Local News
Jewish Foundation holds online AGM – announces a further $400,000 to be allocated to local Jewish organizations on top of $200,000 already given
By BERNIE BELLAN
As is typical these days, the Annual General Meeting of the Jewish Foundation of Manitoba, which would normally have been held in front of at least a few people, was held online via Zoom instead.
(Let’s not kid ourselves though: Annual General Meetings of Jewish organizations don’t usually attract much in the way of a crowd unless they’re handing out a lot of awards.) The Jewish Foundation held its AGM on Wednesday, June 17, emanating largely from the home of Richard Yaffe, Board Chair of the Foundation. Although it was possible to see who else was watching, the faces of only a very few individuals were made visible. (I always get a kick out of seeing people in their homes during these get-togethers. Everyone dresses casually and it’s fun seeing into everyone’s home and what they have in the background. I think it’s the way all AGMs should be held in the future.)
When he began proceedings shortly after 5:00 pm, Yaffe welcomed everyone who was watching, but he also indicated that no questions would be allowed until the very end of the meeting. Further, questions were to be sent in via chat. Would anyone be surprised to learn there were no questions asked?
I don’t know about anyone else who was watching (and from the names that were visible on the screen, they seemed to be mostly representatives of other Jewish organizations), but I sure would have liked to ask for details about how much assistance the Foundation has given to each local Jewish organization that has been allocated emergency funding during the pandemic and how much each of the organizations that will receive assistance in two more “phases” will receive. But, as I reported in the May 27 issue of this paper, the Foundation continues to maintain, as Richard Yaffe put it, that it “To be respectful of a variety of unique circumstances currently faced by individual organizations, at this time, we will leave the disclosure of the amount they received to their discretion.”
Yaffe did add that information will be made public by the Foundation in its 2020 Annual Report – so we’ll only have to wait one more year to find out how much each organization has received and will receive as a result of emergency funding during the pandemic – unless I can get each of the organizations to tell me how much they received back in April in Phase 1 of the Foundation’s emergency funding. I should add that I already know how much some organizations received, but it would be unfair to disclose that information unless I can reveal how much each of the 28 organizations that received funding received.
Turning to the 2019 Annual Report, however, here are some of the highlights, as reported by Dan Blankstein, JFM Treasurer and John Diamond, JFM CEO:
• the Foundation distributed in excess of $5.2 million to the community, $700,000 greater than the previous year.
• During 2019, both individual donors and organizations continued to significantly support the Foundation with endowment contributions in excess of $5.6 million
• The Foundation’s endowment fund’s net assets increased by 14% year-over-year, to more than $137 million
• Gifts to organizational endowments comprised $1.9 million of the 2019 gifts representing an 8.0% increase over the previous year. This increment will result in an additional $80,000 distributed into Winnipeg’s Jewish community annually.
• The performance of the investment portfolio for 2019 was 15.34% before fees. The 5-year and 10-year returns were 7.49% and 7.93%, respectively, before fees. 2019 was a “good year” in terms of investment performance.
The Annual Report went on to note other significant milestones reached by the Foundation in 2019:
• $1,228,930 was distributed in 2019 to Jewish organizations through their organizational endowments
• Since 1964 , the Foundation has distributed $72,676,844 in grants
• 17 planned gifts were realized, totaling $2,134,086
• $176,000 in scholarships were awarded to 76 students
• $33,680 in camperships were given
Of the over $5.2 million that were given in grants, $4,341,498 were designated grants (meaning the donors had specifically designated the recipients of the grants), while $875,745 were undesignated grants.
In discussing the overall performance of the Foundation in 2019, Richard Yaffe observed that “the work we did last year (2019) has put us in a strong position for the future.
“We know that 2020 is destined to be a very difficult year, but in no way will it be a step back” for the Foundation.
With specific reference to the emergency allocations that the Foundation has been able to give – not only to Jewish organizations, but to other community organizations as well, Yaffe explained that the Foundation’s undesignated funds have been and will continue to be crucial: “It is through these funds that the Foundation was able to respond so quickly to the pandemic,” he said.
“By the end of 2020 we will have distributed more than $750,000 in relief funding,” Yaffe added.
Yaffe described the criteria that the Foundation’s board applied when it came to allocating the $268,000 in emergency funding in Phase 1 of the emergency funding – both to Jewish and non-Jewish organizations: “Speed, efficiency, and inclusiveness”.
“Each organization’s financial report and operational expenses dictated how much each organization received,” he said.
