Katlyn Carter: 202.478.6176, kcarter@mrss.com , or
Joe Berkofsky: 212.284.6714, joe.berkofsky@jewishfederations.org
Andy Neusner: andy.neusner@jewishfederations.org
09-16-09 | Source: Malibu Times
David Gale, vice president of MTV New Media, has been nominated for national recognition in the first annual Jewish Community Hero Awards for his devotion to improving the lives of youths living with HIV/AIDS. Read More »
09-16-09 | Source: The Jewish Week (NY)
Who’s your Jewish hero? Someone who founds a yeshiva or works against Christian missionaries, who serves as an organ donor or as a volunteer at a cancer center, who starts an orphanage for African children or helps the homeless in the U.S.? If you have a hero, you have a month to make a choice in United Jewish Communities’ first annual Jewish Community Hero Awards. Read More »
09-16-09 | Source: Hartford Courant 'Fear, Itself' blog
She's the tireless leader of the epicenter of Hartford's cool, Charter Oak Cultural Center, and she's in the running as a Jewish Community Hero award with the Jewish Federations of North America... Why would you vote for her? Because Rabbi Berman cares. Because she doesn't give up and she doesn't give in and there's some question as to whether she ever sleeps, given the hours she gives to the city. Need more reason? Because if she wins, the center will get $25,000 for more fabulous programs. Do it. Do it! Read More »
09-15-09 | Source: BLUEPRINT (NY, LA, Jerusalem editions)
Some recent scandals involving Jewish leaders have left many yearning to read about people doing the right thing. So it is fitting that positive stories of the work of Jewish leaders can be visible as part of a national contest. More than 150 people have been nominated and more than 200,000 votes have been logged for the Jewish Community Heroes contest, run by United Jewish Communities/Jewish Federations of North America. “I think it’s great to have something to highlight efforts of volunteering across the country,” said Ari Teman, a leading vote-getter. At the young age of 27, Teman is a stand-up comedian, with a routine that features a joke about a couple shopping at Ikea. But his work as the founder of JCorps (jcorps.org) is no joke. After founding the non-denominational organization in New York, it has spread like wildfire, with more than 10,000 volunteers who have served more than 21,000 meals at soup kitchen and the like. Read More »
09-15-09 | Source: The Jewish Star (NY)
It might be the first Jewish American Idol contest or perhaps it’s just the cleverest membership recruiting campaign the Jewish community has seen in years. On August 4th, the United Jewish Communities launched Jewish Community Heroes, an online contest for voters to decide which heroic nominee will receive a $25,000 prize. While the contest is a way to acknowledge leaders inside the Jewish community, the contest also has another agenda: to ensure a supply of future volunteers for the United Jewish Communities. Read More »
08-27-09 | Source: Jewish Journal of Los Angeles
Prompted by the increasing popularity of online social networking, UJC/The Jewish Federations of North America has launched a national campaign to honor “Jewish Community Heroes.” In hopes of reaching out to younger generations, the new initiative will honor one Jewish Community Hero of the Year, who will receive $25,000 to put toward his or her community work, and also recognize four additional finalists. Since the campaign began in early August, more than 100 heroes from across North America have been nominated, including 11 from the Los Angeles area. Read More »
08-19-09 | Source: Jewlicious
Hi. I don’t want to be a nudnik. We’ve already written a number of posts about the UJC’s Jewish Community Heroes project. Thanks to your support, our initial nominee, Rabbi Yonah, has been in the top 10 pretty much since he was nominated... But what’s really cool about this project are all the other nominated heroes, regardless of how many votes they do or do not have. These are earnest and ordinary folks from all across the US and Canada whose selflessness and civic mindedness have inspired others to nominate them. These individuals demonstrate that despite all the fears expressed by study after study and headline after headline, the Jews of North America have still managed to maintain a vibrant and giving community, in part on the strength of these heroes. Read More »
08-18-09 | Source: Chabad Lubavitch News
Rabbi Chaim Lazaroff, Chabad representative of Houston Texas, was nominated for Jewish Community Hero of the Year. Sponsored by the UJC, the Hero of the Year will be chosen by a panel of judges from among 10 seminfinalists based on popular, public vote, to be announced at the UJC General Assembly this November. The hero receives $25,000 to further his or her community work. Four additional honorees will be announced as well. “Rabbi Chaim is a hero in the Houston Jewish community that many people look up to,” wrote the nominator on the UJC website. Read More »
