Bellefaire JCB, founded over 150 years ago as the Jewish Orphan Asylum in Cleveland, Ohio, continues to innovate to meet the emerging needs of our community.

The Jewish Federation of Cleveland announced today that Shoshana Dessler Jacobs is the 2021 recipient of the Irene Zehman Volunteer Award. Each year, the Federation recognizes an unsung Jewish woman or group of women who demonstrate the highest ideals and practices of volunteer service on behalf of the Jewish and/or general community. Jacobs, who is the co-founder and executive director of Israel Medical Fund, a nonprofit supporting medical initiatives in Israel, will be honored at the Federation’s Gathering for Good event on December 1.

Sir Nicolas Winton, also known as ‘The British Schindler', organized the rescue of 669 children from Czechoslovakia to Great Britain during World War II.

For more than 50 years, The Jewish Agency for Israel – with the support of Jewish Cleveland – has assisted over 95,000 Ethiopian Jews in their journey to Israel.

Rabbi Yosef Lassri and his wife noticed their son, Yair – who has autism spectrum disorder – was not progressing as well as he could with his grades in school.

The American Jewish Joint Distribution Committee (JDC), a Federation overseas beneficiary agency, is the leading global Jewish nonprofit organization, working in 70 countries to lift lives and strengthen communities. JDC rescues Jews in danger, provide aid to vulnerable Jews, develop innovative solutions to Israel’s most complex social challenges, cultivate a Jewish future, and lead the Jewish community’s response to crises. For over 100 years, their work has put the timeless Jewish value of mutual responsibility into action, making JDC essential to the survival of millions of people and the advancement of Jewish life across the globe.

During the COVID-19 pandemic, JDC gives elderly Jewish women in the Ukraine food, medicine, and homecare.

Testimony Theater Cleveland is a program in which 7th-12th grade students interview Holocaust survivors and their families about their experiences and then act out those stories as a powerful and emotional stage performance.

The Jewish Federation of Cleveland announced that Danielle Wild of Beachwood was awarded the 2021 Ruby Bass Challenge Award, the organization’s most prestigious award for women philanthropists. Wild was honored with the award at the Federation’s Women IN Philanthropy virtual Signature Event on May 27.

– The Jewish Federation of Cleveland announced that the staff of Cleveland Clinic, The MetroHealth System, and University Hospitals have been named the 97th recipients of the Charles Eisenman Award, the Jewish Federation of Cleveland’s highest civic honor for outstanding contributions to our community. The Federation recognized these three healthcare systems and celebrated our community at the 117th Annual Meeting on Wednesday, April 21.