Funders File

The Dallas Hebrew Free Loan Association (DHFLA) is the only organization in Collin, Cooke, Dallas, Denton, Ellis, Erath, Fannin, Grayson, Hood, Hunt, Johnson, Kaufman, Montague, Palo Pinto, Parker, Rockwall, Somervell and Wise Counties, and any other county inclusive of Wichita Falls, Texarkana, Tyler, Waco and Longview, Texas that provides interest-free loans to members of the Jewish community, helping people navigate economic challenges and pursue dreams.

According to the Education Data Initiative, almost 84% of U.S. college students get financial aid. In Texas, approximately one-third of undergraduates receive federal student loans to pay for college. The number increases when graduate students are considered. Some students receive scholarships but those don’t fully cover expenses.

DHFLA’s interest-free loans help students close the gap between tuition and scholarships and eliminate or minimize the amount of interest-accruing debt that they need to take. Students can borrow $4,000 per semester interest-free.

Student loan inquiries peak in the summer. DHFLA anticipates an increase in applications due to the continuing rise in higher education tuition.

Gifts can be designated for higher education loans. Contributions make college more affordable.

We appreciate the support of DJCF fundholders who are inspired to help DHFLA provide affordable financial assistance to Jewish students.

CHAI sets itself apart from other group home providers by being committed to having our residents meaningfully participate in the community and create powerful mutually beneficial relationships with community members and friends. Regular engagement with congregations, youth groups, school clubs, and other local organizations in addition to activities with individual volunteers play a large role in CHAI’s mission to provide our residents with a rich, meaningful, and purposeful life.

Funds directed towards CHAI’s community engagement programming will directly increase the quality, quantity, and diversity of events and activities which include CHAI’s group home residents and members of our community. Examples of these activities include field days, arts & crafts, music, cooking, but can extend to any shared interests between the CHAI residents and our individual and group volunteers. Not only does engagement with CHAI benefit our residents, but our volunteers gain powerful experiences and build strong friendships through participation with CHAI.

Please support the expansion of Ann & Nate Levine Academy's Fine Arts Program. The program will include greater exposure to the arts via field trips throughout the Dallas metroplex to cultural art opportunities for our Kindergarten through 8th Grade students. We also plan to invite professional artists and performers who represent a broad spectrum of the arts including theater, digital arts, music, visual arts, and more to join us on campus to speak to and interact with our students. We are excited to enhance and grow our Fine Arts Program here at Levine Academy.

The Dallas Jewish Burial Fund helps cover the cost of a Jewish burial and funeral when the expense would be otherwise prohibitive. The cost for a burial plot at Jewish cemeteries in the Dallas area is not less than $4,500, and the cost of a funeral director starts at around $6,000 for the most basic funeral services. The fee to open and close a grave is at least $1,950. Thus, the total cost of a burial is not less than $12,450. For some, this amount is unreachable. In Jewish tradition, burial and the related services are considered a chesed shel emet—a true act of loving kindness—because it can never be repaid by the deceased. The Dallas Jewish Burial Fund supports families in the community as they strive to perform this act for a loved one.

We are delighted to present this grant application for the establishment of a new Jewish daycare/preschool in Dallas, Texas. Our vision is to create a nurturing and inclusive environment that combines high-quality early childhood education with Jewish values, community, and culture. This innovative and much-needed initiative will serve as a cornerstone for fostering the development of young children within the Jewish community. The proposed Jewish daycare/preschool will cater to children aged 9 weeks to 5 years, providing them with a comprehensive educational experience that embraces Jewish heritage and values while prioritizing their social, emotional, cognitive, and physical growth.

By establishing this new institution, we aim to meet the increasing demand for high-quality early childhood education infused with Jewish principles in the vibrant city of Dallas. Currently, there is a significant shortage of Jewish daycare/preschool options in Dallas. By establishing Dallas Jewish Preschool, we will meet the pressing need for a quality early childhood educational center that caters specifically to the growing Jewish community.

The early years are crucial for a child's growth and development. By providing a comprehensive educational experience grounded in Jewish values, we will equip children with a strong foundation for lifelong learning, character development, and social integration. Our daycare/preschool will play a vital role in preserving Jewish traditions and customs within the younger generation. By nurturing their Jewish identity from an early age, we will cultivate future leaders who are connected to their roots and committed to the continuity of Jewish heritage.

The Morton Rachofsky Oral History Archive is the flagship program of Dallas Jewish Historical Society. In 52 years, we have recorded nearly 800 oral histories. As technology continues to evolve, we must keep equipment updated to capture these priceless memories. DJHS is requesting funds to purchase three new tripods, three new sets of studio lighting equipment, and a large external drive to improve our storage and care for existing and incoming oral history interviews. In total, these improvements will cost $1500.00.

