Jewish Community Foundation Announces Grants to Innovative Nonprofit Programs Totaling $574,000; Jewish World Watch One of 19 Programs Receiving Funding.

LOS ANGELES -- In just ten months, Jewish World Watch (JWW), a new coalition of Los Angeles synagogues working together for the first time to combat genocide and human rights violations around the world, has raised and donated $150,000 for refugee relief in Darfur, Sudan. The funds, which enabled the International Medical Corps to build two health-care clinics and several water wells, have eased the suffering of hundreds of refugees affected by the atrocities taking place in Sudan.

Thanks to a $50,000 grant from the Jewish Community Foundation of Los Angeles (The Foundation), JWW will be able to develop its capacity and bolster its volunteer-based organization. "This generous gift will allow us to build the organizational systems and infrastructure that ensure we will continue to educate and mobilize the community against genocide and acts of inhumanity," said JWW Chairperson Janice Kamenir-Reznik. "Without an infrastructure we cannot accomplish our mission."

The grant will also be used to develop outreach and educational programs for synagogue members, Jewish day school and religious school students, and the broader Los Angeles Jewish community. Program components include a speaker's bureau, newsletter, camp and school-based projects and programs, and curriculum materials.

Jewish World Watch was founded at Valley Beth Shalom in Encino on the principle that "never again" applies to all human beings, not just Jews. Today, 23 synagogues participate in JWW, which aims to inform congregations, schools and the community about human rights violations and to educate Jews on how they can make a difference.

Since its inception, JWW has inspired teenagers at several local Jewish schools to raise money for water wells in Darfur, while other students have sold bracelets, and one 7-year-old raised money with an old-fashioned lemonade stand.

"It's a key part of our mission to recognize and encourage innovative community programs," said Marvin I. Schotland, president and CEO of The Foundation. "There are so many exciting, cutting-edge projects within the Los Angeles community that are seeking to make a difference in the lives of people. Jewish World Watch, and all the other programs funded by New and Innovative Grants, certainly fit this vision."

In fact, JWW is just one of the 19 grants awarded to nonprofit organizations announced today by The Foundation. Awards, which total $574,000, support programs that range from Jewish education to social services and health.

The Foundation, the leader in planned-giving solutions for Greater Los Angeles Jewish philanthropists, allocated $750,000 to be distributed through Foundation Legacy Grants in 2005. New and Innovative Grants, which account for the largest portion of these funds, have been awarded for more than a decade.

In addition to Jewish World Watch, 2005 New and Innovative Grants recipients include:

--Aish Tamid of Los Angeles, "Student Career Fair Conference," $10,000 -- One-day career fair for at-risk youth in the Orthodox community.

--Brandeis-Bardin Institute, "Bridging the Gap: Jewish Sexual Ethics for Teens and Their Parents," $20,000 -- Camp-based education program for high school students and their parents that focuses on Jewish ethics, sexual development and responsible decision making.

--Bureau of Jewish Education of Greater Los Angeles, "Cutting Edge Management in Jewish Education," $50,000 -- Five executive training and coaching seminars for professional and lay leaders of Jewish day schools, designed to expand the operational capacity of schools.

--Bureau of Jewish Education of Greater Los Angeles, "Lashon: Hebrew Language Immersion," $39,000 -- Immersion language program to promote Hebrew among children in Jewish elementary day schools.

--Foundation for Jewish Camping Inc., "Jewish Camping Research," $25,000 -- For survey and analysis of factors influencing the field to help improve Jewish camping and enrollment.

--Israel Emergency Alliance (Stand With Us), "The Library Education Project for Los Angeles," $50,000 -- Outreach and education project that targets 230 Los Angeles area libraries to inform librarians about Israel, organize discussion groups, and build public educational resources by donating books, films and other reference materials.

--Jewish Family Service of Los Angeles, "New Mothers Connect," $30,000 -- Provides new mothers affected by post-partum depression with peer support, education, counseling and referral services.

--Jewish Family Service of Los Angeles, "Senior Substance Abuse Initiative," $31,000 -- To increase awareness and reduce substance abuse among older adults through outreach, training and education for Jewish seniors, family members, psychiatric services workers and volunteers.

--Jewish Federation of Greater Los Angeles, "birthright israel Alumni Community Conference," $10,000 -- Conference to attract, motivate and educate 75 activists among birthright israel alumni to assume greater leadership in the alumni association.

--Jewish Federation of Greater Los Angeles, "Ha-Mercaz: A Collaborative Center for Jewish Families of Children with Developmental Disabilities and Special Needs," $48,700 -- Coordinates and centralizes services offered by six Jewish agencies to children with developmental disabilities or severe learning problems. Program includes distribution of a disability guide, educational materials, toll-free line, and Web links, along with screening and assessment of families with special needs children.

--Jewish Hospice Project-Los Angeles, "Partners in Spiritual Care," $30,000 -- Educates lay members and leaders of 11 Jewish organizations about end-of-life within a Jewish context through lectures, workshops, articles and referrals.

--Jews for Judaism International Inc., "Strategic Planning 2006-2009," $25,000 -- Planning project for board development, educational programming, evaluation, fundraising and growth.

--Los Angeles Jewish Home for the Aging, "Memory Skills," $45,300 -- Innovative memory-skills program developed by Arnold Bresky, MD, for nursing home residents in the early stages of memory loss.

--Promoting Israel Publicity and Education Fund Inc., "Bridge of Unity," $50,000 -- To bring together pro-Israel Christian student activists in support of Israel and to combat anti-Semitism on college campuses.

--Promoting Israel Publicity and Education Fund Inc., "Planning Our Growth: A Strategic Plan for the Future," $20,000 -- Planning process to examine how this organization can improve its allocation of human and financial resources, streamline its decision-making and fundraising process, and evaluate its programs.

--University of California at Los Angeles Center for Jewish Studies, "At the End of the West: Rethinking the Jewish Experience in Los Angeles," $10,000 -- Two-day conference of 250-400 leading scholars, public officials and community leaders to examine the history and role of Jews in the context of multicultural Los Angeles.

--Yiddishkayt Los Angeles, "Strategic Plan," $10,000 -- Planning process to build the organization's infrastructure to take on larger projects, such as a Yiddish language pilot program in Jewish day schools.

--Zimmer Children's Museum, "BIG IDEAS Sundays," $20,000 -- Jewish values program for families with children ages 2-8 to explore and reinforce Jewish themes and foster global responsibility through visual and performing arts exercises.

Established in 1954, the Jewish Community Foundation is the largest manager of charitable assets and the leader in planned-giving solutions for Greater Los Angeles Jewish philanthropists. The Foundation currently manages assets of more than $550 million, and according to the National Foundation Center, ranks among the ten largest Los Angeles foundations (based on assets). In 2004, The Foundation and its 1,000-plus donors distributed $43 million in grants to more than 1,300 organizations with programs that span the range of philanthropic giving.