In addition to the $68,000 that was given to four community organizations (Agape Table, Winnipeg Harvest, The Main Street Project, and Siloam Mission), an anonymous donor came forward with a further $34,000 gift that was added to the $68,000; thus, the total given to those four organizations came to $102,000.
As well, Phase 1 also included the spring distribution of $30,000 in Women’s Endowment Fund Grants to five organizations “that continue to support our most vulnerable women and children: North End Women’s Resource Centre, Willow Place, Salvation Army, Alpha House, and the West Central Resource Centre”.
There will be two further phases of emergency funding for Jewish organizations, Yaffe noted. In Phase 2, $200,000 will be distributed to 14 Jewish organizations. (Once we are told which organizations have received funding we will publish that information.)
There will be a third phase of emergency funding, Yaffe said, and information about that third and final phase of emergency funding “will be disclosed shortly”.
A recording of the entire 2020 Jewish Foundation of Manitoba Annual General Meeting can be found on the Foundation’s YouTube page.
Local News
First year medical student Tim Rozovsky founds new association for local Jewish medical students
By MYRON LOVE In the face of a concerning surge in antisemitism over the past nearly three years, I am happy to report a good news story in that regard. Tim Rozovsky, the founder of the new Jewish Medical Students’ Association of Manitoba, reports that he and his fellow Jewish students enrolled in the University of Manitoba’s Max Rady College of Medicine are not experiencing any significant issues involving antisemitism.
Hopefully, the matter of the notorious Med school Valedictorian who used his podium to attack Israel was a one-off.
“My goal in forming the Jewish Medical Students’ Association of Manitoba,” says the first year medical student, “was to create a safe, supportive environment for my fellow Jewish medical students.”
He reports that the current first year class at the school has eight Jewish students – an increase over more recent years – with maybe a dozen more in the other years.
For a new medical student, Rozovsky already has an impressive resume. He was born in Russia and grew up in Israel. After the completion of his army service in 2018, the then-22-year-old rejoined his parents, Dr. Katya and Alexander, who had moved to Winnipeg a few years before.
Prior to coming to Winnipeg, Rozovsky had completed a personal trainer program out of The Academic College at Wingate in Jerusalem. Some readers may know the young man from his work as a Master Personal Trainer at the Rady JCC.
Shortly after arriving here, he enrolled in a kinesiology program at the University of Winnipeg. He graduated with a BKin Honours in 2023 and did post graduate work at the University of Manitoba. Last fall, he received his MSc in Physiology and Pathophysiology – earning two gold medals, along with 32 awards and scholarships in the process.
Rozovsky says that it was his mother who inspired him to pursue a career in medicine. Dr. Katya Rozovsky is an associate professor at the University of Manitoba and an attending radiologist, specializing in pediatric diagnostic imaging.
(Tim also adds that his wife, Irina Gelzin, whom he married about a year ago, is training to be a nurse.)
Insofar as the Jewish Medical Students’ Association of Manitoba is concerned, Rozovky reports that the group gets together multiple times a year. One of its programs was a joint Chanukah celebration with the Jewish Physicians Association of Manitoba.
There was also a joint program with the Christian Medical and Dental Students’ Association of Manitoba.
“More recently, we have been helping prospective Jewish medical students with their applications,” he says. “Hopefully we will be able to get together over the summer with the incoming Jewish students.”
As to his own future plans, Rozovsky notes that it is too early for him to be deciding on a specialty. “My goal,” he says, “is to work hard and get good grades and become the best doctor that I can be.”
Local News
Gray Academy to Represent Manitoba at National Reach for the Top Competition
By NOAH STRAUSS Posted June 6) Gray Academy’s Reach for the Top team is headed to Moncton, New Brunswick, to represent Manitoba at the National Reach for the Top tournament.
Reach for the Top is a Canadian school league that quizzes teenagers on a variety of different topics, from science and history to pop culture. Reach started out in 1961 in Vancouver, where a local CBC station broadcasted the new show; it eventually became a national broadcast starting in 1966. Alex Trebek, who famously hosted Jeopardy!, started out by hosting Reach for the Top.
Gray Academy’s very own team, made up of Grade 7 and 8 students, will travel to Moncton, New Brunswick, to compete as Team Manitoba. By winning the provincial Reach tournament, they secured their spot in the national competition.
Faculty members at Gray Academy are very supportive of the program. The Jewish Post spoke with three different staff members at the school. Coach and high school teacher Danielle Miller says she is excited for the trip; although she will not be accompanying the team herself, shehas coached them all year.
