11 Iyyar 5785

Dear Friend,

“The mission of the Jewish Endowment Foundation of the Jewish Federation of Western Massachusetts is to solicit, administer, and invest gifts from donors in order to build a strong endowment. This will ensure that the Jewish community of Western Massachusetts will have funds for present and future needs, and help serve the needs of world Jewry and the general community of Western Massachusetts.”

While I haven’t been “on the job” for all that long, I am consistently amazed on the breath of grants that are provided to individuals and organizations in our region. It is thanks to many individuals who had the foresight in their lifetime(s) to create funds and initiatives that help define and support our Jewish community and Jewish life in the Pioneer Valley, in Israel, and throughout the world.

Established in 1972, funds were initially created to provide support for the Annual Community Campaign. That role has expanded greatly over the past 53 years to provide funding for scholarships (we’ll talk about that in the coming weeks), Israel study and travel (we spoke about that a few weeks ago), Jewish education, professional development, missions, Holocaust education, and Israel.

Recently, one of those funds established to support Israel, the Anna P. Housen Fund for Israel made awards to several community groups for celebrating Israel and educating our community.  The support from this fund made the following programs possible including:

“Israel Through the Arts” at the Springfield JCC,  
Celebrating Yom HaAtzmaut” at Lander-Grinspoon Academy,
“Israel Advocacy Club” at New England Jewish Academy,
“Commemorating October 7th” at Temple Beth El,
“Israel Curriculum Year” at Jewish Community of Amherst,
“Israel Shabbat” at UMass Hillel,
“Yom HaAtzmaut Celebration” at B’Yachad, and
“Shai Davidai-Combatting anti-Israel Activism on Campus” at Sinai Temple.

The Federation’s Jewish Endowment Foundation made these programs possible.

People just like you made these programs possible thanks to their foresight in creating the funds and assets that make these (and many dozens of other initiatives) possible.

“Just as my ancestors planted for me, so I will plant for my children”

Babylonian Talmud Taanit 23a

You can be one of those people who has the foresight and commitment to our Jewish community and our Jewish world by calling us to have a discussion on your concerns, your priorities, your dreams. Whether by an insurance policy, a testamentary commitment, or an outright gift, we are here to assist you to make your dreams a reality; now and forever.

Shabbat Shalom,

Adam Solender