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jewishatl
In Atlanta Jewish Community, Philanthropy

Meet Michael Kay: This Year’s Lifetime of Achievement Award Winner

Jewish Federation of Greater Atlanta is delighted to announce that Michael Kay will be presented with the Lifetime of Achievement award virtually on February 15. Michael’s leadership and his deep commitment to both the Atlanta community and our Jewish community will be celebrated at this virtual event.

Michael was born in New York City, spent his boyhood in Pittsburgh, and earned a B.S. degree in Hotel Administration at Cornell University. He came to Atlanta in 1979 to run the then-fledgling Omni International Hotels, and in 1991 went on to become the turnaround CEO of LSG Sky Chefs, the largest provider of integrated in-flight airline catering, serving 270 airlines in 48 countries.

From the moment he came to Atlanta Michael credits two mentors, Tom Cousins, and Herbert Kohn, with inspiring him to engage with philanthropy.  “Tom taught me so much about this dynamic city, its opportunities, its challenges, and its most pressing human needs. Herbert was my guide to Jewish Atlanta. The first time we met, he heard I’d been on the board of Family Services in San Francisco. The very next day he called and invited me to get involved at JF&CS. It has been my Jewish center of gravity for many years.”

Michael is the current Chair of the Board of the Jewish Community Legacy Project and is a past board chair for the Community Foundation for Greater Atlanta where he created the first donor-advised fund committee and chaired the investment committee. He served on the Federation board when Steve Rakitt was CEO and chaired the creation of a strategic plan with Mike Leven. At JF&CS, where Michael chaired the board and served for two years, he and his wife Ann were honorary co-chairs of the capital campaign that resulted in an expanded campus and new space for the agency’s innovative IndependenceWorks program. He currently sits on the boards of The Weber School and the MJCCA. After serving on the national board of Repair the World, Michael and Ann assisted in helping bring Repair to Atlanta, now in its second year serving our community.

In the wider community, Michael served on the boards of YearUp Atlanta, United Way, The Center for Working Families, KIPP Schools in Atlanta, and Points of Light Institute.

Michael believes the “superpowers” he leveraged as a nonprofit board member all come from his experiences in the business world.  “I can see and start with the big picture, but always have the end goal in mind.  I’m a believer in championing success, recognizing it and celebrating it. And I’m a transparent leader who will always tell the truth.”

Even in retirement, Michael is incredibly busy. “Ann told me, ‘I’ll give you 30 days in the house, after retirement, to decide what you’re going to do.’ So, I divide my time into thirds — the nonprofit world, the business world, and white space to play and dream.” Michael and Ann are the parents of four children and eight grandchildren, several of whom live in Atlanta, and all of whom light up their lives.

Please register here to honor Michael Kay with this richly deserved award.

jewishatl
In Atlanta Jewish Community, Jewish Education Tax Credit, Jewish Journeys, Philanthropy

Virtual Learning Wasn’t Cutting it for their Kids: Thanks to ALEF Fund, they’re an Epstein family now

When DeKalb County Public Schools announced that they would start the 2020-21 school year virtually, Susan and Scott Rosenbaum were worried.

“We were desperate for a safe, high quality, face-to-face learning option. Our second-grade son had a miserable spring with worksheets and videos. He needed a small class and a real live teacher. Our daughter was entering kindergarten. We wanted her to learn with other kids, not on a computer.”

“We toured The Epstein School and loved their model — two teachers in each classroom, small class size, and the wonderful mix of Judaics and secular studies. But tuition for two kids was not do-able for us. When we learned we qualified for scholarship support for both kids through ALEF Fund we were overjoyed. “

“This year at the Thanksgiving table when we went around to say what we were thankful for, my son said, ‘I’m thankful for my awesome school.’”

Susan and Scott were contributors to ALEF Fund even when their kids were in public school, years before they transferred to a Jewish day school. They knew it was an easy way to take the state taxes they’d have to pay anyway and turn them into scholarships supporting 20 different Jewish day schools and Jewish preschools in Georgia. “Everyone should support ALEF Fund,” Susan says. “The impact is huge.”

ALEF Fund needs you to support Jewish education! Hurry and renew your pledge. You have until December 31 to apply for a 2021 tax credit. Don’t miss this opportunity to support Jewish education. Our website, aleffund.org, is open for pledges. Renewing is easy — just log on as a returning user and follow the prompts. If you need assistance, call Rachel Rosner at 404-870-1879 and she will be happy to assist you.

