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e-news December 2015
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The Weinberg Foundation has a lot of news to share! We hope you will take a few minutes to read our latest e-news. Also, we invite you to like the Weinberg Foundation on Facebook and follow us on Twitter!

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New Trustee announcement highlights Weinberg Foundation Annual Community Gathering

Ambassador Fay Hartog-LevinThe Weinberg Foundation recently hosted a celebration of the past year of philanthropy at its Annual Community Gathering. During the past year, the Weinberg Foundation distributed more than $90 million in grants to nonprofits serving low-income and vulnerable individuals and families. Nearly 1,000 community, civic, and business leaders attended the afternoon event, which included a discussion with Daniel Lubetzky, CEO and Founder of KIND Healthy Snacks and the KIND Movement. The celebration was highlighted by the announcement and introduction of the Weinberg Foundation’s next Trustee.

This is the first time in the Foundation’s history that a Trustee was chosen by the current Board rather than being named in the Foundation’s charter by Harry Weinberg. Ambassador Fay Hartog-Levin (Ret.) will succeed Judge Ellen M. Heller as the next Weinberg Foundation Trustee when Judge Heller concludes her role with the Foundation on May 16, 2016. Ambassador Levin will join the Foundation team informally starting in January 2016 as she orients herself to the Foundation’s work, strategies, and staff. To learn more about Ambassador Levin, please click here.

In addition to announcing the Foundation’s next Trustee, this year’s event featured an interview with Daniel Lubetzky led by Donn Weinberg, Weinberg Foundation Trustee and Executive Vice President. To view the full Annual Community Gathering program, divided into three separate videos for your viewing convenience, please click here.

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Weinberg Foundation names Rafi M. Rone as new Program Director

HJWF LogoThe Weinberg Foundation has named Rafi M. Rone as the newest program director for the Foundation. Rone will manage grants to nonprofits that serve low-income and vulnerable older adults in Israel. He will also manage general community grants that provide support to both the Jewish community and the community-at-large, primarily in Israel and Baltimore.

This newly created position includes responsibilities previously carried out by Michael Marcus, Program Director, Older Adults, who is leaving the Foundation in February to pursue other interests (details will be provided in a future media release). Aaron Merki, Program Officer, Older Adults, will continue to manage US grants within the Older Adults portfolio. Kate Sorestad, who currently serves as Program Officer, General Community Support & Libraries, will shift her focus to the Foundation’s Library Project and veterans initiatives. Sorestad will continue to manage grantmaking in Northeastern Pennsylvania, one of the Foundation’s hometown communities.

Rone recently served as Vice President of Jewish & Israel Initiatives at the Joseph and Harvey Meyerhoff Family Charitable Funds in Baltimore. He will begin his position with the Weinberg Foundation on January 4, 2016. Please click here to learn more.

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Weinberg Foundation grantee Operation Warm gives winter coats to Baltimore City students

Operation WarmEarlier this month, Weinberg Foundation grantee Operation Warm partnered with Baltimore City Fire and Police officers to provide new winter coats to nearly 2,000 Baltimore City children. Hundreds of coats were distributed within one week at four schools that are also part of the Baltimore Elementary and Middle School Library Project. Those schools include Arlington Elementary/Middle School, The Commodore John Rodgers Elementary/Middle School, The Historic Samuel Coleridge-Taylor Elementary School, and Westport Academy Elementary/Middle School.

The firefighters and police personally fitted the children and wrote their names in the interior tags of the new coats, which read “Made Just for You.” Operation Warm says the coats distributed in Baltimore are largely American-made. This annual program was launched as a result of a partnership between Operation Warm and the International Association of Firefighters formed in 2012.  

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More than $2 million in additional new grants announced

Basic Human Needs & Health

The Foundation supports programs that meet the basic needs of individuals, families, and communities. These include programs in the areas of homeless services, economic assistance, food security, and health.

Family Recovery Program
Baltimore, MD
$1,200,000 capital grant over two years ($800,000/$400,000) to support the renovation of a former school into 23 apartments that will provide transitional housing and supportive services for families with young children.
http://frp-inc.org/

Helping Up Mission Of Baltimore City
Baltimore, MD
$400,000 capital grant to support the renovation of this organization’s commercial kitchen and dining room that serve approximately 500 homeless individuals each day.
https://helpingupmission.org/home

Episcopal Refugees & Immigrant Center Alliance/Cathedral of the Incarnation
Pikesville, MD
$29,000 Maryland Small Grant to support the renovation of the Gilead House, the rectory of St. Mark’s on the Hill, which provides housing for individuals seeking asylum.
http://www.erica-baltimore.org/

JHP (Jobs Have Priority)
Prince George’s County
$25,000 Maryland Small Grant to support the general operations of this organization that helps individuals who are homeless or at-risk of becoming homeless find, obtain, and retain employment and stable housing.
http://www.jobshavepriority.org/


disabilities

The Foundation supports organizations and programs that respect and promote the independence, integration, individual choice, and civil rights of children and adults with intellectual, physical, and sensory disabilities as necessary preconditions for a good life.

Eliya, the Israel Association for the Advancement of Blind and Visually Impaired Children
Beer Sheva, Israel
$250,000 capital grant to support the construction of a rehabilitative day care and kindergarten for blind and visually impaired children.
http://www.eliya.org.il/

St. Joseph’s Center
Scranton, PA
$250,000 operating grant over two years ($125,000 per year) to support the general operations of this organization that strives to help people with disabilities through services including companion and respite care and supportive living.
https://www.stjosephscenter.org/


Education

US - The Weinberg Foundation supports organizations and programs committed to ensuring that children are ready for kindergarten; achieve grade-level academic performance in reading, math, and science; and graduate from high school prepared for college and the workplace. This portfolio includes an emphasis on STEM (Sciences, Technology, Engineering, and Math) literacy, out-of-school time, early childhood development, and child and family safety.

