The Center for Jewish Philanthropy of Greater Phoenix (CJP) has awarded more than $1.4 million in its 2022 grant cycle to Jewish organizations, programs, and services throughout the Valley, in Israel and other overseas locations. This marks the first combined grant cycle since the integration of the Jewish Community Foundation and Jewish Federation in 2021.

The CJP awarded grants to 36 organizations that provide programs and services including community engagement, education, Holocaust awareness, and senior and youth services. Nine of these organizations are in Israel and other overseas locations.

“The CJP recognizes the significant and valuable contributions that have been made in our community from both the Federation and the Foundation throughout the years,” said Richard Kasper, Chief Executive Officer. “With these grants, we continue to focus on supporting community needs and enriching Jewish lives in our community through the many programs and initiatives that touch the lives of thousands of individuals every year.”

This year’s grant recipients include:

COMMUNITY ENGAGEMENT

East Valley Jewish Community Center, General Support and Auschwitz Live, Virtual Tours for Students, $83,000

Funding supports general operating costs and provides free tours to students in the Chandler Unified School District to experience Auschwitz Live Virtual Tours, the only live, online tour through history’s most notorious death camp.

Hillel Jewish Student Center at ASU, General Support and Hillel Co-Op, $80,500

Hillel at ASU is the center of Jewish life on campus. Funding supports programing including a new initiative, Hillel Co-op, which convenes students in small groups to address current issues and develop leadership skills.

Jewish Community Relations Council (JCRC), Expansion of JCRC Work Statewide, $20,000

Grant funding will be used to help expand the JCRC to include leadership and oversight of the JCRC in Tucson to help increase the safety and security of the whole of the Jewish community of Arizona.

JewishPhoenix.com, Community Website, $83,000

The new digital home of Greater Phoenix’s Jewish community, JewishPhoenix.com aims to connect people to the wide array of programming and opportunities to engage in Jewish life.

Valley of the Sun Jewish Community Center, General Support, $433,000

The Valley of the Sun JCC serves as a community hub that provides access to cultural, educational, social and health and fitness programs for people of all ages and backgrounds.

EDUCATION

Bureau of Jewish Education, General Support, IGNITE – Inspire and Empower Today’s Jewish Educators, and Wise Aging, $62,000

Funding supports educational programming including Wise Aging, a program that helps active seniors explore the issues of aging and IGNITE, an 18-month learning series for religious school educators in Greater Phoenix.

Shabbat Project Arizona, Life Purpose, Empowered Marriage, and Parenting: How to Overcome Stress, Negativity and Anxiety, $2,500

This 16-week program for married Jewish couples with children uses Torah sources and positive psychology to help improve all areas of their personal lives.

Valley Beit Midrash, Education Programs, $19,250

Valley Beit Midrash strives to improve the quality of Jewish life in our community through transformative Jewish education including classes, panel discussions, and scholars-in-residence.

Oasis School, Forming Critical First Year Connections: $12,000

Pardes Jewish Day School: $16,719

Phoenix Hebrew Academy: $6,744

She’arim Torah High School: $2,665

Torah Day School: $17,114

Yeshiva High School of Arizona: $1,758

HOLOCAUST PROGRAMMING

Arizona Jewish Historical Society (AZJHS), Life in Shadows: Hidden Children and the Holocaust $10,000

From September 2022 – January 2023, AZJHS will feature an exhibit from United States Holocaust Memorial Museum that examines the role of ordinary people in the Holocaust and the variety of motives and pressures that influenced individuals to act.

ASU, Center for Jewish Studies, Genocide Awareness Week, $10,000

This week-long event addresses how we confront the legacy of the Holocaust and other mass genocides, while also raising awareness about current and ongoing threats of genocide and related mass atrocity crimes around the world.

SENIORS

Chabad of Arizona, Smile on Seniors (SOS), $10,000

Dedicated to enriching the lives of the senior population in Greater Phoenix, SOS offers programs to educate, and encourage Jewish engagement for seniors, their families, and the volunteers who provide services.

Chabad House, Smile on Seniors West Valley, $10,000

Smile on Seniors West Valley provides Jewish programming, education and experiences geared specifically to the senior and aging Jewish population in the West Valley.

Senior Rides Program, $53,000

The Center for Jewish Philanthropy’s Senior Rides program provides low-cost rides to Jewish seniors who are unable to drive and in need of transportation.

Jewish Family and Children’s Service, Jewish Community Services, Virtual Center for Senior Enrichment, Senior Concierge, $266,500

Funding supports overall programming including the Senior Concierge and Virtual Center that help connect older Jewish adults to programs and services to help them remain active, safe, connected, and independent.

