About the Jewish Community Heroes Campaign

The Jewish Community Heroes campaign celebrates the selflessness and courage of those who put others before themselves. This is our community’s opportunity to shine a national spotlight on the unsung, whether their work impacts five people or 5,000. Over the next 3 months, anyone across North America can go online, submit nominations and vote for the real candidates they believe best embody the spirit of the award. We’ll honor five finalists this November at our General Assembly in Washington, D.C.  Of the five finalists, one will be named the Jewish Community Hero of the Year.

Click here to see the many great Jewish organizations that are a part of this campaign organized by UJC/The Jewish Federations of North America. 

Who can be nominated as a Jewish Community Hero?

We are encouraging communities to nominate Heroes from all walks of life — the neighbor running non-profit bake sales, a teacher building a school for the underserved, the entrepreneur donating services to neighborhood development, the community organizer bringing people together.

Nominees must be residents of the United States or Canada and be 13 years of age or older.

Employees of United Jewish Communities, Jewish Federations and other official sponsors of this event cannot be nominated. Employees of any National Federation/Agency Alliance member organization also cannot be nominated. However, volunteers for any of these agencies are eligible for nomination as Jewish Community Heroes.

Anyone can nominate a Hero and vote for candidates. 

Nominations are now closed.  Please visit us next year to nominate your Hero in the second annual Jewish Community Heroes campaign.  

How will the Hero of the Year be selected?

There are three steps:

  1. The public nominates and votes for their favorite heroes.  The Deadline for new nominations is 11:59PM Eastern Time on Tuesday, September 22nd.
  2. From the semifinalists -- the top 20 nominations voted on by the public via the online vote -- a panel of judges selects the five finalists.  
  3. The Jewish Community Hero of the Year and four other national honorees will be announced at the UJC General Assembly in November. 

    Please note that ALL nominees will receive a certificate of recognition at the end of the campaign.   

When does voting open?  How do I vote?

Voting for the top 20 semi-finalists is open now through 11:59PM Eastern Time on Thursday, October 8.  Votes are limited to one per user per Hero every 12 hours.  (You may vote for more than one Hero, but you may only vote for the same Hero once per 12 hour period.)  All results will be audited after the close of online voting to ensure compliance with voting regulations.  Click here to browse and vote for Heroes. 

What criteria will be used to pick the Hero of the Year and additional honorees? 

The essential criteria will be:

  1. The nominee shows exceptional qualities and commitment in line with the mission of UJC/Jewish Federations of North America, strengthening the Jewish community, and the ideals of tikkun olam.
  2. The nominee complies with the rules of the Jewish Community Heroes campaign.

What will honorees receive?

The Hero of the Year will be provided with $25,000 to be used as an investment in their community project or non-profit effort via his or her local Jewish Federation, or another recognized 501(c)3 charitable entity or Canadian equivalent, and he or she will be invited to and recognized at the 2009 UJC/Federation General Assembly in Washington. The remaining four finalists will receive a smaller amount to be used as an investment in their community project or non-profit effort via their local Jewish Federations, or recognized 501(c)3 charitable entities or Canadian equivalent.

   

UJC and the other participants in this program reserve the right to modify the rules and award-allocation process and award amounts during the course of the event as they see fit.