Israel - The Weinberg Foundation supports primarily capital projects in early education and for youth at-risk including early childhood centers, shelters for women and their children who are escaping intimate partner violence, and youth villages for youth at-risk without family support.

Light Health and Wellness Comprehensive Services
Baltimore, MD
$85,000 grant ($50,000 program/$35,000 capital) to support this organization’s early childhood program that provides full-day, year-round care for children between the ages of two and four, and to support the renovation of the organization’s facility.
http://www.lighthealth.org/

Drexel Neumann Academy
Chester, PA
$80,000 Maryland Small Grant over two years ($40,000 per year) to support the general operations of this independent Catholic school that strives to provide a safe learning environment for students, pre-kindergarten to eighth grade.
http://www.drexelneumannacademy.net/

Voluntary Action Center of Northeast Pennsylvania
Northeastern Pennsylvania
$50,000 Maryland Small Grant over two years ($25,000 per year) to support Big Brothers Big Sisters, a program that provides elementary and middle school children with community, school, and site-based, one-on-one mentorships.
http://www.vacnepa.org/

Cambridge-South Dorchester High School
Cambridge, MD
$12,500 Maryland Small Grant to support this organization’s three-year college access program that provides students with mentors, leadership through service, and pathways to college.
http://www.csd.dcpsmd.net/


General Community Support

This program area includes support for Jewish causes worldwide, grants to organizations that distribute funds to many of the Foundation's priority areas, and local community development efforts including renovation or construction of affordable housing and neighborhood revitalization.

Recover Alaska
Throughout Alaska
$100,000 capital grant to support a state-wide collaborative effort to reduce alcohol abuse through the creation of a treatment referral system.
http://recoveralaska.org/
 
Sixth Branch
Baltimore, MD
$25,000 Maryland Small Grant to support the general operations of this organization that utilizes the leadership and organizational skills of military veterans and community volunteers to execute neighborhood revitalization projects in the Oliver, Johnston Square, and Darley Park neighborhoods.
http://the6thbranch.org/

South Baltimore Learning Center
Baltimore, MD
$25,000 Maryland Small Grant to support this organization’s Adult Basic Education classes, GED achievement, and National External Diploma programs.
http://www.southbaltimorelearns.org/


Older Adults

This is the single largest area of grantmaking by The Harry and Jeanette Weinberg Foundation. The Foundation remains committed to providing support to older adults to live dignified, meaningful, and engaged lives in the community and to maintain their independence for as long as possible.

Beit Avraham – The Sephardic Home for the Aged
Haifa, Israel
$500,000 capital grant to support the renovation of two nursing wards creating four home-like communities based on the Green House model, which emphasizes a more home-like, client-centered approach.

Indianapolis Jewish Home dba Hooverwood
Indianapolis, IN
$500,000 capital grant to support the renovation of a 188-bed nursing home, increasing the amount of personal and group activity space for all residents, based on the culture-change model that emphasizes a more individualized, home-like environment.
http://www.hooverwood.org/

Bayview Hunters Point Multipurpose Senior Services
San Francisco, CA
$250,000 capital grant to support the construction of the Dr. George W. Davis Senior Center co-located with affordable housing that will help older adults age-in-place, remain independent, and maintain community and cultural connections.
http://bhpmss.org/

UGC Foundation
New Rochelle, NY
$250,000 capital grant to support the renovation of a vacant skilled nursing facility into an independent housing campus that will include a technology-enabled hub providing residents and older adults living in the surrounding community with a range of health and information services and programs.

AgeOptions
Cook County, IL
$150,000 program grant over two years ($75,000 per year) to support the continued development of the Caring Together, Living Better (CTLB) partnership that coordinates the efforts of faith communities in supporting older adults and their caregivers.
http://www.ageoptions.org/


Workforce Development

The Weinberg Foundation is committed to helping people to help themselves by obtaining and keeping employment, preferably on a career track. The Foundation funds programs which provide the “life-tools” for clients to lift themselves from poverty into solid self-support.

Urban Alliance Foundation
Baltimore, MD
$150,000 operating grant over two years ($75,000 per year) to support the general operations of this organization that provides high school students with paid internships, formal training, and mentorship in order to help them transition into higher education, technical training, and/or employment.
http://www.theurbanalliance.org/

Red Hook Initiative
Brooklyn, NY
$100,000 capital grant to support the renovation of this organization’s facility in order to expand  middle school, high school, and young adult out-of-school time programs focused on college and career preparation.
http://rhicenter.org/

IT Works – Empowering People
Sderot and Bet Shean, Israel
$80,000 program grant to support this organization’s integrative technology and professional training programs for underemployed or unemployed individuals.*
http://www.en.itworks.org.il/

* All grants with an asterisk are paid to either United Israel Appeal (U.I.A.) or PEF Israel Endowment Funds with the recommendation, but not requirement, that they be distributed as described.

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Don’t forget to visit the Weinberg Foundation’s new website!

Weinberg Foundation WebsiteThe Weinberg Foundation’s recently redesigned website presents information more clearly and concisely and features responsive design, page toggles that allow the user to manage viewable content, and an interactive grants map.

Please visit www.hjweinbergfoundation.org. We hope you will enjoy!

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Wishing everyone safe and happy holidays!

Happy HolidaysFrom all of us at The Harry and Jeanette Weinberg Foundation, thank you for your friendship and support. Wishing you and your family a safe, joyful holiday season and a healthy, happy New Year!
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