Many Jewish students at UT and surrounding universities are unaffiliated, not interested or disconnected from Jewish life. They are not being reached by any of the Jewish programming in and around campus. How do we get to connect to Jewish communal life?

This huge void needs to be filled. JTRIBE is a grassroots movement of diverse Jewish students who come together for social events, social action, Jewish education, cultural awareness and mentoring events: a unique mix of peer-to-peer Jewish programming, mentorship, community service, leadership development and social fun.

JTribe sets up a road to discovery, connecting to their Jewish roots and heritage and building strong relationships with the Jewish community which will continue after graduation. Jewish social and cultural events are run by the students: speakers, music, socializing, Shabbat and holidays. Friends reach out to friends and acquaintances and are engaging them in Jewish programming. Close-knit networks are built in a social setting. JTribe’s program empowers our lead interns to engage fellow Jewish students on a peer-to-peer level.

The program works by creating organic social networks based on shared identity and social values. Social and educational Jewish activities are planned outside of our center, on campus and the surrounding environs.

An increase in anti-Semitism and a decrease in student participation makes it imperative to reach out and engage young Jews on campus.

The JTribe program makes the difference! YOU make the difference!

Since 2017, NCJW Dallas has supported families in West Dallas by providing required school supplies to elementary and high school students. This year, DISD is requiring all students to bring their own calculators to school, and NCJW Dallas seeks to ease that burden for families already on the financial edge. NCJW Dallas is committed to fostering school success for the most vulnerable students, and any donations in support of the back-to-school supplies will strengthen this work.

JCRS requests your support to increase and sustain our needs-based scholarships programs. To keep up with the increasing costs of services, JCRS is in the process of expanding support to our client families. The funds raised will go to Jewish youth for college aid, Jewish summer camp grants, financial assistance to Jewish children with special needs, PJ Library subscriptions, disaster relief, and additional outreach programs. JCRS is committed to expanding outreach in the Dallas, TX area.

For summer 2022, 43 campers in the Dallas area received summer camp scholarships, totaling over $33,000 in aid. 14 college students from the Dallas area received education scholarships, totaling $56,000. JCRS also assists 17 children with special needs case management and/or funding, $80,000 in 2022, totaling in $169,000 in assistance to the Dallas area alone. 2023 is already on track to be a record year! For summer 2023, 84 camp scholarship awards were made to campers in the Dallas area, totaling in $41,750 in assistance. Please assist us TODAY in supporting the Jewish leaders of tomorrow!

The AFJCC is a special place with interactive programs and state-of-the-art facilities that offer something for everyone. Lifelong friendships begin here, learning starts here, and healthy lifestyles are set in motion here. We welcome anyone in our community to be a part of something special.

We offer social, recreational, educational, and cultural activities for all ages – from infants to senior adults. With your support last year, the AFJCC

1. Served nearly 8,000 members from 3,200 diverse households throughout the DFW Metroplex

2. Hosted more than 1,000 children for summer camp

3. Provided daily hot lunches Monday – Friday for our senior adults, averaging 1,200 meals served per month

4. Taught 600 students the lifesaving skill of swimming

Whether it is a child experiencing summer camp for the first time or a senior attending health training programs or someone looking for Jewish cultural learning or a new family attending a social event to meet friends - the AFJCC is where it starts! Our doors are open to anyone who wants to celebrate life and be a part of something truly meaningful.

Your support provides essential and innovative programming for all who walk through our doors. Please consider what you can do to help our agency provide these wonderful programs and experiences to our community.

For more information about how you can support our community initiatives, contact Laura Pope, Chief Development Officer, at (214) 239-7103 or email lpope@jccdallas.org.

AYA is planning to reinvigorate its school library to not only support a love of reading in students, but also to become a central hub for students, teachers, and parents. Research shows, “when schools have high-quality library programs and librarians who share their expertise with the entire school community, student achievement gets a boost.” (Lance, 2023). Our goal is to invest in library automation software, research platforms, and engaging General and Judaic studies texts. These priorities will allow teachers to take their students to the library on a weekly basis to check out high-interest books.

The library will also be a resource for teachers to enhance the curriculum in their classrooms. As our campus integrates Project Based Learning into the curriculum, the library will be a critical resource for students and teachers to support research and learning. We believe it is important for students to learn to navigate digital resources online, and to have time in an actual library space browsing and selecting books that are interesting to them and supportive of their learning goals.

Finally, our goal is that the library becomes a place parents can bring their students before and after school to promote a strong home/school connection and love of reading amongst our families. Thank you for considering support of this initiative.

