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| Creating Passovers to Remember |
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The Jaffa Institute refuses to let a needy family's inability to afford traditional -high priced- holiday foods deprive them of celebrating and observing Passover. For the 21st consecutive year of the Passover Products Distribution Program, the Institute will purchase, pack, and deliver Passover food parcels serving over 2,000 residents in Jaffa, South Tel Aviv, and Bat Yam. With the help of hundreds of volunteers over three days in our Food Distribution Center, over 600 families will receive packages complete with matzos, matzo meal, fruits, vegetables, and a 100 shekel gift certificate to purchase meat and fish from a local supermarket. Last year at this time, the Jaffa Institute announced its plan to organize Passover Seder's at various sites for recent Ethiopian immigrants residing in the Bet Shemesh area. Hundreds of friends and supporters helped us create a fulfilling Passover experience for over one thousand participants. Now the emotional and overwhelmingly successful event is back and is expected to host 2,000 recent Ethiopian immigrants, in four dining halls, in various locations throughout the Bet Shemesh community. If you would like to help contribute toward making Passover 5768 a special experience for Bet Shemesh's new Ethiopian immigrants and needy residents in Bat Yam, south Tel Aviv, and Jaffa, please contact us at info@jaffainst.co.il
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| Temple Emanuel Adopts the Jaffa Institute |
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The students of Temple Emanuel Religious School, Andover, Massachusetts, have "adopted" the Jaffa Institute as their official charity. Part of the student body organized a bake sale to raise funds for projects while others wrote and performed a play about the activities of the Jaffa Institute. Thanks for all your help!
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| Bar Mitzvah Bigheartedness |
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A special thanks to Zak Blechman from Greenwich, Connecticut who raised and donated funds to the Jaffa Institute in honor of his Bar Mitzvah. Zak and his family then visited the Institute to present his gift in person. For ideas on how to start a Bar Mitzvah Project or Youth-4-Youth initiative in your community, contact:
Shira Skolnik.
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| Join Our Cause on Facebook! |
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The Jaffa Institute is now listed as an official 501(c) (3) organization with Facebook. Add us to your "causes" and help raise awareness and support to advance the health, welfare, and education of Israel's most impoverished children.
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| PLANNED GIVING CORNER |
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Thank you to Nina L. Cohen of Glenmede Trust Company for the following article. She is first vice president and managing director of Philanthropic Advisory Services for Glenmede, an independent wealth management firm headquartered in Philadelphia.
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Charitable Gifts that Give You Back:
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When selecting among charitable giving vehicles, donors must evaluate factors, such as the assets to be gifted, the need for current income, desire to assist the charity today, or in the future, and tax considerations. For donors with charitable intent and the need for income for themselves or a loved one, there are two options that may be considered: Charitable Remainder Trust and Charitable Gift Annuity. Under both of these options, the donor is able to give away the tree, while retaining the fruit.
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Charitable Remainder Trust (CRT) - the donor creates a trust and transfers assets to the trust. An income stream is paid from the trust to the donor and/or other beneficiaries for life or a period of years. At the end of the trust term, the remaining assets of the trust pass to the charity. A CRT is particularly attractive to a donor who has highly appreciated assets that are not currently yielding much income.
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Charitable Gift Annuity (CGA) - the donor transfers assets to a charity that agrees to pay the donor or and/or other beneficiaries a guaranteed amount of income for life. The annuity rates paid on CGAs are often quite attractive to donors.
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In both cases, the donor may receive an immediate income tax charitable deduction for a portion of the contribution. Furthermore, if the balance passes to charity on the donor’s death, it will not be subject to death taxes.
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For more information on these or other planned giving options, please contact our Planned Giving Advisor, Yechiel Marcus: yechiel@jaffainst.co.il, by phone in U.S.: 646-280-8329, by phone in Israel: 972-54-4916217.
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Festive Evening- Bet Shemesh Educational and Residential Center
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 In honor of the 60th birthday of Rabbi Avigdor Burstein, the President and Founder of our residential school in Bet Shemesh, 200 people joined us for a festive dinner on February 21 at the Sheraton Plaza Hotel in Jerusalem.
The majority of the students at the Educational Center cannot afford to cover the costs of tuition, room and board.  In order to help these students, we established a Scholarship Endowment Fund in honor of Rabbi Burstein's special birthday.
The hard work of Mr. Stuart Dove, the chairman of the event, resulted in a most enjoyable evening and a successful start for the Endowment Fund.
