Michelle Dodek

Special night with VSO

Michael Fish initiated a unique VSO-JFSA collaboration, which will see JFSA clients attend the symphony on Nov. 15. (photo from Michael Fish)

“There is a direct relationship between cultural experiences and good health. Whether it’s participation in the arts or appreciation for the arts, there is an emotional response for those who engage in these experiences,” said Joel Steinberg, president of Jewish Family Service Agency (JFSA).

Steinberg was offering this observation in the context of a unique opportunity that JFSA has to help 200 clients attend a special concert of music by Jewish composers performed by the Vancouver Symphony Orchestra (VSO) at the Orpheum on Nov. 15.

Michael Fish, who has been a board member for the VSO for four years, wanted to encourage more Jewish community involvement with the symphony.

“In an effort to promote the VSO, as well as bring our community more into the fold, I decided to try to do something special,” Fish told the Independent. “With the support of the VSO’s conductor and musical director, Bramwell Tovey, the VSO agreed to put together a concert of all Jewish composers that I could use as a vehicle for my goal.”

Fish continued, “I then approached Jewish Family Service Agency and asked if they would be interested in sending some of their clients to an evening of Jewish music with the VSO. Knowing that many of their clients would not have the means to purchase a ticket for themselves, I took it upon myself to raise the funds from within the Jewish community to make it happen. I was thrilled at the fantastic response.”

According to Steinberg, Fish has used his advocacy very effectively for JFSA. In addition to organizing this concert, Fish secured a full page in VSO’s Allegro magazine recognizing “Friends of JFSA,” thereby helping JFSA communicate its mission to VSO patrons.

“Many people do not realize that about 10 percent of our clients are non-Jewish,” said Steinberg. “They are mostly users of home support and counseling services, both of which are fee-for-service and help generate critical revenues for our organization to support our other programs. This is a great opportunity for JFSA to raise its profile in the general community while benefitting our clients.”

According to Alan Stamp, JFSA’s director of counseling, the agency sporadically provides “tickets for inclusion” to clients who are in need and who have identified an interest in the arts. The program is managed by JFSA social workers on a case-by-case basis. One of the challenges with the existing system is that tickets are often donated last minute by supporters of JFSA who realize that they will not be able to use them. It can be difficult to match tickets with clients, many of whom face mobility challenges, on short notice. This event with VSO is on a different scale.

Silkie Wong, who works in development and communication at JFSA, has been assisting the department’s director, Audrey Moss, with coordinating the project from the JFSA side. Wong noted that JFSA organizes transportation where possible to ensure that clients can attend, as some of their clients find it difficult to get out on their own. Wong pointed out why this type of event is important: “This is a unique and meaningful experience. Attending cultural events enables our clients to live life, not just survive it.”

Steinberg hopes this avenue for inclusion, initiated by Fish, will spur others to step up and bring such more initiatives forward. “We hope that we will have an ongoing partnership with VSO, and that more of our friends connected to other organizations will help us open more doors and build similar partnerships,” said Steinberg.

Fish considers this is a win-win situation. He is excited about the beautiful music that both JFSA clients and members of the greater community will share, as well as the concert’s potential to raise the profile of VSO in the Jewish community. He summed up by saying, “The musicians will be playing to a larger audience, JFSA’s [clients and] patrons will enjoy a great evening, and perhaps the VSO will pick up a few patrons along the way. What could be better than that?”

To learn more about this concert, visit jfsa.ca.

Michelle Dodek is a freelance writer and community volunteer living in Vancouver.

Tikkun olam a family affair

ORT South Africa Cape chief operating officer Debbie Staniland, right, with Harris Lorie, former education development manager of World ORT and programming co-chair of Limmud UK 2013, and Dr. Lydia Abel, ORT SA Cape director, at Limmud UK in 2013, where they were among the presenters. (photo from ORT SA Cape)

While there are innumerable reasons why people choose to volunteer, children often are inspired by the actions of their parents. Therefore, it is not surprising when two sisters who live on opposite sides of the world are both engaged in tikkun olam, repairing the world.

