BJCWF 2010 Grant Awards

Boston Jewish Women’s Fund Awards $276,450 to 20 Groups for 2010!

For some women, it will open the path to financial literacy, skills training, and a way to support their families. For others it will mean counseling and a way out of an abusive relationship. Some girls it will find a way to express themselves through art, design or poetry. Others will find new meaning in their own family histories as they prepare for Bat Mitvah.

The Boston Jewish Community Women’s Fund grants for 2010 range across a gamut of needs – girls’ healthy development, issues of aging, employment, women’s rights in Israel’s religious courts and more. Awards ranging from $5,000 to $20,000 have been given to 20 groups in Boston and Israel for innovative and established programs.

Here is a complete list of our 2010 grantees.

GRANTS TO JEWISH ORGANIZATIONS IN BOSTON

Multi-year grant (totaling $75,000) (2009 grant - $40,000)

Jewish Women’s Archive - second year $20,000
Project: Bat Mitzvah Interactive (BMI)

JWA continues to develop this new online initiative designed to bring fresh meaning, relevance and inspiration to the Bat Mitzvah experience for girls and their families. By weaving together the strands of community service, family stories and Jewish women’s history, the program invites girls to explore the stories of Jewish women in America and in their own families, and to make connections between traditions and values and their own emerging identities. In the first year of Women’s Fund support, JWA has expanded the scope of BMI, and laid the groundwork for a program that is national in scope.

NEW

Bais Yaakov of Boston - $9,100
Project: Chayei Hanhigut L’Bnot Torah

Health education, leadership training, nutrition awareness and physical education programming designed to promote healthy self-images and personal confidence in adolescent girls at a traditional girls’ high school.

Jewish Family Service of Metrowest - $10,000
Project: Taking Charge, Making Changes

Enhanced financial literacy and career development are the primary goals of this new program which focuses on women suddenly assuming “head of household” duties (single, separated/divorced, widowed) in the ongoing financial crisis. Two senior staff members will be trained as Accredited Financial Counselors to build their skills, and the balance of funding will support implementation of the program.

Jewish Vocational Service - $15,000
Project: We’re All in This Together

An initiative of JVS Career Moves, the program will engage economically vulnerable women in group and individual activities to help them develop the job search skills, networking ability and confidence to break into the workforce. Four Success Teams, professionally-led peer support groups, will be organized at JVS offices in Boston and Newton and local synagogues to address the needs of single women who have lost jobs, older women unexpectedly entering the workforce, and new college graduates.

Second year funding

Jewish Community Housing for the Elderly - $18,000
Project: Mental Health Initiative
(2009 grant: $25,000)

Because they may be unable to adequately care for themselves and their apartments, tenants with mental illness or memory impairment may jeopardize their tenancy. They may also demand inordinate amounts of staff time and disturb neighbors. The project, in partnership with Jewish Family & Children’s Service, trains JCHE staff, from maintenance and office workers to resident managers, to recognize and deal with potentially challenging situations, and ensure the safety of residents.

Mayyim Hayyim - $14,350
Project: Embracing Waters
(2009 grant: $17,500)

Training for Mayyim Hayyim volunteers, clergy and health and mental health professionals to help them recognize victims of abuse and show how mikveh can be a source of spiritual healing for abuse survivors. The program is conducted in partnership with Journey to Safety at Jewish Family & Children’s Service.

Moving Traditions - $8,000
Project: Rosh Hodesh: It’s a Girl Thing!
(2009 grant: $25,000)

This national program which first came to Greater Boston last year, promotes self-esteem, leadership skills and Jewish identity in girls grades 6 – 12. The 5 year curriculum is based in the Rosh Hodesh (new moon) holiday. Facilitators are trained by the national organization. The program is being implemented in synagogues in the community.

Fifth year funding

Jewish Family & Children’s Service - $18,000
Project: Journey to Safety
(2005 – 2008 grants: $25,000 annually)

Domestic abuse occurs at exactly the same rate across all populations. Jewish women stay in abusive relationships two to three times longer than women in the general population (7-15 years vs. 3-5 years). Journey to Safety, formerly called Kol Isha, is the domestic abuse program at JF&CS. It has a dual mission of providing direct services to survivors of domestic abuse and raising awareness about domestic abuse in order to promote healthy and safe intimate relationships. The importance of the issue continues to motivate Fund members to maintain support for the program.

GRANTS TO SECULAR ORGANIZATIONS IN BOSTON

NEW

Brookline Mental Health Center - $14,000
Project: Project GROW

Project GROW (Girls’ Relationships Offer Well-Being) is a preventative group mentoring initiative that focuses on 60 girls ages 8 to 16 from underserved populations who are at risk for bullying due to social isolation. This includes Asian American, African American, and Latina girls, as well as some Caucasian girls, with primary emphasis on low and moderate-income families living in Brookline and Boston. Some have recently immigrated to the US, and others have been adopted; all are challenged with fitting in. Project GROW specifically targets issues that impede a girl's potential for success and emotional well being, such as racism, gender bias, and girl bullying.

