April 2014

April 2014
Highlights from Headquarters
Jewish Women International
1129 20th St NW Ste 801
800-343-2823
Washington, DC 20036
www.jwi.org
A Message From Sari
Dear Friends,
Happy Spring! It’s been a long, cold, snowy winter for most of us, but it looks like it’s finally clearing up,
and in addition to the beautiful weather, we have a lot of great things to look forward to this spring at JWI.
Springtime means it’s time for our annual Mother’s Day Flower Project! This is one of our most important
projects of the year, both in raising funds for and awareness of our work. We are working hard, recruiting
partners and selling cards, and we hope that this year we can extend our reach and honor as many moms,
daughters, sisters, and friends as possible, while bringing hope and flowers to the women living in domestic violence shelters. But we need your help. Your support of the Flower Project will count toward your allocation credit, and in addition to purchasing cards, we also encourage our chapters to contact their local
synagogues to involve them in this powerful project. If you need any materials or information for your
chapter or local synagogues, please let me know.
JWI is continuing our efforts on Capitol Hill to end abuse and promote women’s rights. We’re currently
working on the passage of the International Violence Against Women Act, which you can read more about
on page 2, as well as advocating for the Military Justice Improvement Act to combat sexual assault among
our armed forces. Looking forward, we will also be engaging in the fight to reform gun laws and end human trafficking.
Please know that we are here to help your chapters with anything. Whether you need an updated membership report, program ideas, or flyers for your events, we are here to assist you. We also like to stay in
the loop of things going on with your chapters and in your communities as well. If you attend a great program or think you have a great idea for a program and need help getting it off the ground, let us know!
I wish you all a very happy Passover!
Best,
Sari Weintraub
Development & Administrative Associate
Congratulations to Chapter 0716, Austin; Chapter 0849, Skokie Valley; Chapter 1039, Hudson
Valley; Chapter 1130, Tamar Marin; Chapter 1272, Shalom; Chapter 1498, B’not Gurion; Chapter
1612, Simcha; Chapter 1723, Zahava; Chapter 1750, JWI of Greater Kansas City; JWI of Greater St.
Louis; and Chapter 1866, Hannah Senesh/L’Chaim, who already reached their FY14 allocation goals!
W
ith spring finally in the air, it’s time for the annual
Mother’s Day Flower Project! The project honors the
45,000 women and children who will spend this coming Mother’s Day in battered women’s shelters. Proceeds from the
project let us deliver beautiful bouquets of flowers to 200 of these
shelters on Mother’s Day, while they help fund other JWI initiatives to educate communities, empower women, and break the
cycle of abuse.
For many shelter residents, these Mother’s Day bouquets are the
first time they have received flowers. “At a time in their lives when
they are stressed about many things, and on a day that for many is
bittersweet, these ladies are reassured that somebody cares about
them ,” said Suzanne Durham at the Family Violence Center in Birmingham, Ala., a 2013 Flower Project recipient. “Somebody thinks
they are worthy to be pampered and somebody gives them gifts. That somebody is you – Jewish Women International.”
Joan Schultz of the Willow Domestic Violence Center in Lawrence, Kan., a 2014 recipient, told us, “[JWI]
makes a difference in the lives of the women in the safe home by reminding them women care about them,
women they do not even know, and are concerned that they survive and find their way.”
Please help us honor these courageous women while celebrating the important women in your own life, by
supporting this year’s Flower Project. For each $25 contribution, not only will we send a Mother’s Day card to
any woman you choose, thanking her for the inspiration to help women in need, but your chapter will also
receive allocation credit!
For more information or to become a partner in our Mother’s Day Flower Project, please contact Sari Weintraub at 202-464-4817 or visit www.jwi.org/fp.
Advocacy Initiative:
International Violence Against Women Act
T
he International Violence Against Women Act (IVAWA) The International Violence Against Women Act
(IVAWA) is a historic and unprecedented effort by the United States to comprehensively address violence against women worldwide. Originally introduced but not passed in the 110th Congress, it is a
direct response to the startling statistic that one out of every three women throughout the world will be
physically, sexually or otherwise abused during her lifetime, with rates reaching 70% in some countries.
IVAWA has been reintroduced but not passed in every subsequent Congress.
IVAWA would direct the U.S. government to create a comprehensive, five-year strategy to reduce such violence in 10-20 diverse countries that have egregious levels of violence against women and girls. A bipartisan
IVAWA bill, H.R. 3571, has been introduced in the House of Representatives by Congresswoman Jan
Schakowsky (D-IL) and currently has 54 co-sponsors, including nine Republican members of Congress. IVAWA
will be introduced shortly on the Senate side by Senator Barbara Boxer.
JWI has long been advocating for the passage of IVAWA, and we encourage you to contact your own senators and representatives, asking them to co-sponsor this important legislation.
2
JWI On The Road
In March, JWI attended the BBYO East Coast Kallah, presenting a
program to more than 60 high school seniors on sexual assault
and consent, with JWI’s manager of prevention and training programs, Dana Fleitman, leading a presentation called “Yes Means
Yes: Navigating Sex and Consent.”
