As 2009 drew to a close, the Board of Directors of The Jewish Federation unanimously approved a resolution to make a supplemental allocation of $700,000 to Birthright Israel. By making this commitment prior to the end of the year, we were able to make the most of a generous 2-for-1 match by the Sheldon Adelson Foundation, bringing an incremental $2.1 million commitment to Birthright Israel, on top of the Federation’s prior allocation last year. The funds go directly toward reducing the Los Angeles participant waiting list, which is the highest in the country.
In December 2009, through the generosity of Albert and Janey Sweet and with money from the Federation, 40 Southern Californian and 9 Israeli young people experienced the gift of Taglit-Birthright Israel “The LA Tech Way”—10 days of exploring Israel through a high-tech, biomedical and start-up lens. Check out our exclusive video, shot on the trip.
It’s just past noon and we’re at about $1.3 million already! Thanks for answering the call. The community SO appreciates all the increases and all your generosity and support. Here’s a short vid of Mayor Villaraigosa addressing our volunteers just minutes ago:
Our new President, Jay Sanderson, is featured on the cover of today’s Jewish Journal. Check out the full story here. After you read it, come on back and tell us what you think!
About 350 people came out for the Entertainment Division’s fun Chanukah Carnival to raise money for hungry children. More than $100,000 was raised by the community and some well-known faces like Adam Sandler, Allen Covert, Courtney Thorne-Smith and Peter Gallagher. Check out the below vid to see what all the fun was about.
Read on for a special thanks to all our sponsors and event committee members… [Read more…]
This past holiday season, two dozen volunteers from the Federation’s Young Professional divisions banded together to help children in need. They formed the Toy Drive Committee, and set up 20 drop-off locations across the city and valley. Thanks to the generous support of the community, the Committee collected and donated over 4,000 toys.
Recipient organizations and kids said:
“We want to thank you for the abundance of wonderful toys we received from your recent Holiday Toy Drive. We’ve had the pleasure of distributing these toys in hospitals and homes and we’ve seen firsthand how these gifts have provided much-needed joy to children who live with serious, life-threatening pediatric illness.” - Chai Lifeline
“On behalf of the children and families we serve, the Board of Directors and staff, I thank you for the coordination and distribution of gifts and toys collected by the various Jewish Leadership Divisions for the children and families we serve. As you can imagine, the holidays are particularly difficult for them but this donation will help brighten their holiday season.” -Aviva
Congrats to Todd Steiner, Darya Pollak, Heath Binder, Dan Weiser, Danielle Chayot, Allen Steiner, Shira Rockowitz, and Nikita Putnam on your big success!
Watch the video above and check out the photos below. [Read more…]
I’m really jazzed to post this new vid by my pal Smooth E. On the first night of Chanukah, JconnectLA, Jewlicious, Brandeis Collegiate Institute and Birthright Next presented the official Smooth-E Honika Electronica concert at A Cow Jumped Over the Moon in Beverly Hills. The show also featured Diwon, SoulSpeak, JConnectLA’s DJ Eric Rosen, and Cajami. Proceeds went to the Federation’s Fed Up With Hunger initiative. If you missed it, never fear. Just turn up the speakers for this new, epic win vid…
President of CBS Entertainment, Nina Tassler, was recently named Chair of the Federation’s Entertainment Division. Along with Hollywood mavericks Darren Star, Gail Berman, and Danny Sussman, Nina led the 2009 Master Class in Film and Television as part of theTel Aviv/Los Angeles Partnership.
Program participants are emerging entertainment professionals from L.A. and Israel who spend ten days learning from industry leaders. As the group travels through the host city, they network with one another, pitch ideas, and share insights and experiences. This year’s Master Class took place in Tel Aviv, Israel. Wish you’d been there? We do, too. That’s why we’re thrilled to see this awesome video, which was shot on location.
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