Dear Friends!

It has been over a month since I started as President of CUJF and I am still very much in learning mode. As I learn more, I become increasingly appreciative of the work of my predecessor, Rebekah Noven, who did so much to improve the stability of CUJF, and of the dedicated work of our Director, Linda Bauer. I am also very much pleased with the enthusiasm of our board members and their willingness to work to make CUJF a better organization.

With CUJF in a steady state, the time has come for us to think about how we become even more relevant to our local Jewish community, how we adapt to changing times, and how we help ensuring the future of Jewish life in C-U. We have started working on some changes, from updating our antiquated software, to starting new programs and reorganizing the internal structure of CUJF. We are also working to achieve a tighter collaboration with the other Jewish organizations in town, including Hillel, the Jewish Studies program, Sinai and Chabad. More about this in the future.

In order to choose the proper direction for our future, we shall need to hear from you. We are working on a vision document for CUJF and expect to ask for your feedback and your suggestions. Meantime, I would like to get your input on two questions:

1. What organizations, in Israel or elsewhere, should CUJF support with our external allocations? The allocations to external organizations are a way for us, as a community, to express solidarity with certain causes or certain groups. While no allocation will get the unanimous support of all our community members, we aim at supporting causes that are dear to many community members and respect the variety of views in our community. Most importantly, we want to focus on a few organizations with which we can have personal connections. We want them to be part of our extended community and us to be true partners, not one of many unknown donors.  So, if you have ties to an organization that you believe  fits this description please let us know. You can contact our Allocation Chair, Lynn Wachtel, at wachtel@comcast.net.

2. What Jewish activities do you see missing in our community and would like CUJF to promote? In particular, what Jewish activities would be most relevant to the younger members of our community? Teenagers, young adults, young parents, etc. The question is both about activities to engage in during the current pandemic, and activities to start once the current restrictions are removed. Please send your suggestions to Board Member Yael Gertner, at yael.gertner@gmail.com.

Feel free to contact me with any questions or suggestions, at president@cujf.org. And please remember - CUJF needs you!

Marc Snir

President, CUJF Board of Directors