[by Phyllis Shaikun]
Jewish Hospital HealthCare Services (JHHS), the parent company and majority owner of Jewish Hospital& St. Mary’s HealthCare, is committed to stewarding its resources to support the health care mission of JHSMH and to its support of the Louisville Jewish community, which founded Jewish Hospital and contributed to its development as a premier center for medical excellence.
To that end, the organization stepped forward in February to create the “JHHS Louisville Jewish Community Excellence Grants,” a permanent funding source designed to issue grants to many local charitable organizations offering programs focused on Jewish culture/identity; health; human services and education. The primary goal is to provide programmatic support and funding for small capital projects. The organization is pleased to announce the names of agency grant recipients for the first quarter of 2010.*
Chavurat Shalom, the community program for Jewish seniors housed at The Temple, received a grant to help defray the cost of kosher lunches and transportation. According to Cindy Hytken, who helps facilitate the program, it is extremely important for seniors who live alone and do not drive to enjoy a nutritious noon meal and have contact with other seniors. She wrote, “We are so proud and thankful to receive a grant from JHHS to help further the success of the senior program. Each week we host 25 to 50 participants and provide them with a healthful nutritious lunch and an engaging program.”
Rabbi Chaim Litvin, on behalf of Chabad of Kentucky in conjunction with Gan Torah School, the Louisville Jewish Day School, the Jewish Community Center, The Temple Hebrew School and the Louisville Hebrew School, was delighted to receive a grant to help sponsor a Lag B’Omer Parade and Family Fun Day. He said, “The grant will help to bring together children from every segment of the Jewish community and enable them to celebrate Lag B’Omer as it is celebrated in Israel and in other larger Jewish communities.”
On being notified of funding for his request for updated education material for adult education at The Temple, Rabbi David Ariel-Joel said, “Thank you, this is wonderful news for us. It means that The Temple Scholars program will be much better next year. We have more than 30 adult students coming each week for a full morning of Jewish text study, and the grant will allow us to broaden our study materials and plan a visit to the Jewish museum in Cincinnati to study the American Jewish Archives there.
Judy Freundlich Tiell, executive director of Jewish Family & Career Services, was equally delighted with the granting of her organization’s request to fund a Health and Wellness Fair for individuals ages 50 and over. “JFCS is very grateful to receive a JHHS Louisville Jewish Community Excellence Grant for our fair,” she said. “We value our relationship with JHHS and look forward to providing a program that will educate our community on health issues, provide medical screenings and offer information for caregivers, seniors and boomers on the topics of retirement, careers, health and wellness, finances and more. We also hope to partner with the hospital on providing health care professionals to do screenings.”
The Temple’s Youth Education Committee received funding for a tutor for Hebrew School students. Religious School Principal Joyce Eiseman says funding for the project will positively impact students in the fourth, fifth and sixth grades who will benefit from additional Hebrew tutoring on Sunday mornings. On a personal note, she says, “It is wonderful of Jewish Hospital to understand the importance of this program for students with learning differences and to provide financial support for our Hebrew Reading Room.
Youngsters in the Jewish Community Center’s summer camp program will have a new community garden thanks to a JHHS grant. Through the garden, campers ages five-12 will learn the Jewish values of protecting our world now and in the future, guarding the earth and witnessing creation. The Center’s vice president and COO Robin Stratton noted that both the JCC and JHHS care about healthy kids and the healthy effect that gardening can have on their lives. She recalls tending the garden at Camp Young Judaea and learning lessons about nature, food quality, discipline, and the State of Israel. “I’m very excited,” she said, “that our Jewish Community Garden will teach those same concepts to Louisville’s Jewish youth.”
*Applications for JHHS Louisville Jewish Community Excellence grants may be submitted year ‘round by local Jewish not-for-profit entities and will be reviewed quarterly on January 1, April 1, July 1 and October 1, for consideration for the following quarter.