Community Corner

The Jewish Communal Fund (JCF), the largest Jewish donor-advised fund in the country, distributed a record $456 million in grants to charities in all sectors during the 2019 fiscal year ending June 30, 2019 – a five-percent increase from 2018. JCF fundholders recommended a record number of grants – 63,000 – to thousands of charitable organizations, an 11-percent increase from 2018. The average grant amount was $7,227.51.

As a proud native New Havener, I was overjoyed when I found out that Yale University’s kosher kitchen would be certified by Star-K Kosher Certification; I couldn’t wait to try it out, as I recently did, on my annual Elul trip to my hometown.

Dr. Sang H. Kim has been named chief of the Division of Gastroenterology in the Department of Medicine at NewYork-Presbyterian Queens. He assumes this role immediately after serving as interim chief for several months. He also holds an academic appointment as an assistant professor of clinical medicine at Weill Cornell Medicine.

On Tuesday evening, September 10, community members gathered at Congregation Etz Chaim for the first Navigating the Medical System lecture of the season. Dr. Mel Breite, Founder and Director of the Navigating the Medical System Lecture Series, welcomed the crowd to the eighth year of this wonderful and informative lecture series.

Achiezer did not disappoint with its third installation of the Jewish Healthcare Conference and Expo this past Sunday at the TWA Hotel in Queens. The array of featured medical resources covered the gamut of the healthcare arena, showcased by Northwell Health’s wide range of services and its facilities both in Valley Stream and Forest Hills. The event provided for Jewish healthcare consumers, caregivers, vendors, and service providers to network in a vibrant space highlighting proactive healthcare and eldercare. Empowerment and education were at the forefront of organizers’ and presenters’ minds, as attendees sought solutions for either themselves or others in their midst. One Kew Gardens Hills resident noted that he attended to find available resources for his mother-in-law as she had just moved into his residence with early stages of dementia. So, inspired by an early lecture, this gentleman hastily arranged for his mother-in-law to join. Achiezer board member Dovid Bloom stated how powerful of an experience it was to witness such a variety of people seeking their own avenues to deal with the years that are to come.

Torah scholar Mrs. Dina Schoonmaker will keynote the Orthodox Union’s (OU) Women’s Initiative Weekend of Inspiration in Far Rockaway and Queens, addressing “A Woman’s Approach to Cheshbon HaNefesh and T’shuvah.” Her presentation will explore how to develop a practical and empowered attitude towards self-evaluation and improvement without self-condemnation and guilt.