Kivel Campus of Care, Jewish Services and Programs, $5,000

Funding provides Shabbat and High Holiday services, Jewish holiday celebrations, transportation to Smile on Seniors Shabbat dinners, and discussions regarding Israel to Kivel residents.



SERVICES

Chabad of Arizona, Friendship Circle, $10,000

Committed to serving all members of the community regardless of religious affiliation, the Friendship Circle provides support to families of children with special needs.

Ezras Cholim, Shabbat Dinners for Jews in Need, $13,000

Funding will provide weekly Shabbat dinners, which are delivered Valley-wide, to families who are referred by Jewish Family and Children’s Service and Jewish Day Schools.

Gesher Disability Resources, General Support and Camp Assistance for Children with Disabilities, $32,100

Gesher helps individuals with special needs and their families in the Jewish community to lead fuller lives. A portion of funding supports summer camp assistance for children with disabilities.

Minkoff Center for Jewish Genetics, BRCA Positive Support Network, $8,500

Funding the launch of a network of support that will provide ongoing help – both financial and emotional – for those that find themselves with a BRCA positive diagnosis.



YOUTH

Lehadleek, Jewish Youth Outreach, $10,000

Phoenix has the second largest Bukharian Jewish community in the United States. Lehadleek’s goals are to offer educational and social programs to bridge the generational gap between traditional parents and their secular children, who are on the brink of assimilation.

West Coast NCSY, Take Away 2K, $6,000

Take Away 2k will educate Jewish and non-Jewish Phoenix and Scottsdale teens about antisemitism. The program will be offered at five high schools, followed by a community-wide awareness event created by the teens, under the guidance of NCSY’s senior educator in antisemitism.



ISRAEL & OVERSEAS

American Jewish Joint Distribution Committee (JDC), General Support and Humanitarian Assistance for Elderly Jews in the Former Soviet Union, $14,000

JDC’s humanitarian assistance program offers vital services to elderly Jews living in post-Soviet states who are unable to meet their own basic needs and have nowhere else to turn for support.

Hillel – the Right to Choose, Support for Ex-Ultra-Orthodox Women, Single Mothers and Children, $10,301

This comprehensive program includes counseling and treatment; educational and employment programs, free legal aid, scholarships, social and cultural programming and housing subsidies and transitional housing in Hillel’s emergency shelter for 25 women ages 18-27.

itworks – Empowering People, Single Mothers from Poverty to Stability, $10,000

This program provides training and support to help single mothers (ages 19-55) learn necessary skills to find employment, so they can support themselves and their families.

Jewish Agency for Israel (JAFI), General Support and Absorption of Ethiopian Immigrants in Israel, $14,000

Funding supports the process of Aliyah for Ethiopian immigrants and provides the housing, services, and training needed to assimilate into Israeli society.

Jewish Federations of North America, Ukraine Relief, $50,000

Grants made to JFNA partners (JDC, JAFI and World ORT) for services including trauma relief, temporary housing, humanitarian support, transportation, Aliyah and absorption, emergency operations and security.

Mavoi Satum, A World Without Agunot, $10,000

Mavoi Satum will train former and current mesoravot get (women whose husbands refuse to grant them a Jewish divorce) to become activists. They will use their platform to work inside the Knesset and government ministries to bring about progressive change.

Orr Shalom for Children and Youth at Risk, Beating the Odds, $10,000

Beating the Odds is an on-going program that offers multi-faceted support and concrete assistance to 18-27-year-olds leaving their foster framework to prepare them for their transition to independence.

Shekel – Inclusion for People with Disabilities, Medical Supervision at the Hettena School/Day Center, $9,052

The program serves Jewish and Arab children (ages 3-21) from the Jerusalem area with cognitive and physical disabilities, providing them a medical professional and a social worker to address the needs of each child.

Women’s Spirit – Financial Independence for Women Survivors of Violence, Breaking the Bind, $4,366

Breaking the Bind changes fundamental Israeli policies and laws that undermine, destabilize, and weaken all women but especially women survivors of violence, and the pain and setbacks caused by systematic injustice.



About The Center for Jewish Philanthropy of Greater Phoenix (CJP)

The Center for Jewish Philanthropy of Greater Phoenix (CJP) represents the integration of the Jewish Community Foundation of Greater Phoenix and the Jewish Federation of Greater Phoenix. With a combined 130 years of support to the community, the CJP will connect and serve the Greater Phoenix community by inspiring philanthropy that supports and enlivens Jewish life locally, in Israel, and around the world. For more information, visit http://www.phoenixcjp.org or call (480) 699-1717.