Haley House - $10,000
Project: Take Back the Kitchen

Take Back the Kitchen is a cooking, nutrition and healthy lifestyle program for at risk youth and their families. Our funding will support the launch of all-girls programming with the goal of improving health and well-being. Haley House and its community programs are committed to promoting health through offering whole grain foods, fresh produce, and unprocessed foods, and helping participants gain the skills and knowledge to incorporate them into their meals at home.
Third year funding

Adolescent Consultation Services - $5,000
Project: Specialized Girls Group Treatment Program
(2009 grant: $5,000; 2008: $5,000)

Run through the Cambridge Juvenile Court Clinic, the program serves court-involved girls. Attendance and participation are conditions of each girl’s probation. This program is designed to advance the healthy development of girls by equipping them with valuable coping skills. The psycho-educational treatment groups address a variety of issues, including: healthy relationships with partners, family, and friends; body image; dealing with difficult living situations; and the impact of zero tolerance, racism, and sexism.

RAW - $10,000
Project: Art 4 Girls/Women 2 Be/Project Launch
(2009 grant: $10,000; 2008: $10,000)

RAW’s continuum of girl-only programs serves young women in Lynn, Massachusetts, an economically challenged city where many children lack the basic resources, security, and support to enable their healthy development. Over 98% of RAW’s seniors graduate from high school and 90% of RAW’s high school seniors have gone to college, aided by mentors in Project Launch.

Victim Rights Law Center - $20,000
Project: Girls Rape Survivors Law Project (GRSLP)
(2009 grant: $15,000; 2008: $20,000)

This initiative addresses the needs of young victims and potential victims of rape and sexual assault in the Greater Boston area. Funds will enable the Victim Rights Law Center to make the existing GRSLP curriculum and direct services more available to girls under the age of 13, a group not covered under existing federal funding regulations.

Fourth year funding

Recognizing the funding challenges that many service organizations are facing this year, The Fund invited several long-term grantees to apply for an unprecedented fourth year of support for 2010-2011. Grants were reviewed within our regular competitive process, and two grants were awarded, both focused on core services.

Bird Street - $13,000
Project: The S Group (Smart, Savvy, Secure and Self Sufficient)
(2009 grant: $20,000; 2008: $19,000; 2007: $25,000)

This program for girls and young women, combines the skills, passion, and interests of Bird Street’s girls with information, experiences, and tools that they can use in their daily lives to prepare for success at school, college, within their families, and in the workforce. “The S Group” brings girls to Bird Street with a goal of guiding them towards appropriate gender sensitive and gender specific programs focusing on academic achievement, physical health, mental health and leadership development.

Project Hope - $10,000
Project: Adult Learner Program (ALP)
(2006 grant: $10,000; 2005: $20,000; 2003: $10,000)

One of Project Hope’s basic programs, the ALP offers 75-80 low income and/or homeless women access to basic education and English for Speakers of Other Languages (ESOL) courses, in combination with empowering foundation classes to promote the women’s learning, self-development, and potential for self-sufficiency.

GRANTS TO PROGRAMS IN ISRAEL

NEW

Leket - $15,000
Project: The Leket Work Program

Leket is a food bank that addresses nutritional insecurity throughout Israel, collecting surplus food and distributing it through the Israel Food Bank. The work program is an agricultural gleaning initiative that collects produce left in fields and orchards at the end of the season’s harvest. It provides 20 seasonal farm laborers, all Arab Israeli women, with fair working conditions including above minimum wages and full benefits. Produce is distributed to needy Israelis through homeless shelters, battered women’s shelters, community centers for the elderly and programs for children at risk.

Kol Israel Haverim -- Sha’ar School Network - $15,000
Project: Gateway to Science

The program focuses on high school girls in Bat-Yam, a city in central Israel which has a high immigrant population and significant unemployment. Gateway will offer an intensive and varied science education to eighty girls with the goal of awakening and nurturing an interest in science and helping them break out of the cycle of poverty. Girls in the program will study science throughout high school, and meet with leading women scientists at the Weizmann Institute.

Third year funding

Israel Women’s Network - $15,000
Project: The Advocacy Center
(2007 grant: $15,000; 2009: $14,000)

The hotline at The Advocacy Center responds to women facing gender-based discrimination and sexual harassment in the workplace, and receives thousands of calls each year. The Center also develops legislation on issues affecting women, consults with members of the Knesset, and provides legal assistance and representation in precedent-setting cases, many of which first come to light through calls to the hotline.

The Rackman Center at Bar Ilan University - $18,000
Project: The Program for Legal Aid, Advocacy and outreach in Family Law and Women’s Rights (2007 grant: $13,500; 2009: $15,000)

The Rackman Center works through Israel’s legal and judicial system to advocate for women in divorce and family law issues in the Rabbinical Courts. The program provides free legal counsel for women in the courts, advances legislation on behalf of women’s rights and advocates for fair election of judges to the Rabbinical Court. Additionally, it trains law students and provides free legal advice through a hotline.

Mahut - $19,000
Project: Advancing Employment for Women Over 40
(2008 grant: $25,000; 2009: $19,000)

Education, training, and placement services for economically marginalized women over the age of 40, in tandem with work with employers to improve their attitudes toward hiring women in this age group. The program also provides ongoing support to women who have completed training and remain in the job market.