08-18-09 | Source: The Examiner (first published in DC Edition)
United Jewish Communities, the umbrella group for North American Jewish Federations, is honoring grassroots and local Jewish life through their Jewish Community Hero contest. Everyone is eligible to vote for (and nominate!) his or her favorite hero. Here are some names you should know among our local nominees. Read More »
08-18-09 | Source: Jewlicious
So I thought this whole campaign was pretty cool. And then I thought “Wait, what? Since when is the UJC cool?? What’s going on here?” To that end I got in touch with the fine folks behind this campaign and had an extended email chat with Andy Neusner of UJC, who’s been leading the development of Jewish Community Heroes, and Lindsey Silken, editor in chief of JVibe, who has been blogging at Jewishcommunityheroes.org. I attempted to cleverly trick Andy and Lindsey into letting me know what exactly was the hidden agenda here. Read More »
08-13-09 | Source: Climbing Sinai
Who wants to be Jewish nowadays? I mean, we swindle billions of dollars (and from nonprofit organizations, no less), we throw lavish parties in jail, and our religious leaders get caught in stings involving money laundering and organ traffiking. I mean, geez, we should be throwing away our yarlmukes and flushing our Chanukkah menorahs down the toilet. … Oh. Wait. Remember that old adage, “don’t confuse the Jew with the Judaism”? Well, while it can easily be argued that these scandals are rooted in internal communal problems, we need to remember that Judaism is at its heart a religion steeped in ethics, social justice, and moral responsibility. That’s why it’s so great that the UJC – the umbrella organization for the Jewish Federations of North America – has just launched the first Jewish Community Heroes Award. We need a reminder that there are still wonderful, passionate Jewish leaders who are doing incredible things. Read More »
08-13-09 | Source: JewPoint0 - DarimOnline
In a year of great change in the Jewish community, often coming for all the wrong reasons, United Jewish Communities is shining a light on the positive deviants amongst us in its first Jewish Community Heroes Awards. The award is a grassroots effort — meaning anyone can nominate anyone for the award. Once someone is nominated, he or she is showcased on the Jewish Community Heroes website, as well as on local editions of the website hosted by local federations and other initiative partners. Community members can then visit these sites and vote for whomever they think is the hero of the year. Read More »
08-07-09 | Source: JGooders Blog
In recent years there has been a trend to divide social activists generationally. Encouraging the the NextGen of Jewish leaders is particularly popular and there are a host of awards and honor rolls singling out the under 40s, such as The Jewish week's 36 under 36, JVibes 18 under 18 and more. This may be a reaction to an overall older leadership dominating most major organizations and an attempt to keep the Jewish community relevant and open to younger people, but it does tend to divide social entrepeneurs according to age-based definitions. Read More »
08-07-09 | Source: The Jewish Chronicle
A national Jewish organization is looking for heroes, and it’s asking for some help. Read More »
08-07-09 | Source: Jewish Telegraphic Agency
The UJC: Jewish Federations of North American wants to know who are your living Jewish heroes, and the organization might give one of them $25,000. Read More »
08-07-09 | Source: Grinspoon Institute
Do you know someone who is bettering their community through service and outreach? I just learned of an initiative of the UJC/The Jewish Federations of North America that aims to "celebrate the selflessness and courage" of these individuals. They are even giving the winner $25,000 to help support their cause! Read More »
08-07-09 | Source: Jewish Donor Blog
The Jewish community needs a hero. In the shadow of the Madoff scandal and the recent arrests of Rabbis in the U.S. Syrian community we are all looking for a breath of fresh air and the UJC's "Jewish Community Heroes" event is like taking a refreshing walk in your favorite nature spot! Read More »
08-07-09 | Source: Jewish Philanthropy
UJC/The Jewish Federations of North America, collectively among the top 10 charities on the continent, announced today the launch of the First Annual Jewish Community Hero Awards, which celebrates the selflessness and courage of individuals who are bettering their communities through service and outreach. Read More »