For more information about these or
other funding opportunities, contact the
Jewish Community Foundation at .

1. ENRICHED SCHOOL DAY PROGRAM IN OFAKIM/MERCHAVIM
Sponsored by United Jewish Communities of MetroWest NJ

Extended School Day programs in Israel afford UJC of MetroWest the opportunity to achieve an impact with limited resources, while not assuming responsibilities better met by governmental authorities. The Israeli school day is shorter than that in the U.S., and school lunch programs are not the norm. Effective with the 2004-05 academic year, UJC of MetroWest will support the expansion of an extended school day in Ofakim/Merchavim, our Partnership 2000 sister community. UJC seeks additional funding finance further expansion of this much needed program to include: homework and academic help, hot lunch, extracurricular activities, and emotional support.

2. OPERATION ATZMAUT: SUPPORT TO ETHIOPIAN FAMILIES IN RISHON LEZION
Joint project of United Jewish Communities of MetroWest NJ/Joint Distribution Committee

More than 86,000 Ethiopian-Israelis have arrived in Israel unfamiliar with western culture and lacking key resources. They suffer from high rates of unemployment, poverty, and adult illiteracy, a lack of community leadership and poor academic achievement among school children. In response to this crisis, UJC of MetroWest, the American Jewish Joint Distribution Committee (JDC), and the city of Rishon LeZion partnered together in 2001 to establish and develop the Atzmaut intervention program. Operation Atzmaut aims to create a continuum of support that helps Ethiopian-Israeli families in Rishon LeZion gain a higher level of self-sufficiency and better integrate into Israeli society. Operation Atzmaut operates with a budget of approximately $300,000 annually, and support is sought to defray these costs.

3. METROWEST COALITION FOR ISRAEL EDUCATION
Joint project of United Jewish Communities of MetroWest NJ/Legow Family Israel Program Center

The Jewish Agency's Department for Jewish Zionist Education is currently embarking upon a major new initiative to help strengthen and deepen the engagement with Israel in North American Jewish life. MetroWest will establish its own Coalition on Israel Education, headed by a full-time professional director. Significant activities will include: Israeli high school volunteers, a Resource Center, Teacher Training, High School Shabbatonim, Educator's Trips, and a Summer institute in Israel. In order to fully implement this program, UJC requires $50,000 of additional funding, to be matched dollar for dollar by the Jewish Agency.

4. METROWEST CARES: COMMITTEE ADDRESSING RESOURCES FOR ELDERCARE
Sponsored by United Jewish Communities of MetroWest NJ

MetroWest CARES is a collaborative effort of UJC of MetroWest NJ and its agencies to create a Continuum of Care for the elderly. Continuum of Care is a term describing a comprehensive, consumer-oriented network of services, including physical and mental health care, spiritual health and well being, social and vocational services, advocacy, transportation and housing. Funding request: approximately $100,000 per year.

5. EZRA INITIATIVE
Sponsored by United Jewish Communities of MetroWest NJ

The MetroWest Jewish community has been invited to participate as one of five pilot communities in a national adult education initiative: The EZRA Initiative. MetroWest's EZRA Initiative aims to create a community-wide, high-quality, accessible adult education program, engaging a variety of constituencies of MetroWest synagogues. The program will be open to everyone in the community, resulting in widespread, sustained serious Jewish learning. Funding request: $100,000 per year for three years.

6. THE CENTER FOR CARING: CRISIS COUNSELING SERVICES
Sponsored by Jewish Family Service of MetroWest

JFS is the sole entity in the MetroWest Jewish community with the mission to be a "safety-net" service for families in need. Much of the work in stabilizing a crisis requires advocacy, and assistance in mediating bureaucratic structures. $50,000 will support a full time JFS clinician, who could serve 100 MetroWest clients, providing an average of 12 sessions of counseling per client/family.

7. METRO TRANSPORT
Joint project, with Daughters of Israel as lead agency

Metro Transport at Daughters of Israel is a collaborative agency program responding to the unmet transportation needs of senior and disabled adults within the MetroWest community. Metro Transport has been in operation for 9 months and has provided 1,986 rides to date. Metro Transport's goal is to successfully address the growing needs of the community while simultaneously creating a sustainable transportation program. In order to do so, we must establish an endowment for transportation. Every gift of $75,000.00 will enable Metro Transport to provide 1,042 rides to those seniors and disabled adults in the community that cannot pay for them.

8. ADULT JEWISH EDUCATION
Sponsored by JCC MetroWest

JCC MetroWest is pleased to request a grant to augment the Melton program that we currently offer with a multi layered approach to adult Jewish education. A grant of $55,000 would provide funding for a part-time Jewish educator, instructors fees, advertising, printing, and incidentals such as food and supplies.

9. EARLY INTERVENTION FOR PRESCHOOL STUDENTS WITH SPECIAL NEEDS
Sponsored by Jewish Education Association of MetroWest NJ (Center for Special Education)

MetroWest Early Childhood programs are identifying increasing numbers of students (10 percent - 15 percent) at-risk for special learning or emotional needs. Children aged 2-5 need supportive classrooms with teachers equipped to successfully and sensitively respond to their needs. JEA's Early Intervention Program provides teachers with support and training to better integrate these at-risk children into the classroom, thus maximizing the classroom environment for all children. JEA is seeking $30,000 to fund this much needed project.

10. MATURITY WORKS
Sponsored by Jewish Vocational Service of MetroWest

Maturity Works is a program specifically designed to provide unemployed and underemployed MetroWest residents age 45 to 70 with the vocational counseling, job placement services and support services they require to successfully re-enter the workforce so that they can provide for their families, participate in the community, and improve their emotional and physical well being. JVS is seeking $75,000 to start in January 2005.