuild these Jewish communities, providing a sense of purpose and connections, especially needed when the economy also is in such trouble.

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Jewish Vocational Service Los Angeles (JVS) urgently needs your job postings (or your employer’s) to support its mission to help people get back on their feet and back to work. A Federation supported agency, JVS has been on the front lines, assisting members of our community who have been laid off or otherwise impacted by the economic crisis by helping them find work in this volatile job market.

JVS’ ParnossahWorks Program is an online job bank that matches job seekers from the Jewish community of Los Angeles with suitable job opportunities, at no cost to the job seeker or the employer.  (Parnossah means “to earn a living” in both Yiddish and Hebrew.) JVS’ skilled career counselors put the personal connection into the online job search and recruitment process.

JVS is seeking open job listings from all industries, all functions and at all salary levels throughout the Los Angeles area to meet the needs of its rapidly expanding client base, many who are experienced career professionals facing unemployment for the first time.

There is no charge to the employer or the job seeker to participate. Postings can be entered directly at www.ParnossahWorksLA.org or by calling Greg Krentzman at (323) 761-8888, ext. 8874.

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