Smiles abounded at the virtual campaign closing for the 2021 Campaign for Jewish Needs as fundraisers in the Jewish community delivered a record-breaking grand total of $33,105,529.

Dayna and Cameron were recognized at our Campaign Closing Celebration for their dedication to the Campaign for Jewish Needs.

The Jewish Federation of Cleveland announced that $33,105,529 has been raised by more than 12,000 donors representing 8,701 gifts in the 2021 Campaign for Jewish Needs, the annual fundraising campaign that serves Jewish Cleveland and the global community. Additionally, through a match opportunity from the Jack, Joseph and Morton Mandel Foundation, the community raised $1,000,000 for the Jewish Cleveland’s Coronavirus Emergency Relief Fund, contributing to a grand total of $15,416,989 toward this COVID relief effort to date. These totals were shared at the virtual Campaign Closing Celebration on December 9.

Paloma Zuleta, a Catholic, is raising her two children with husband Iden Martyn’s Jewish faith.

Martin Davidson knows loss. When he was 8, his 11-year-old brother died, and when he was 12, he lost his father too.

Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, this summer was not like others for thousands of kids who were planning to go to Camp Wise – the ‘Home of Happiness’ – and other Jewish summer overnight camps.

Last January, Jewish Clevelanders came out in big numbers to participate in the "No Hate. No Fear. Solidarity March" in New York City to stand up against hatred and anti-Semitism.

To prevent social distancing from becoming social isolation in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic – especially among the elderly in Jewish Cleveland – the Jewish Federation of Cleveland’s Jewish Volunteer Network (JVN) quickly mobilized to create a multi-pronged program designed to touch base with these vulnerable community members to make sure they knew they were not alone or forgotten in this unsettled time.

Across America, 37.2 million people (including 11 million children) live in food-insecure households. With the arrival of the COVID-19 pandemic in Northeast Ohio, those who were already facing food insecurity found themselves even more challenged to care for themselves and their families. And, as the realities of the economic impact of the pandemic have taken hold, the number of people confronting food insecurity has increased significantly and continues to grow.