{"id":14780,"date":"2015-09-25T00:04:29","date_gmt":"2015-09-25T07:04:29","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.jewishindependent.ca\/?p=14780"},"modified":"2015-09-24T15:56:01","modified_gmt":"2015-09-24T22:56:01","slug":"fedtalks-launches-annual-campaign","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.jewishindependent.ca\/index.php\/2015\/09\/25\/fedtalks-launches-annual-campaign\/","title":{"rendered":"FEDtalks launches annual campaign"},"content":{"rendered":"

Left to right are Jewish Federation of Greater Vancouver CEO Ezra Shanken, campaign chair Dr. Neil Pollock, women\u2019s philanthropy chair Lisa Pullan, board chair Stephen Gaerber and major donors co-chairs\u00a0<\/strong>Alex Cristall and Andrew Merkur.\u00a0(photo from JFGV<\/a>)<\/em><\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n

On Sept. 17, Jewish Federation of Greater Vancouver kicked off this year\u2019s annual campaign with a new event: FEDtalks. Featuring brief TED-style talks from four speakers \u2013 the Hon. Irwin Cotler, Eli Winkelman, Dafna Lifshitz and Rabbi David Wolpe \u2013 more than 700 community members attended the event at the Queen Elizabeth Theatre.<\/p>\n

\"photo<\/a>
Audience members take their seats at FEDtalks on Sept. 17. (photo from JFGV<\/a>)<\/em><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

\u201cEach speaker delivered a message that was Federation related, from the refugee and migrant crisis, to caring for those facing hunger, to leveling the playing field in Israel\u2019s periphery, to inspiring people to connect more fully with their Jewish identity and values,\u201d said Jewish Federation chief executive officer Ezra S. Shanken. \u201cTheir messages were our messages, and they reflected the soul of who we are as a Federation.\u201d<\/p>\n

Cotler addressed issues important to the Vancouver Jewish community \u2013 and, indeed, to the world \u2013 with particular emphasis on Syria and the refugee and migrant crisis. As a well-respected parliamentarian and human rights lawyer, he brought depth and breadth of knowledge on the crisis.<\/p>\n

Winkelman shared her story of turning the simple act of baking challah into acts of social justice by founding Challah for Hunger, which now has 90 chapters on college campuses in three countries. Her work was recognized by President Bill Clinton, who highlighted Challah for Hunger in his book Giving: How Each of Us Can Change the World<\/em>.<\/p>\n

Lifshitz, CEO of Appleseeds Academy, addressed her organization\u2019s work bridging the digital divide in Israel\u2019s periphery and, in particular, the Net@ program that is supported by Jewish Federation. Through Net@, at-risk youth in our partnership region of the Upper Galilee receive specialized computer training that catapults them into highly-skilled, well-paying jobs, thus helping break the cycle of poverty.<\/p>\n

Wolpe, who was named the most influential rabbi in America by Newsweek <\/em>magazine, also addressed the refugee and migrant crisis, but from a Jewish perspective. He closed the evening with an inspirational message that united the community through the shared values of chesed, tzedaka and tikkun olam.<\/p>\n

The Vancouver Jewish community\u2019s central fundraising initiative, the annual campaign supports critical social services, Jewish education, seniors programs and young adults programs, and fosters ties with our partnership region in Israel. To donate or volunteer, visit jewishvancouver.com\/what-to-give\/annual-campaign<\/a>.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Left to right are Jewish Federation of Greater Vancouver CEO Ezra Shanken, campaign chair Dr. Neil Pollock, women\u2019s philanthropy chair Lisa Pullan, board chair Stephen Gaerber and major donors co-chairs\u00a0Alex Cristall and Andrew Merkur.\u00a0(photo from JFGV) On Sept. 17, Jewish Federation of Greater Vancouver kicked off this year\u2019s annual campaign with a new event: FEDtalks. […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":14766,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[4],"tags":[2858,4417,4467,4295,689,4352,4600],"class_list":["post-14780","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-local","tag-campaign","tag-dafna-lifshitz","tag-eli-winkelman","tag-fedtalks","tag-irwin-cotler","tag-jewish-federation-of-greater-vancouver","tag-rabbi-david-wolpe"],"blocksy_meta":{"styles_descriptor":{"styles":{"desktop":"","tablet":"","mobile":""},"google_fonts":[],"version":8}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.jewishindependent.ca\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/14780","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.jewishindependent.ca\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.jewishindependent.ca\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.jewishindependent.ca\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.jewishindependent.ca\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=14780"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.jewishindependent.ca\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/14780\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.jewishindependent.ca\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/14766"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.jewishindependent.ca\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=14780"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.jewishindependent.ca\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=14780"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.jewishindependent.ca\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=14780"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}