As a past participant, you know that ALEF Fund is a win-win: redirecting state tax dollars to scholarships for hundreds of families a year.

jewishatl
In Atlanta Jewish Community, Atlanta Jewish Foundation, Caring, Philanthropy

Using Foundation Tools to Build the Jewish Future

Elaine and Jerry Blumenthal’s oldest son Matthew was five years old when he was diagnosed with Muscular Dystrophy. Matthew’s special needs, and a deepening commitment to Jewish life set a chain of events in motion that had a profound impact on the whole family.  I grew up in a warm, orthodox Jewish family in Savannah,” Jerry says. “Elaine grew up in Topeka, Kansas where there were only about 100 Jews in the whole town. It wasn’t until we attended a retreat at Camp Barney where Rabbi Irving (Yitz”) Greenberg was the scholar in residence, that our family began to walk a road to greater Jewish observance.It became clear to us that Matthew and all our kids really belonged in Jewish day school. The Hebrew Academy, which is now Atlanta Jewish Academy, was the community day school that made sense for us. Matthew attended from first grade through graduation. Eventually, with the encouragement of Rabbi Goodman at the Ahavath Achim Synagogue, we decided to have a kosher home.”

“Matthew’s positive experience showed us how day school could knit a Jewish community together,” says Elaine. “Hebrew Academy enrolled kids from every denomination. When Matthew was in his bar mitzvah year, he attended his classmates’ simchas (celebrations) at every single synagogue in town. When it was his turn to become a bar mitzvah, we were members of Temple Sinai, but even the more observant students came. They took a hotel room together so they could walk to synagogue and celebrate with us. They were among Matthew’s best friends.”

After Matthew died at age 24, the head of school at Hebrew Academy knew we were looking for a way to memorialize him. Mathew’s grandparents, Saul and Adele Blumenthal, donated the seed money to start up the Matthew Blumenthal M’silot (Pathways) Program supporting children with special needs. With their sustaining gift and support from our endowment fund at Atlanta Jewish Foundation, the M’silot program continues at Atlanta Jewish Academy.”

To this day we depend on Atlanta Jewish Foundation to manage and grow our investments, not only for M’silot, but for The Jewish Home, JF&CS, Birthright Israel, Hillels of Georgia, Limmud Atlanta, and non-Jewish charities as well. When you have your funds put away in an endowment you can continue to support the things you care about. You don’t have to worry that the funds won’t be there or that current income won’t be adequate. You can use stocks, bonds, and appreciated assets to build a solid foundation for your charitable portfolio.”

“The Foundation supports things we don’t even know about! By using the tools provided by Atlanta Jewish Foundation like donor-advised funds and endowments, we feel like we’re securing the Jewish future.”

 

 

 

jewishatl
In Atlanta Jewish Community, Caring, Philanthropy

Mississippi Jewish Childhood Inspires 25+ Years of Giving

Growing up Jewish in rural Cary, Mississippi, in a cotton farming family, Deborah Lamensdorf Jacobs quickly understood that she was a living exemplar of her faith. She reflects, “It was really an honor to represent Judaism in our small community. The way we treated our neighbors underscored what we believed in. We valued education and opportunity. At my father’s funeral two years ago in Vicksburg, a man came through the receiving line and told me how when he was trying to raise funds to establish the Cary Christian Health Center to help minorities, the churches turned him down. My uncle and my father were the first ones who stepped up to fund the center. That’s an early example of how I saw philanthropy as a child. It was how we lived our values.”

Years later, as a young woman, that imprint remained strong. Deborah ventured to Atlanta and quickly became involved in Jewish organizational life. While volunteering at a Federation phone-a-thon, a single guy named Lou Jacobs asked for her phone number. They married soon after and together raised a family whose life was enriched by synagogue, Jewish day school, Jewish camp, BBYO, and the MJCCA, to name just a few. No surprise then, that for more than 25 years the Jacobs have made their largest annual gift to Federation. As a Silver Circle donor Deborah says with pride, “Life showed me that Jews are community builders — people who see a need and fulfill it. That’s the spirit of Federation.”

Have you made your 2021 Community Campaign pledge yet? Donate here.

jewishatl
In Atlanta Jewish Community, Philanthropy

Silver Circle Donor, Kevin Cranman – Why I Give

by Kevin Cranman

It’s been my pleasure to support Federation’s Community Campaign, and to hear that I’ve been doing it for over 25 years makes me feel good, not old! After returning to Atlanta from law school in 1993, I began to participate in Federation activities, including the national convention in 1996, which is where I met my wonderful wife, Sheila Friedman Cranman. I enjoyed serving on the Young Leadership Program and being invited to serve with leaders like Joe Rubin and Lynne Halpern on the 2001-2002 Community Campaigns. I enjoyed sitting at the “big kids” table and learning about the allocations process.