Patrons of the dinner included: Stuart and Anne Dove, Richard and Ida Fry, Zvi and Zippora Katz, Patrick and Caroline Landau,  Isi and Naomi Leibler, Zvi and Betty Ryzman and David and Ronit Zwebner. Mr. Zvi Ryzman, of Jerusalem and Los Angeles, a business executive and good friend of Rabbi Burstein, shared a meaningful d'var torah with us at the dinner. The dinner participants sang along with Cantor Menashe Fetman who added a special atmosphere to the evening. We thank all those who worked to make the dinner a grand success.
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Spotlight on Educational Enrichment - Musical Minds
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 The "Musical Minds" program was established in 1989 at the Yehuda Amir Institute for the Advancement of Social Integration in the Schools and was adapted for use at the Jaffa Institute in 2001 with the help of Bar Ilan University.
The program provides a musical education for all children, and not only for those who have outstanding musical abilities, or whose parents have the means and awareness to provide for their musical training.
 The long-term aim of "Musical Minds" is to help children of diverse cultural backgrounds and varying levels of academic and musical achievement to develop ways of understanding and appreciating music.
By identifying a child's intuitive musical knowledge and creating an awareness of this knowledge, Musical Minds engages the children in activities that enhance their cognitive listening and performing skills.
 The program also offers an additional way for children, who may not excel in the more emphasized verbal and mathematical subjects, to experience success.
Students have instrumental and vocal lessons and practice playing in small and large groups. The Jaffa Institute's Musical Minds students perform at virtually all the Institute events and continue to impress onlookers. Further, in light of a recent capital grant awarded to build an extension to our Jaffa Dalet program site, Musical Minds will soon expand to include a wide-array of activities to support artistic expression, including acting and photography.
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 On April 7-8, 2008, The Jaffa Institute, in cooperation with Bar Ilan University and the International Yehudi Menuhin Foundation, will host an international array of musicologists and other specialists to explore the cognitive and communicative affects of arts education for at-risk children. The conference, "Advancing Children Through the Arts", will advance dialogue on effective practice, the impact of arts education on a child's overall education, and explore interdisciplinary perspectives of studying the arts. All performances, seminars, and workshops will be held at the Wohl Visitors Centre, Bar Ilan University. For more information and to register for the conference, please visit:
Musical Minds or contact: info@jaffainst.co.il
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Annual Scholarship Ceremony
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 On February 25, 2008, the Jaffa Institute honored 200 inspirational students at its annual scholarship ceremony. Awards ranged from $500-$2,500 per person, and all recipients are students currently enrolled in accredited Israeli colleges or universities.
The celebratory event was held at the beautiful Duhl Center - ironically yet deservingly located in Tel Aviv's economically depressed Hatikvah neighborhood.
 The setting underscored the Institute's philosophy which asserts that every child has the ability to succeed when given the necessary educational and social enrichment support.
The students who received scholarships this year truly embodied hard work, perseverance, and dedication to their community. The evening began with a "welcome" reception that allowed the former Institute children - now university students - to reconnect with old friends and instructors.
 The scholarship recipients were then honored with a performance by the Institute's Musical Minds children and through speeches notably given by Tel Aviv's Chief Rabbi, Rabbi Yisrael Meir Lau, Ron Huldai, Mayor of Tel Aviv-Jaffa, and Dr. David Portowicz, Chairman of the Institute, among others.
One-by-one,  all awardees were called to the stage to accept their scholarships as friends and family cheered in the audience. Mr. Gil Perez was the Master of Ceremonies and contributed five scholarships, including a full scholarship to student Guy Socino. Mr. Socino, a first year Education student at Tel Aviv University, delivered the following emotional speech during the event:
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 Good evening,
To begin, I feel that it's important to let you know how hard it was for me to find the right words to express all of my feelings about the Jaffa Institute.
I was born and grew up in Jaffa, and spent most of my free time as a child at the Jaffa Institute. Even then, the examples set by my counselor were very important to me. My counselor was always there for me, he waited for me when I arrived from school, he played soccer with me, and he explained that I could also grow up to be like him.
When I got older, I became an assistant counselor, and following my army service I decided to come back to the Jaffa Institute, but this time as a counselor, where I worked for three years.
I had many varied experiences at the Jaffa Institute: there were days filled with happiness, days full of love, and also days of sadness and anger at a world where there are great children growing up in the most difficult living conditions.