Linda Steiner is a longtime resident of Richmond and a stalwart at Congregation Beth Tikvah, notably for her leadership role in Isha l’Isha. Formerly known as the Women’s League, Isha l’Isha is a grassroots shul-based organization that promotes friendship and sisterhood through a wide array of programming, including self-improvement activities like Zumba and self-defence. The group also supports the synagogue’s youth program and hosts Shabbat programs that encourage women to find their place on the bimah.

Supported in part by Beth Tikvah’s gift shop, another aspect of the group’s mandate is tikkun olam. The 80 women currently involved contribute to organizations like Covenant House, Dress for Success and Chrysalis, all local charities that help those less fortunate in Greater Vancouver. And, they host speakers, the next of which will be Steiner’s sister, Debbie Staniland, from ORT SA Cape, the branch of ORT servicing South Africa’s Western Cape. On Sept. 15 at Beth Tikvah, Staniland’s topic will be LEGO Robotics for Under-privileged Youth in South Africa: Getting Children Off the Streets and into Enriching Environments.

Staniland explained in a Skype interview with the Jewish Independent that ORT in South Africa and, specifically, ORT SA Cape functions differently from ORT in most of the world. She said that, before the general elections of 1994, which saw the African

National Congress elected with Nelson Mandela at the helm, ORT South Africa was primarily a fundraising organization feeding funds to ORT programs internationally – it had little to do on the local front. In 1994, however, it gained new status as a nonprofit organization and was able to focus on educational programs for students and teachers in South Africa, as a way to build the country one child at a time.

photos - ORT SA Cape director Dr. Lydia Abel has observed, “The kids are instantly enthralled by the LEGO robotics and they soon discover that the only way they can build them is by reading the how-to program and, suddenly, it’s all they want to do.” — ORT SA Cape director Dr. Lydia Abel has observed, “The kids are instantly enthralled by the LEGO robotics and they soon discover that the only way they can build them is by reading the how-to program and, suddenly, it’s all they want to do.” *(photo from ORT SA Cape)*

Staniland is ORT SA Cape’s chief operating officer. When in Vancouver, she will describe the great strides ORT has made in reaching children through after-school education programs, as well as in teacher training. According to Staniland, as ORT helps educate teachers and children in the Western Cape, they are planting the seeds for lasting social and economic improvement. Having worked for ORT first as a volunteer for five years and then as a professional for the past four, Staniland is very familiar with the successes and challenges of the organization.

Her talk will focus on the specialized LEGO robotics programs that ORT SA Cape uses in its after-school education program, which is designed to provide hands-on enrichment in technology, mathematics and literacy. ORT SA Cape director Dr. Lydia Abel said of the program, “The kids are instantly enthralled by the LEGO robotics and they soon discover that the only way they can build them is by reading the how-to program and, suddenly, it’s all they want to do.”

photo - ORT SA LEGO Robotics program — Kids engaged in the ORT SA Cape’s LEGO Robotics program. *(photo from ORT SA Cape)*

Staniland hopes to reach a wide audience when she speaks at Beth Tikvah. She is aware of the significant immigration of South Africans to the Lower Mainland in the late 1980s and 1990s, her sister being one of those immigrants. Staniland hopes that many “ex-South Africans” will be interested in reconnecting and finding out how those who stayed in the country are helping to build a better South Africa. “It’s a way to help those who have immigrated to connect,” said Staniland. “They understand many of the challenges we face and it will be nice for them to know what we are doing.”

Staniland’s lecture on Sept. 15 will start at 7 p.m. Admission is $10 (refreshments will be served) and an RSVP is requested by Sept. 9 to the synagogue office, 604-271-6262 or [email protected].

Michelle Dodek is a freelance writer living in Vancouver.