Today Sheila and I have two daughters: Katherine, a senior, who has attended Atlanta Jewish Academy (AJA) since first grade, and Caroline, 15, who attended through eighth grade. I’ve also served on the AJA Board of Trustees so I understand the challenges of sustaining an organization and how important support from the community, including Federation, can be. We’re also grateful for the assistance of other Federation beneficiary agencies, like JF&CS and The One Group (part of Jewish HomeLife), which have provided opportunities for Sheila’s dad to volunteer, and later provided assistance when he became ill in 2019.

Though my active participation has ebbed and flowed over the years, the benefits I received both personally, and as part of a larger community, far exceeded the time or money I contributed. The important part is that we work collectively to support the community. I’ve continued to support Federation not only because it seems like the right thing to do, but because Federation serves as a centralized organization to collect funds for efficient allocation, as well as to provide other services and support to the community. What an honor to be a 25+ year Silver Circle donor.

jewishatl
In Atlanta Jewish Community, Philanthropy

Kenny Silverboard: A Community Campaign Champion

Kenny Silverboard, who leads our Business and Professionals division, is a veteran of many Federation Community Campaigns, yet he’s anything but blasé about his sixth one. Today, as the 2021 Campaign opens, Kenny cannot wait to engage with the community. “In a town full of transplants, I’m a Jewish unicorn — an Atlanta native son (Morningside Elementary School, Grady HS, Georgia State) with deep ties in the Jewish community.”

“Though the pandemic has taken away face-to-face events and large meetings, I believe there‘s a much deeper understanding of Federation’s value to the community now. Our donors saw us take the lead with the COVID-19 Emergency Fund, which allowed our partners to deliver essential services and keep their doors open. They know we support the entire community, as well as needs in Israel. I know from the bottom of my heart that the community will step up for the Community Campaign to sustain the whole ecosystem for today and the future.”

Asked how he “trains” for the Community Campaign, Kenny says, “I live by the words of Mark Twain: Find a job you enjoy doing, and you will never have to work a day in your life. “Because I love what I do, I take what we do seriously, while not taking myself too seriously.”  Kenny is ready to receive your 2021 pledge: contact him at ksilverboard@jewishatlanta.org.

jewishatl
In Atlanta Jewish Community, Federation Innovation, Innovation, Philanthropy

What Brad Does

You don’t need to save the future of Jewish Atlanta by yourself, Brad Cook already has an idea for that – it’s called Career Up Now and it creates professional connections for young people through a Jewish lens.

Setting Young Jews on Amazing Career Paths

Dr. Bradley Caro Cook

As a Jewish entrepreneur and innovator (and an Atlanta native), I create simple solutions to engage Jewish young adults with low to no current Jewish connection or engagement. I believe that unless there’s a drastic shift in how we grab the attention of 18-26 year-olds, keep them engaged with Judaism, and inspire them to become the next generation of leadership, our Jewish communal infrastructure is at risk. When I learned about Federation Innovation’s Propel Grant program, I got excited.

I know that college students and recent graduates are hungry to advance their careers, grow their networks, and build community. So, in 2015, Rabbi Adam Grossman and I launched Career Up Now, combining mentorship and engagement, through a Jewish lens, to help emerging professionals form personal, professional, and soulful connections with industry leaders in the Jewish community. Since launching we have piloted in 9 U.S. cities and are scaling in four of those cities. Now, thanks to a Bloom seed grant from Federation Innovation, and support from the Joyce and Ramie Tritt Family Foundation and Mark Silberman, Career Up Now is in Atlanta.

In Atlanta, our first cohort consisted of 12 student leaders from Emory University. I soon thereafter realized there is little support or mentoring for young Jewish women entering business and STEM fields.  As time went on I found this to be true on a national level and kept hearing Rabbi Tarfon, our ancient Jewish cheerleader and rebbe say, “while you don’t have to complete the task, you are not free to desist from this critical endeavor.”

While examining our mentor demographic, I discovered that we had only one woman industry leader contact or mentor for every 20 men. To address that imbalance, we doubled down to solve the problem we’ve launched Women of Wisdom https://www.careerupnow.org/atlanta-spring-2019.

While we achieved gender balance for our initial Atlanta Career Up Now due to the high demand for more women’s programs in Atlanta we needed to rapidly grow the number of women industry leaders in our network. To do this, we leveraged growth hacking for engagement,  a process of rapid engagement growth enabling non-profits to accomplish in three months that which would take years to do. Using these strategies, we recruited 200 women industry leaders into our network in just three months. Now these Women of Wisdom are helping expand our network by engaging their colleagues and friends with Career Up Now programming.

