JCL Update | December 20, 2013

[by Stu Silberman, President and CEO]

Jewish Community of Louisville
Whenever the JCL prepares a written document (this issue of Community, for example), I continue to be astounded by the breadth and quality of our program and service offerings and how we are able to provide them within the constraints of our current resources. No written document summarizes our work for you and on your behalf better than our JCL Annual Report, which will be available on jewishlouisville.org shortly after this issue is sent to press.

I hope you will take the time to read through that very important document, as in it you will find descriptions of:

  • Your Jewish Community of Louisville agency and the programs and services we offer;
  • The sources of revenue we receive, and how efficient we are at using that revenue to complete our mission;
  • The recipients of your philanthropy – local, national and overseas agencies;
  • The cadre of volunteers who help our staff complete their work; and
  • Our community’s endowment – the source of our future sustainability. (Is the Jewish Foundation of Louisville included in your estate plans?)
  • What the document can’t convey is the sense of pride I feel in how far this agency has progressed. Our team is composed of qualified, passionate, intelligent, caring leaders, and the positive impact we are having is felt every day in our facility and in the agencies we support.

Our program content is fresh, relevant and of the highest quality. Our facility, while aging, is clean, safe, and being invested in prudently. Our volunteers are committed, helpful, supportive ambassadors of the great work they are seeing be completed first-hand.

Where do you fit into this gem of a community resource? Are you a participant? A donor? A volunteer? A positive voice for us? We are your agency. We are here for you, your children, your grandchildren. Yet we also need you. Your contribution. Your participation. Your advocacy.

It’s the time of year where we once again ask those who are blessed to share a portion of their good fortune with those who need our support.

In our annual report, you will see how your contributions to the Federation Annual Campaign are used: for helping Jews in need in Israel and elsewhere overseas, for providing support services and education here in Louisville through Jewish Family and Career Services, and our three secondary religious and Hebrew schools, and through the work of our own agency including:The Jewish Community Relations Council, that advocates for Israel and for you; and

  • Hillel, that supports the Jewish students on the University of Louisville and Bellarmine campuses by making a community just for them; and
  • Jewish life and learning through programs including PJ Library for our young families, B’nai Tzedek (teen philanthropy), Teen Connection and BBYO leadership development, Jewish Film Festival, community celebrations and commemorations, etc.; and
  • Operating our Jewish Foundation of Louisville, with hundreds of funds to ensure a vibrant and secure Jewish future in Louisville; and
  • Marketing our mission-driven programs and services and those of our sister agencies and congregations to the entire community through this publication, our website and weekly emails; and running the Jewish Federation of Louisville Annual Campaign, where generous donors from across the community are invited to make one donation that supports so many programs, services and people in need.

Please take the time to read our very important Annual Report, get a clear understanding of what we do and why we do it, feel the pride shared by all of us at your Jewish Community of Louisville – our Jewish Community of Louisville, and enable us to do the extraordinary things we do on our community’s behalf.

The satisfaction you will feel from helping us fulfill the needs of the Jewish community will fill you with pride as together we build and sustain a vibrant, caring, inclusive community rooted in Jewish values.

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