Home>Speak EZ October 2009 - Voice of UJC Leadership
November 2009
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Campaign: In the Beginning Scott Krieger,
United Jewish Appeal Campaign Chair
Leading in Times of Change
Learn the Facts
A New Slate of UJC-Sponsored Overseas Missions is About to Begin
Mitzvah Mania: Video
Meaningful Ideas in 140 Letters
CRC — Sen. Menendez addresses Jewish community
November 3-30
The One Soul Exhibition: When Humanity Fails
Complete list of Kristallnacht events
November 4
Zev Chafets
November 8
An Address by Senator Robert Menendez
November 9
Caring for One Another
November 11
Four Wars and the Men Who Fought in Them
November 19
Keeping Our Kids Healthy
November 30
Pro-Israel Evangelical Christian Movement
Over 400 seniors receive mental health counseling, case management, and health education services each month through the JFS HouseCalls program.
Campaign: In the Beginning by Scott Krieger, United Jewish Appeal Campaign Chair
With this time of year, we begin anew the Torah reading cycle in synagogue. And in many ways, that’s good news for most. Unlike the drier and often tougher passages on ritual law and prophesy, the book of Genesis — Breishit — offers us an interesting if not voyeuristic look at early family life.
From the first story, of Adam and Eve, all the way through to Joseph, our beginnings were many things . . . easy not being one. Lies, deception, struggle, and endurance permeate the passages we read this time of year. We started slowly, faced hurdle after hurdle, and not only survived but grew from a small family into a strong community along the way.
In many ways, these beginnings parallel the early stages of any Annual Campaign, including the one now under way for 2010. At this writing, we have surpassed the $5 million mark, and are actually ahead of last year’s pace. Despite all the warnings, and despite all the challenges, we persist, and we are growing.
Most notable is the renewed confidence to pick up the phone and call our donors. And with these conversations, we are hearing more positive stories than not: Donors who understand that they have an obligation to help others; donors who feel that perhaps the most meaningful way to give thanks for making a lot is to give a lot.
Perhaps, in a way, it is no coincidence — having to begin in challenging times as a prerequisite for growth. Perhaps, as the early narrative of the Torah suggests, you need one to achieve the other. And with Super Sunday just six weeks away, maybe this new sense of focus could not come at a better time.
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