Atlanta has been a pivotal experience and we are excited to continue to grow Career Up Now in Atlanta.

jewishatl
In Federation Innovation, Innovation, Philanthropy

Meet the Bloom Grant Winners

Big Ideas Are Taking Root
Federation’s second round of Bloom Innovation seed grants have now been awarded to an exciting and diverse group of Jewish social change makers and organizations. We’re investing in innovation for our community because it brings new energy and new people to our collective enterprise of creating a thriving, relevant and dynamic Jewish Atlanta. “These Bloom grants will help seed and support nonprofits in our innovation ecosystem who are taking risks and trying new things in a collaborative manner, so they can get off the ground and move more quickly to serving the growing needs of our community,” says Jori Mendel, V.P. of Innovation. “We’re excited to provide strategic support, mentorship and community to support these great new ideas that are springing up from existing agencies and organizations, community leaders, start-ups, synagogues and nonprofits, and we’re hopeful that many will succeed and move to scale.” See who the winners are and how they’re committed to making Jewish Atlanta bloom!

  • AgeWell | Providing operational support for evaluation software that promotes early detection of risk factors in aging adults. This is a collaboration between the JF&CS, Jewish Home Life Communities & MJCCA.
  • Birthday Celebrations | Supporting in-person birthday visits and conversations for Holocaust survivors to reduce social isolation and increase connection. This is a collaboration between the Holocaust Survivor Support Fund (HSSF) and JF&CS.
  • MLK Shabbat Civic Dinners | In collaboration with Repair the World, OneTable, MLK Center & AJC Access, and many other young adult organizations in our community, 10 MLK Shabbat dinners will bring Jewish values to the table for a civil rights discussion among young adults who are passionate about civic engagement through a Jewish lens. Shabbat dinners will engage 100 young professionals in diverse geographic areas.
  • Consortium of ATL Jewish Day Schools | A joint marketing project raising awareness of day school offerings and their diversity among Greater ATL. This is a collaboration between seven Jewish day schools: Atlanta Jewish Academy, Chaya Mushka Children’s House, The Davis Academy, The Epstein School, Temima, Torah Day School of Atlanta and The Weber School.
  • Door L’ Door | Creating a network of door openers who offer a radically warm welcome to ATL newcomers, through intimate one-on-one coffee dates to learn about their interests and connect them to the Jewish community. The goal is to launch in 2 test neighborhoods.
  • Emory Hillel Innovation Fund | To support Emory students to create innovative programs & spaces on the Emory campus to grow Jewish student engagement.
  • Grandparents Learning Together (GLT) In collaboration with local rabbis and Jewish educators and learning organizations, GLT will create a4-part learning curriculum to celebrate and explore grandparents’ essential family roles through biblical, rabbinic and other Jewish resources.
  • Interfaith Family Meetups | Convenes two-hour meetups with Jewish interfaith couples in their 20s and 30’s, to provide a safe space to connect and discuss joys and challenges. Three meetups are planned, taking place in geographically diverse radically welcoming locations.
jewishatl
In Philanthropy

Conversations With Local Pandemic Heroes

A large audience of 189 people logged onto Zoom to hear Dr. Howard Silverboard, Pulmonologist and Critical Care Physician at Northside Hospital and Tony Levitas, a COVID-19 survivor, share their experiences on the frontlines of the pandemic. Sponsored by the Maimonides Society, Federation’s network for medical professionals, this was the first in a series of upcoming programs that will look at how people in our community are responding to urgent needs now. If you missed it, watch the video here. 

Next in the series, Thursday, May 7, from 4–5 pm, Jenny Levison, owner of Souper Jenny, and Jean Millkey, Manager of the JF&CS Kosher Food Pantry, will share how they are helping meet the demand for food. Register and join this Zoom conversation to learn how Jenny and Jean are working to make a difference during this crisis and how nonprofits and businesses can partner to meet the challenge. 

If you missed Dr. Silverboard and Tony Levitas in conversation, watch the video here. 

On the Maimonides Society call, Dr. Silverboard described his mounting fear as COVID-19 was gaining strength in Italy and threatened to overwhelm the U.S. healthcare system. “By March 15 it was clear that a surge was coming, and Atlanta began to prepare for COVID-19 patients,” he said. “Disaster management is something critical care doctors are trained for but most of us had never truly experienced it. It’s been harrowing to treat patients while wearing gas masks under strict protective protocols. There’s a routine for staying safe now, and I am less concerned about bringing the disease home, but we are learning as we go. Thankfully, we are not in a situation like New York City.”

Tony Levitas, a psychologist and musician, is the father of two children. He was admitted to Northside Hospital on March 17, was on a ventilator for 18 days, and was not discharged until April 13. Tony is slowly gaining strength and recuperating at home. His doctors have told him that he had received medication at “veterinary levels” while in the hospital, and it clearly saved his life.

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