“This year we had over 20 students come to the club to join us, they practice twice a cycle at lunch,” Miller said. Due to the large turnout this year, two teams had to be formed. At lunch practices, students split into two teams of four where each player has a buzzer. The two teams compete to see who can answer the most questions correctly.
One of the two teams did exceptionally well at various tournaments throughout the year and will be traveling to nationals as the sole team representing Manitoba.
Co-coach Micah Doerksen described Reach as a great academic competition where young minds are tested on various topics through quick,fast-paced questions.
High school guidance counselor Lindsey Leipsic said, “We have athletes, non-athletes, we have students who are really involved and students who are not as involved at school, and we have quiet leaders, and we’ve seen friendships be built in Reach.” Some of her favorite memories of Reach involve seeing students from across Winnipeg come to Gray Academy and bond with one another. Lev Chisick, who is competing at nationals, agreed, saying, “Moncton is going to strengthen our school spirit and make us a better team.”
As the junior team makes their way to Moncton, the senior team will head to provincials. Later this week, students from the senior team will travel to Virden, Manitoba, to compete at the provincial level. The team qualified after placing high enough at their most recent tournament, which took place at St. Paul’s.
Confidence is high as the school heads into these final tournaments. When Nath Goldenberg, who is also competing at nationals, was asked what he is most looking forward to, his answer was short and sweet:“Winning.”
Local News
Team Schvesters teammates Benji Harvey, Kim Gray once again among top ten fundraisers in this year’s CancerCare Manitoba Foundation Challenge for Life event
By MYRON LOVE This year’s annual CancerCare Manitoba Foundation’s Challenge for Life walk at Assiniboine Park is scheduled for Sunday, June 13 – and, once again, in terms of fundraising, Team Schvesters is sitting in second place overall – having raised just over $30,500 as of May 26 – which is $5,000 more than the team members had raised by the same time last year.
As well, team members Benji Harvey and Kim Gray are once again in the top ten among individual fundraisers. Harvey this year sits in fifth place, having raised a little over $16,000 as of May 17 – while Gray has raised just above $8,000 – putting her in seventh place.
Harvey reports that, -over the past 18, years participating in CancerCare Manitoba Foundation’s Challenge for Life, she has personally raised $180,000 for cancer research, while her team as a whole has brought in $367,000. In discussing her success as a fundraiser, Harvey says that she has made a lot of friends over the years and believes in giving back to the community.
The “Schvesters” are the Greenfeld sisters: Harvey and sisters Lesly Katz and Debra Lewis – the daughters of Lil and the late Ike Greenfeld. Two of the sisters are cancer survivors.
There is one other team member – in addition to Kim Gray. Judge Rocky Pollack first joined Team Schvesters in 2023. After a year away in 2024, he returned last year. Pollack lost his wife, Sharon, to cancer in 2014 after a multi-year struggle.
Nancy’s Nightingales has been a top 10 community fundraising team for Cancercare Manitoba and the Challenge for Life since its inception in 2008. As a team, they have walked together since 2006 when they walked 60 km in two days in the Weekend to End Breast Cancer.
Last year, the team – including Louise Raber, Joanne Katz, Rhonda Youell, Connie Botelho and Harriet Lyons – finished fifth in fundraising. So far this year, the team is again sitting in fifth place –having raised just under $12,500 (as of May 26) – a couple of thousand dollars more than last year, and just about $300 behind the fourth place team.
The Nightingales are named after a nurse who is a cancer survivor- and a friend of Louise Raber, Nancy’s Nightingales team leader.
“Our goal, as always, is to raise at least one dollar more than last year,” says Raber.
Team Jason’s Journey team leader Jason Gisser has experienced a more intimate and longer-lasting relationship with cancer than many of the other Challenge for Life participants. He was first diagnosed with cancer when he was 18. “I am a proud cancer fighter, having lived and battled a chronic cancer diagnosis for the last 23 years,” he said in an earlier interview. “I participate in the Challenge for Life not only to give back for the care and treatment which I have and continue to receive through CancerCare Manitoba, but to ensure that others do not have to endure the journey which I have endured.”
This is the ninth year that Gisser has taken up the Challenge for Life. His teammates are returnee Nora Fien, as well as friends Danial Sprintz, Wendy Martin White and Jason Roberts, also his mother, Judge Freda Steele. He has personally raised about $5,500 this year, while the team as a whole has raised just over $7,000.
“The Challenge for Life is great opportunity to raise valuable dollars for cancer research and treatment,” Gisser notes.
Readers can make donations to their preferred team by going online to CancerCarefdn.mb.ca and click on Challengeforlife.ca.
