10/11/2024
The Collective Power of Jewish Cleveland's Campaign
Daniel N. Zelman | SPECIAL TO THE CJN
Article reprinted with permission from Cleveland Jewish News
Zelman
The times in which we live are critical and constantly changing around us. In the past few years, we have faced a global pandemic and a war in Ukraine. Over the last 12 months, Israel has been drawn into a war with Hamas while defending itself from other terrorist groups. At the same time, the Jewish people have been targeted with a level of hatred and violence not seen in generations.
If we looked back further – and more closely – we would see that each year brought a unique challenge to our community. And we’d see that time and again, we came together to care for one another and keep our community moving forward.
As a native Clevelander, I feel immense pride in our community’s endless capacity and willingness to support each other, regardless of our different backgrounds or experiences. Our community’s annual Campaign for Jewish Needs is an ideal example of this, and anyone who makes a gift to our annual Campaign can be proud to be part of something bigger than any one individual.
Campaign dollars help keep Jewish Cleveland safe while preserving our community’s open and welcoming spirit. More than 3,700 community members have attended security trainings to help them recognize potential dangers and mitigate harm. And more than 100 local Jewish organizations receive security coverage from JFC Security, LLC – Jewish Federation of Cleveland’s security provider.
A gift to the campaign ensures Jewish college students feel safe and supported. Together with our beneficiary agencies, Cleveland Hillel and Hillel at Kent State University, Federation works with campus administrators to ensure students are in a safe environment and their campuses are enforcing rules against hate-driven intimidation. Federation has also launched a dedicated section on our website for all community members to obtain resources to tackle hate and misinformation.
Campaign dollars also help care for local older adults. Earlier this year, Federation established an older adult task force to identify gaps, create programing and prevent future strain on Jewish older adults and their caregivers. This task force works to address cost of living, social isolation and a shortage in qualified caregivers exacerbated during COVID-19. While this task force plans for the future, campaign dollars also immediately provide older adults with skilled home care, home-delivered meals, transportation and more.
I encourage everyone to join me in making a gift to the annual campaign. As the needs continue to grow and evolve, our campaign will grow to meet them wherever they are – in Cleveland, on college campuses, Israel and around the world. Every dollar donated makes a huge difference when we collectively come together.
Make your gift today to Federation’s annual campaign at jewishcleveland.org. The 2025 campaign will conclude on Dec. 11.
Daniel N. Zelman is the board chair of the Jewish Federation of Cleveland in Beachwood.
