Our Jewish Cleveland story began about three years ago. We moved back to Northeast Ohio and were eager enough to get in touch with the Jewish Federation of Cleveland’s Young Leadership Division (YLD) Director, Jessie Bruder.

The Jewish Federation of Cleveland joins Federations across the country in raising funds for the victims of Hurricane Harvey, Hurricane Irma, and Hurricane Maria.

I’m a 23-year-old Clevelander; I grew up in Shaker Heights. My mom is from Israel, my dad is from Akron. Judaism has always been important to us, and I love being a part of Jewish Cleveland.

I grew up in Youngstown, Ohio. In middle school, my family moved to Florida, but we always kept our ties with Northeast Ohio. My brother went to Camp Wise; many years later, I ended up moving back to Cleveland and taking a job as the Assistant Director for Camp Wise.

Imagine, a woman in her 20s responsible for delinquent male soldiers. These soldiers grew up with no support system, a criminal background or lived in a foster home. The female commanders at Havat HaShomer are in charge of shaping these young delinquents into the best soldier they can be - to get them up to an acceptable level for entry to the army.