By Dr. Dena Schulman-Green
Women’s Philanthropy President

It is a special pleasure to share all that Women’s Philanthropy has been up to over the past several months. Our newly structured leadership cabinet has been meeting monthly to revisit all aspects of Women’s Philanthropy in order to truly operationalize our updated mission statement.

I would like to acknowledge all of the cabinet members for giving their time and expertise to so creatively advance our work. Many, many thanks to Dana Schwartz (Lion Chair), Nancy Cohen (Pomegranate Chair), Emily Sandberg and Lauren Miller (Sabra Society Co-Chairs), and Elaine Braffman (Israel and Overseas Affairs Chair). I would also like to thank Jennifer Bayer, our Federation staff member, for expanding our partnerships and for setting and meeting a very high bar in the quality of our programs. I would also like to thank all those who have hosted or partnered with us on our events so graciously, including Tower One/Tower East, Jewish Family Service, JCC, FORCE (Facing our Risk of Cancer Empowered), Yale New Haven Health, Westville Kosher Market and Manjares.

To offer something for everyone, we have more than doubled the number of Women’s Philanthropy events in a year and have increased their accessibility. We have also partnered with community agencies and organizations to highlight the important services and volunteer opportunities in our community. Consider joining us at some, or all, of our upcoming programs, including Living Well With Illness, co-organized with the Sherwin B. Nuland Foundation (May 11, 7-9 p.m., Congregation B’nai Jacob), and an evening with Marjorie Ingall, Author of “Mameleh Knows Best” (May 16, 6-8 p.m., Grassy Hill Country Club), co-organized with the JCC of Greater New Haven and featuring PJ Library. At this event, we are very proud to host a special pre-event reception to honor our Sabra Society members. The newly created Sabra Society recognizes women who support the Federation Annual Campaign with a gift of at least $365, or a dollar a day. This year, our signature event, Cool Reads with Roxanne Coady of RJ Julia Booksellers (June 21, 6:30-9 p.m., Guilford Yacht Club), will feature Camp Laurelwood, and we invite all women to bring their daughter(s) and/or a special young lady (age 12 and up) to enjoy supper and summer reading on Long Island Sound! Please look for additional information on the Federation website, in your email and in your mailboxes! Not getting our correspondence? Email Jennifer Bayer at jbayer@jewishnewhaven.org.

Amidst your busy schedules, I hope you will check in with Women’s Philanthropy and check out what we’re up to! Coming soon: our Mitzvah Booklet with community-wide volunteer opportunities for the whole family (including Bar and Bat Mitzvah projects!), opportunities to be an event chair, a committee to welcome new families to our community and more!

If you are interested in traveling to Israel on a very exciting women’s trip, please save the dates, Feb. 4-8, 2018, for Federation’s Women’s Philanthropy Mission to Israel, Heart to Heart.

I would be delighted to hear your ideas for Women’s Philanthropy. Please contact me at dschulmangreen@me.com, and thank you for supporting Women’s Philanthropy.

Women’s Philanthropy Mission Statement

Women’s Philanthropy of the Jewish Federation of Greater New Haven strives to engage all women across a broad spectrum of age, geography, Jewish observance and philanthropic ability to be a welcoming, accessible, educated and supportive community.

Women’s Philanthropy seeks to accomplish its mission by:

• Being open to all women who share a commitment to support the Jewish community locally, in Israel and globally
• Offering a full calendar of educational, social and fundraising events
• Collaborating to support community partners by identifying and addressing needs and opportunities
• Raising more than $1 million annually in support of the Jewish Federation’s Annual Campaign