$4M in 24 hours, all or nothing. To date,GivingforOutreach, launching Tuesday, Februay 16th, is the most ambitious Jewish giving day ever. Its purpose: to rally unprecedented support forthe 25 outreach organizations whose essence and passion is connecting Jews to Torah.
“It’s an honor to work with this group of people, our mekarvim,” explains Rabbi Yitzchok Lowenbraun, National Director of AJOP. “Mekarvim don’t have a 9-5 job. They’re on every Shabbos, every Yom Tov. It’s not just them; it’s their families. To be able to help bring the Klal and their communities to THEM – so they’re able to spend their precious time doing their passion: connecting Jews to Torah instead of worrying about funding. That’s why we’re doing this, this Tuesday. We are passionate about building this united giving day for kiruv, to open up a way for the community to quadruple their investment in kiruv. Last year we raised $1.3M with 20 organizations. We’re doing it again this year, bigger! $4M in one day! We’re staking out a day to acknowledge their tireless work – just one day – and ask that every member of our community contributes something – anything. Because we all have someone to be thankful for, who came through the doors of kiruv.”
For many Jews who reconnect to their Jewish roots through Kiruv efforts, the mekarvim who nurture that connection with thembecome extended family to one another. “No matter how much I learn, I can always go back to my roots, get back to basics, and ask questions of my kiruv rabbi,” says Moshe Cohen, who calls the Baltimore community kiruv center a “place of stability, like home” for him and his family. Moshe’s wife, Shelly, credits the organization as being the primary reason they became observant. As a couple during college they had very slowly begun looking into becoming more knowledgeable about Judaism but “it really didn’t take off for us until they entered their community’s kiruv center, which was just after we got married in 2003” she says. “Once we connected with it our Yiddishkeit grew exponentially. That’s when we were really able to flourish,” Moshe agrees.
The Cohens found a great resource for Torah study classes and the rabbi to be a wonderful non-judgmental ear for them. The rabbi and his wife have become like “local” parents to them, and Bubbie and Zayde to their kids. They still love taking their kids, the eldest, now nine years old, to daven at the center during the special holiday services every year.
The 25 organizations participating range from community-based organizations, to children’s programs, to international programs like Aish Jerusalem. You can view the full list at www.charidy.com/givingforoutreach. As an annual event, GivingforOutreach will be organized to encourage thanks and investment in outreach efforts that have and will continue to transform Jews and all of Klal Yisrael. Donors can donate to individual organizations or to all. Donations made on the giving day will be quadrupled, but they only have 24 hours. The GivingforOutreach donation page will go live on Tuesday, February 16, from 1PM EST and close Wednesday, February 17, 1 PM EST.
For more information, for a giving day sponsorship or other questions, please contact Tobey Finkelstein at [email protected].
{Matzav.com Newscenter}