Dana was also at Purdue University in Indiana in March, leading
the third and final pilot of JWI’s new program, Safe Smart Dating,
in partnership with Sigma Delta Tau sorority and Zeta Beta Tau
fraternity. JWI previously piloted the program at the University of
Pennsylvania and George Washington University, and the program just received an award from the North-American Interfraternity Conference (more on that below).
Deborah Rosenbloom, V.P. of programs and new initiatives,
spoke about “Engaging the Faith Community to Address Sexual
and Gender Based Violence” as part of a U.N. Commission on the
Status of Women parallel event. Deborah was part of an interfaith panel that spoke to a standing room only room of
JWI staff member Dana Fleitman at the BBYO
attendees.
East Coast Kallah
Deborah and Lori Weinstein, JWI CEO/Executive Director, were
also at the U.S. Department of State this month for the launch of the Gender Based Violence Emergency
Response and Protection Initiative.
For updates on JWI’s busy schedule around the country, visit jwi.org and check out our “Week’s Work!”
Safe Smart Dating Program Wins Award
Safe Smart Dating, JWI’s groundbreaking program on dating abuse and sexual assault in the Greek community on college campuses, has received the Laurel Wreath Award from the North-American Interfraternity
Conference.
Safe Smart Dating, through JWI’s partnership with Sigma Delta Tau (SDT) sorority and Zeta Beta Tau (ZBT)
fraternity, is an innovative, interactive, and co-ed program working to help young people on college campuses define and identify dating abuse and sexual assault, as well as build skills to be active bystanders at
school and in their communities. This program boldly tackles pressing issues including alcohol and sexual
assault, victim-blaming and the unique dynamics of abusive relationships on college campuses. Safe Smart
Dating facilitates meaningful peer-led discussions between young men and young women on dating abuse,
sexual assault and bystander intervention. Premiering in October 2013, we have just completed the final
pilot workshop for the program, and are excited to work with SDT and ZBT on expanding the program further.
As a result of the success of the pilot program, Safe Smart Dating received the Laurel Wreath Award, which
is given in recognition of unique programs, community outreach, or influence within the fraternal world.
Chapter Highlights
In January, Tamar Marin Chapter 1130 of San Rafael, CA cosponsored the 5th annual Marin Jewish Women’s “Chai” Tea, featuring comedienne Marion Grodin. This event, held by the local
JCC, brings together Jewish women’s groups from all over the area for an enjoyable afternoon of tea, dessert, and entertainment.
Chapter president Dara Moskowitz says that the tea was “lovely,”
and that they are looking forward to co-sponsoring the event next
year.
From Clearwater Chapter 1474: “Our Children’s Home fundraiser
on March 23rd was a resounding success. The afternoon began
with chapter president Myrna Rubin sharing her experiences at
the Children’s Home on her recent trip to Israel. This was followed
by a lovely luncheon and our entertainer Andy Stefano took the
stage, singing Sinatra songs ‘his way.’ He was very good, and it Tamar Marin members enjoying the annual “Chai” Tea
appeared everyone enjoyed the treat and most were smiling
and quietly singing along. Deena Silver followed with her talk about the Children’s Home and explained about the new
building for the teenage girls, and told stories of the children, sharing some success stories. Everyone was enthralled
and you could hear a pin drop in the room as she spoke. She left us with a feeling that we were giving to the worthiest
of causes. Thank you to Amy Richman, fundraising vice president,
and Lynn Brodsky, co-chair, for a wonderful afternoon, and to all
who attended.” - Myrna Rubin, Clearwater Chapter 1474, president
Joan Blum of Tradition Chapter 1468 (Annapolis, MD) is the recipient of a Governor’s Victim Assistance Award for Outstanding Volunteer Contributions. This award is in recognition of her work for the
Domestic Violence Coordinating Council in the field of healthy teen
dating relationships, and she will be honored at the awards luncheon in April. Mazel tov, Joan!
Clearwater members Ellie Geier, Sandy Darrow, and
Myrna Rubin at the Children’s Home luncheon
Upcoming Chapter Events
In May, Gila Chapter 1525 in Richmond, VA will honor Syral Specter as the 45th recipient of the Sofie Stahl Memorial
Award, given to “a Jewish woman whose volunteerism demonstrates a life-long commitment to helping those in the
Richmond area.” Syral, who throughout her life has brought her passion and energy to working with Temple Beth El in
Richmond, Jewish Family Services, and the Weinstein JCC, will be celebrated at a gala dessert reception to support
JWI’s National Library Initiative.
JWI of Greater Phoenix Chapter 1877 will be holding a Mad Hatter’s Tea at the end of April, with a silent auction and
raffle. Chapter president Harriet Robbins says that this event “has been very successful in the past and is a lot of fun!” we look forward to hearing all about it!
We want your stories and pictures! To have your events listed in Highlights from Headquarters,
please call or e-mail Sari Weintraub at 202-464-4817 / [email protected].
4