Local classrooms get technologically smart with help from ORT

A smart classroom in Israel that uses technology and expertise provided by ORT. (photo from ORT Vancouver)

ORT is an organization that doesn’t seem to register a great deal of recognition in Vancouver. It is, however, one of the largest and perhaps the oldest international Jewish nongovernmental organizations. Established more than 130 years ago in Russia (ORT is an acronym for the Russian words that translate as the Society for Trades and Agricultural Labor), ORT sought to train Jews in modern trades and agricultural practices. It established schools for technical training all over the world and currently provides technology-focused training in 100 countries. But who knew?

Vancouver ORT would like to everyone to know. In order to raise awareness of the work ORT does around the world and in Israel, Vancouver is hosting a pilot project new not only to Canada, but a first internationally. “ORT Canada has always sent support to Israel. Now ORT Israel is supporting ORT Vancouver,” said Naomi Pulvers, one of Vancouver’s longest- serving ORT volunteers.

photo - ORT Israel has developed a successful program in schools around Israel’s physical and socio-economic periphery, bringing cutting-edge educational technology into the classroom — ORT Israel has developed a successful program in schools around Israel’s physical and socio-economic periphery, bringing cutting-edge educational technology into the classroom. *(photo from ORT Vancouver)*

With its emphasis on technological education, Pulvers explained, ORT Israel has developed a successful program in schools around Israel’s physical and socio-economic periphery, bringing cutting-edge educational technology into the classroom. Started in 2010 in the Galilee, the program expanded to the Negev when Israel’s Ministry of Education recognized the benefits of this interactive way of teaching. Currently, 420 classrooms around Israel are using ORT’s program.

This technology will soon be implemented in three local Jewish schools.

“We have chosen King David High School, Richmond Jewish Day School and Vancouver Talmud Torah as the recipients of a ‘smart classroom,’” Pulvers noted. “We will have to raise $25,000-$35,000 locally for each classroom.” Equipment provided includes projectors, Smart Boards, remote software, laptops, handheld slates, wireless routers and speakers. In addition, some classrooms may need to be hardwired for the technology to run. Eventually, students will benefit by having the opportunity to interact with learning in ways they not have been able to before.

The equipment provided is just one part of the program, however. The crucial element to implementing any system effectively is in understanding how to use it properly. Instruction and technical support are the other ingredients ORT provides to make this program effective.

“For the third week of May,” Pulvers explained, “two specialists from Israel, named Nechama Kenig and Udi Gibory, are coming with over 1,000 hours of experience with these smart classrooms. They will assemble what is already in the schools here and survey what is still needed. They will also give teachers more instruction, as well as the IT people from the schools.”

While here, Kenig and Gibory will also help ORT publicize its program by presenting two educational evenings intended to raise investments from local donors for what ORT sees as the future of education. These meetings, on May 20 and 21, will mark a new era in engagement and fundraising in Vancouver, targeting local Jewish education with an eye to the future.

Pulvers explained that ORT has always focused on the end goal of employment. “What kinds of jobs will be available in the future? We need technology to keep things going. In medicine, industry … they all need technology, and this is what ORT does. We help kids branch out into all aspects of technology,” through the use of smart classrooms. Evidence from the use of these technologies in Israel suggests that they boost the confidence and morale of students who have been reluctant learners or participants. Students are able to collaborate in the lesson, and with each other and the teacher, in new ways.

There is one more long-term goal, according to Pulvers. ORT has a respected international reputation and seeks to build bridges with local, non-Jewish organizations, as well. Pulvers explained, “We’ll start with Jewish schools and hopefully become a focal point of education. Eventually, looking down the road, we’d like to collaborate with the Vancouver School Board and meet with the minister of education.”

For more information or to attend the May 20-21 meetings, contact the director of ORT Vancouver, Mary Tobin, at 604-276-9282 or [email protected].

Michelle Dodek is a writer, mother and community volunteer who has been involved with many Jewish organizations in Vancouver.