community announcements

Bay Area Jewish LGBTQI Study in Progress
The LGBT Alliance of the Jewish Federation is spearheading a needs assessment focused on the LGBT population within the Jewish community of the Bay Area. The purpose of the study is to:

• Understand what is meaningful to LGBT Jews in terms of their Jewish identities;
• Analyze the ways in which LGBT Jews currently interact - or not - with the organized Jewish community;
• Develop a portrait of what Bay Area LGBT Jews want and need from the Jewish community in terms of services, programs, and inclusion;
• Catalog existing LGBT outreach and inclusion efforts in the Bay Area Jewish community;
• Identify gaps in services and outreach to LGBT Jews and their families.

It is with enormous pride that The Center for the Study of the Holocaust and Genocide and the Alliance for the Study of the Holocaust can report on a matter of tangible and symbolic importance. Sonoma State University has established a Holocaust and Genocide Memorial Grove on the campus that will honor and memorialize all those who have suffered and have been victimized as a result of genocide. Work on the grove is currently underway and it is anticipated that it will be dedicated in the Spring of 2009.

The centerpiece of the grove is a sculpture / installation created by SSU art professor Jann Nunn. The Holocaust and Genocide Memorial Grove will be prominently sited alongside the campus lake, adjacent to the University's Alumni Grove and beside a path that will lead to the Green Music Center.The site for the grove and sculpture is a meditative and visually gripping space for visitors and will transform the area and provide a compelling context in which the community can participate.

The installation includes 600 laser inscribed bricks in two sizes, which can be dedicated to the memory of those whose lives have been affected by genocide (Donations: 4" x 8" for $100 or 8" x 8" for $250). The engraved commemorative bricks will be an integral component of the sculpture. Members and Friends of Congregation Ner Shalom are invited to participate in this project. Click here to download an order form for the memorial bricks.

Proceeds from these donations will be placed in the Paul V. Benko Endowment Fund at SSU, in support of the annual Lecture Series on the campus on Holocaust & Genocide studies. Donations are tax deductible.

A video on the project may be viewed by clicking here.

Naming opportunities are also available. If you have any questions or have an interest in underwriting this project, please contact Kate McClintock at (707) 664-2693 or via email.

If you're 20 - 40 something and would like to make new Jewish friends, participate in a Chavurah, form a playgroup, book club, movie night, find a Seder or something else, please join the Sonoma Jewish Connection by clicking here! All are welcome, inclusive of   everyone.  And please invite your friends. If you voice to the growing group what you seek, you never know, it just might come to be!

The Jewish Community Free Clinic is now accepting donations of toys and children's books. Please bring them to the Jewish Free Clinic at 490 City Center Dr., Rohnert Park. Phone #: 707-585-7780.

JFCS RIDES hits the road to help seniors go to medical appointments, shopping, personal care appointments, and local community events. 

Rides will be available:
Tuesdays and Wednesdays from Windsor to Rohnert Park (North to South) and from Oakmont to West Santa Rosa (East to West)
Thursdays are reserved for Petaluma
Mondays are reserved for Friendship Circle luncheons
How to Apply:
Those interested in enrolling in JFCS RIDES need to complete an application and schedule an in-home interview. The cost for this one time enrollment fee is $30 per year. 
 Rides can then be scheduled between 8:30 am and 4:00 pm based on the above schedule and the cost is $5 per stop. 
 For example: $10 for a round trip ride to a doctor
 $15 for a round trip ride to a doctor and a stop for grocery shopping.
(Scholarships are available for those who do not have the ability to pay). 
 Please feel free to call Seniors At Home, a program of JFCS, at 707-571-8533 with any questions.
 
JFCS RIDES is funded through client fees, individual contributions, corporate sponsorships, and a grant from the Jewish Community Federation.
Thank you very much for your help to make sure our community's seniors receive the help and support they need!

OPEN YOUR HEART TO A WAITING CHILD

Sonoma County has a growing number of children and youth whose families are unable to meet their physical and/or emotional needs. At the same time, we have a serious shortage of caring foster families
willing and able to provide safe, loving homes for children and teens, including those approaching adulthood.
Foster parents are needed for children and youth of all ages and ethnic backgrounds. Both short and long-term homes are being recruited. We particularly need people who are willing and able to care for siblings, and for children who may return home to their
parents.
Both couples and single people may  become foster parents. Renters are also welcome. We pay a monthly stipend for each child, and medical and dental coverage is provided. Training and
support are also provided.
Foster care information meetings are held monthly at
Sonoma County Family, Youth & Children's Services.
If you or someone you know is considering becoming a foster parent, please call Rita Jacobs, Foster Home Recruiter, at (707) 565-4274.

The Hebrew Free Loan Association provides interest-free loans to Jewish residents in Northern California needing assistance with personal or financial matters. Types of loans include: Student, Emergency, Adoption, Personal, Business, First-time Home Buyer, Life Cycle, Debt Consolidation, Institutional (for Jewish communal agencies and synagogues) and Special Needs (for emotionally and physically challenged people).

Since 1897, the Hebrew Free Loan of San Francisco has provided vital assistance to more than 50,000 families. Each year, we help more than 350 people to reach their goals and pave their way towards financial security and future success.

We offer a helping hand, rather than a handout. Whether we're providing people a way out of their financial distress, or helping them to realize a lifelong dream, our recipients maintain dignity and self- sufficiency as they repay their interest-free loans.

If you, or someone you know, needs financial assistance and would like to apply for an interest- free loan, please contact us by phone (415- 546- 9902) or e-mail info@hflasf.org. Check out our website: www.hflasf.org.

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Congregation Ner Shalom
A Reconstructionist Synagogue
of Sonoma & Marin Counties