By Linda Wisch-Davidsohn

Gladys Golman/Faye Dallen Special Needs Fund Awards $77,000 in grants to advance programs and services

The Gladys Golman/Faye Dallen Special Needs Fund of the Dallas Jewish Community Foundation recently announced $77,000 in grants, which were awarded to seven deserving institutions in the Dallas area.

This year’s grant recipients include Jewish Family Service of Greater Dallas, Congregation Shearith Israel, Ann and Nate Levine Academy, Mesorah High School, The Aaron Family Jewish Community Center Sherry and Ken Goldberg Family Early Childhood Center, Congregation Anshai Torah Preschool and Akiba Academy.
The 2014 gifts will help advance teaching capabilities, promote inclusion in the schools, provide educational seminars and training days and purchase enabling technology to further contribute to classroom success for aspiring students with learning differences. These differences include Autism/Asperger’s syndrome, ADD/ADHD, Dyslexia and other learning challenges as well as other neurological disorders.
“2014 has been our most successful fundraising year to date,” said Golman-Dallen Co-Founder, Louis Zweig. “However, requests for funding have far exceeded our expectations, which is indicative of the growing awareness and accommodations among educational and religious schools for financial support in the area of Special Needs. We are most appreciative of all the contributions received this year, which enabled us to broaden programs and create new opportunities throughout a number of deserving institutions.”
A large portion of this year’s grants were funded in the spring when more than 200 bowlers participated enthusiastically in the annual Zweig Family End of School Year Bash event, hosted at BowlMor Lanes in Addison.
Currently in its eighth year, the Golman/Dallen mission is “to provide financial and educational resources to support Dallas area preschools, day schools, and religious schools and their teaching staff so that both teachers and their students with learning differences can fulfill Jewish educational goals.” The fund, is a 501(c)(3) organization housed within the Dallas Jewish Community Foundation.
For additional information or queries regarding the support of the Gladys Golman/Faye Dallen Special Needs Fund of the Dallas Jewish Community Foundation, contact Louis Zweig at lzweig@glazers.com.

It’s A Wrap — Camp Gan Israel wraps 2014 season

Camp Gan Israel, located in the heart of Plano, recently finished the 2014 summer season with a spectacular six-week program. We’ve heard that camp was a great success with over 200 children attending from across the entire spectrum of our Jewish community.
Nineteen staff members flew in from around the country to serve as junior counselors.
Campers enjoyed crafts, sports, Jewish stories and learning, swimming and amazing field trips throughout the Metroplex. The older division enjoyed ‘IShops,’ which enabled them to choose from a variety of specialty activities such as calligraphy, chess, martial arts, cupcake wars, pottery and woodworking.
Great camp leadership and staff, exciting trips and great activities imbued with a love for Judaism, provided the campers with summer memories that will last a long time.

Outstanding Partnership Award presented to JFS Career and Employment Services

On July 17, the Network of Community Ministries in Richardson (NETWORK) presented the Outstanding Partnership Award to Jewish Family Service Career and Employment Services.
JFS offers limited employment counseling, networking and job placement services.
Alice Mae Britt, CEO of NETWORK, remarked that, “from among the many partnerships established, Jewish Family Service has been outstanding in helping the people NETWORK serves learn to take greater responsibility in their job searches and obtain self-sufficiency through the new NETWORK Job Counseling program.”
Additionally, JFS Career and Employment Services also offers career and employment services throughout the community through collaborations such as Vogel Alcove, Metrocrest Social Services, Vickery Meadow Food Pantry, Planned Living Assistance of North Texas (PLAN) and Shared Housing Center.

Israel at the Crossroads hosted by Shearith Israel and AIPAC

Congregation Shearith Israel and AIPAC will host an interesting event, which is open to the entire community. “Israel at the Crossroads” is scheduled at 7:30 p.m., Wednesday, Sept. 10, at the synagogue, 9401 Douglas Ave., in Dallas. This analysis will be presented by one of the world’s leading journalists, David Horovitz. Dessert will follow.
Horovitz is the founding editor of The Times of Israel, the Jerusalem-based current affairs website that launched in 2012. The Times of Israel, which provides independent news coverage of Israel, the region and the Jewish world, is drawing a rapidly growing readership and has been welcomed for its engaging, fair-minded journalism, innovative blend of content, and elegant web-design.
Horovitz was previously the editor-in-chief of The Jerusalem Post, Israel’s English-language daily, as well as editor and publisher of The Jerusalem Report. He has written from Israel for many newspapers around the world and is a frequent interviewee on CNN, the BBC, NPR and many other TV and radio stations.
For registration information contact Jennie Loev at jloev@aipac.org.