 I would like to share with you a short story in order to illustrate the importance and central role that the Jaffa Institute plays in the lives of the children of Jaffa:
When I was a counselor, one of the boys in my group came from a single-parent family that was in a very difficult financial situation. His older brother was in jail and his mother was the only supporter of the family. From the moment that this boy came to the afternoon activity center, we began to develop a deep and emotional connection. I was like a surrogate brother for him - I listened to him, I helped, I visited, I supported, but most importantly, I gave him love. Today that fabulous boy is in the oldest group of kids and is an assistant counselor at the activity center.
 This is one small example of the meaningful and important processes in which the children are involved thanks to the activity centers of the Jaffa Institute.
It is not by chance that I decided to study education - the Jaffa Institute had a big part in my decision. Throughout the years, the Jaffa Institute gave to me and showed me how I can give back to the community.
 Now the Institute is again helping me and all of the other students that are sitting here.
From myself and on behalf of all the students, I thank each and every one of you for your generosity, for your giving and for your belief in our future.
Thank you.
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| Books of Hope: |
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In order to foster team and confidence building, the residents of the Beit Ruth Hostel for at-Risk Girls participate in a variety of challenging courses and outdoor sports at Kibbutz Naan. Since the opening of the Hostel, members of the kibbutz have welcomed the girls warmly during every visit. Now Naan will host a new and exciting project dedicated to helping support the girls at Beit Ruth. "Books of Hope" is an English-language book donation and purchasing project started by one kibbutz resident, Bernice Keren. Located in Naan's OR2K Katmandu Restaurant, Books of Hope collects donations of English-language books, sells them to community members at a bargain price, and then donates the proceeds to the Hostel. Through Books of Hope, native English speakers have access to new and interesting reading material while supporting the rehabilitation of Israel's most at-risk girls.
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| Sometimes Dreams Come True: |
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While in Israel to help pay respect to Israel's fallen pilots, members of the NASA delegation provided children of the Institute's After School Program with an unforgettable afternoon visit. Rona Ramon, the widow of heroic Israeli pilot Ilan Ramon, accompanied astronauts Sunita Williams and Michael Lopez-Alegria, Expedition 14's commander and NASA space station science officer. The NASA delegates colorfully described "space food" and how to eat, sleep, and (the kids' favorite) go to the bathroom while traveling in outer space. The unique experience of meeting the astronauts gave the children a surge of strength, pride, and belief that sometimes dreams come true.
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| Hoops with Tal Brody: |
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Maccabi Tel Aviv basketball legend Tal Brody challenged some of the Bet Shemesh Educational and Residential Center's sports enthusiasts to a scrimmage. The 10-time Israel league champion and 6-time European Cup champion demonstrated his skill and gave the boys a memorable afternoon on the basketball court.
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| Much Thanks to Bagir Ltd.: |
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Israel-based men and women's apparel manufacturer Bagir Ltd. donated dress shirts and pants to the students in Bet Shemesh. The company is know for its innovation in tailored clothing and provided all 315 boys with a quality, elegant outfit.
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| The Jaffa Institute |
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The Jaffa Institute relies on the generosity of its friends around the world in order to continue with our work in support of needy children. To help us by making a donation, please visit the secure donations part of our website:
www.jaffainstitute.org, or you can send your donation to any branch of the Friends of the Jaffa Institute. Thank you so much for your wonderful support .and don't forget to come visit!
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The Jaffa Institute
11 Pahad Yitzhak St.
PO Box 8216
Jaffa 61081
Israel
ATTN: Mr.Yechezkel Portowicz
Tel: 972-3-683-2626
Fax: 972-3-683-2620
File No. 58-003-811-5
info@jaffainst.co.il
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American Friends of the Jaffa Institute
c/o Dr. E. Hartman
171- 06 76th Ave.
Flushing NY 11366
USA
Toll-free: 1 866 471 1923
Tax ID NO. 11-2697261
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Canadian Friends of the Jaffa Institute
22 Lambert Road
Thornhill, Ontario L3T 7E6
Canada
Toll Free No. 1 866 892 1915
Charity No. 863333118RR0001-nationwide
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Dutch Friends of the Jaffa Institute
Waleweg 1
3291 AX Strijen
The Netherlands
ATTN: Mr. Wim van der Hoek
Tel: +31 78 674 5014
Giro No. 5138814
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British Friends of the Jaffa Institute
16 Chalgrove Crescent
Clayhill, Ilford
Essex, IG5 OLU
UK
Toll free No. 44 208 551 8870
Registered Charity No. 282049
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French Friends of the Jaffa Institute
c/o Mr. Anito Tropper
9 Bis, Bld. des Filles du Calvaire
Paris 75003
FRANCE
anito.tropper@jaffainstitute.fr
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