Jewish Family Service’s (JFS) Older Adults-Holocaust Survivor Care (OA-HSC) program offers comprehensive homecare and case management support to low-income Holocaust survivors residing in the North Texas region. The primary goal of the program is to help each survivor live independently in their own home for as long as it is safe to do so. In order to accomplish this, the clinicians, therapists, counselors, and case managers of the OA-HSC program utilize a specialized clinical health psychology model to care for clients enduring a variety of issues including untreated mental illness, cognitive decline, physical impairment, and feelings of isolation.

Additionally, clients are encouraged to access supplemental support from JFS when needed, including chaplaincy consultations, kosher home-delivered meals, transportation assistance, crisis intervention, psychiatric services, counseling for family members and caregivers, and socialization activities. The primary anticipated (and historically achieved) outcome of the program is that the emotional, cognitive, and physical wellbeing of each client will substantially improve, resulting in better health outcomes including decreases in physical decline, depression, anxiety, and feelings of loneliness. Support from the DJCF community will help the OA-HSC program provide care to 10 currently unserved survivors who have requested, but not yet received, aid. This is in addition to the 93 clients enrolled in the program who are expected to have increased homecare needs in the near future.

Torah Day School is working hard on our literacy program. We have hired a reading specialist both in Hebrew and English. We are looking to hire more staff to service more children. We have small pull-out groups in grades 1-4. However, we are looking to hire 2 positions. One for the older grades. Secondly, for one-on-one support.

Thank you for all you are doing. Thank you for considering Torah Day School.

Hillels of North Texas offers Jewish Learning Fellowship (JLF), a ten-week educational seminar, for 20 North Texas undergraduate students who have not yet deeply engaged in Jewish life on campus. Students will be introduced to Jewish text study, rhythms of the Jewish calendar, and Jewish life in an inclusive environment. JLF builds a cohort of students within each class who befriend and support each other. Graduates of JLF are inspired by the program to continue learning and also deepen their Jewish communal participation, with a friend group and a mentor to anchor them. One (1) in 5 JLF graduates takes on formal roles of Jewish leadership by creating and steering their own initiatives. One (1) in every 4 JLF students go on Birthright Israel with their campus Hillel the season following their seminar semester.

Every Jewish student belongs at Hillels of North Texas; help us include them with a contribution to Jewish Learning Fellowship. Sponsor students to participate in Hillel’s JLF at $640 per student to cover the costs of materials, meals, student scholarships, and Jewish educators. On behalf of students, staff, and volunteers, we greatly appreciate your support.

With the continued violence in Ukraine and the escalation of Russian aggression among its people, Israel is experiencing an influx of Jewish refugees into all areas of the country. A significant number, over 10,000 per month at this time, are arriving to temporary living places and receiving the necessary first response – shelter, clothes, food, and basic supplies. However, after the refugees move past their initial state of trauma, they will need to establish a more permanent life in Israel. As such, the Jewish National Fund-USA’s Lauder Employment Center (located in Be’er Sheva) has been working to integrate the current wave of Ukrainian and Russian immigrants into the Israeli job market.

Learning from the failures of previous waves of immigration, it is imperative that the skills of these individuals are given ample opportunity to find employment in their professional field, rather than compromising their professional integrity by placing them in entry-level positions. This is even more necessary given the shortage of engineers, medical professionals, and other skilled workers occurring in Israel today.

Moreover, the lessons learned through this program will allow JNF-USA to replicate the model in the Galilee through the Lauder Employment Center in Israel’s North, thus providing greater job placement and better integration for these new immigrants.

A weekly program geared for high school age, Jewish boys, and girls, to connect to their Jewish Heritage, build Jewish Pride, and connect with community, through education.

For 1 hour every week the students will enjoy:

•Practical and-in depth Torah Learning, inspiring classes and community interaction Sample discussion include- Jewish Perspectives on body image, social media pros and cons, plastic surgery, risking one’s life to save one another, free will etc.
•Fun, engaging, interactive
•Developing Jewish Leadership

High school age students are busy with many extracurricular activities, social media and other multimedia distractions. Committing to Jewish learning and engagement is very hard to do. JET’s HS Fellowship program recognizes this and displays to the students how important we feel it is to invest in them, our future Jewish leaders. We value their time and commitment.

As a result, students that are accepted into the program receive a weekly cash stipend of $20 dollars for every class attended.

Weekly:
Monday Night- Boys 7:30- 8:30
Tuesday Night – Girls- 7:30- 8:30

(We made the boys and girls nights separate to foster an environment where they feel comfortable asking any questions that are on their minds, and not feel any social pressure.)

Please consider partnering with us by sponsoring a full year of Jewish learning and leadership development for a high school student(s).

Individual Sponsorship- $1,500 per student

Underwrite the High School Fellowship Program for 1 Year- $35,000