Known as the “Queen of the Air,” Dolly Jacobs is a world-renowned circus aerialist. The daughter of legendary clown Lou Jacobs and renowned model and circus artist Jean Rockwell Jacobs, Dolly has performed extensively around the world, including twice at the International Circus Festival of Monte Carlo, where she received the Dame du Cirque (Lady of the Circus) award and the coveted Silver Clown award.

Jacobs and her husband, fellow circus artist Pedro Reis, founded Circus Sarasota (known today as The Circus Arts Conservatory) in 1997, a nonprofit organization that presents professional performances and provides educational training and outreach programs.

Jacobs has been honored with numerous accolades throughout her career. In 2015, she became the first circus artist to become a NEA National Heritage Fellow in recognition of both her continuing artistic accomplishments and contributions as a teacher. Inspired by this award, the Smithsonian Institution invited The Circus Arts Conservatory to be the Participating Partner for the 2017 Smithsonian Folklife Festival, which honored the Circus Arts. Jacobs, along with artists from around the world, performed under the Circus Sarasota Big Top on the National Mall in Washington, DC for millions of spectators.

NCJW SEASON OPENING LUNCHEON
When: Noon Wednesday, Sept. 13
Where: Stoneybrook Golf and Country Club, 9901 Stoneybrook Blvd. Sarasota, FL 34238
Guest Speaker: Dolly Jacobs, Co-Founder & Associate Director, The Circus Arts Conservatory
2015 National Heritage Fellow

I am thrilled, excited and truly honored to be president of our section. For over a century, NCJW has been at the forefront of social change — championing the needs of women, children and families. At NCJW, we address issues that promote Tikkum Olam. We strive to make it easy for you to make a difference in our community. We believe that progressive ideals put into action can make the world a better place; that our passion, intelligence, and efforts will make this belief a reality; and that NCJW is the most potent, most effective, most satisfying place for us to turn our beliefs into action.

A few years ago, my husband and I went on a two-week cruise. We totally enjoyed the various excursions at the ports we visited. On the days at sea, we would relax by the pool, enjoy the food and read books. On the last night, they showed a video of the activities that had been conducted on board the ship during the cruise. At the end of the video, we looked at each other and asked, “Were we on the same cruise?” My point is, our NCJW Section is like our cruise; it is diverse enough that everyone can get something out of it. You can choose to simply pay your dues or you can choose to become involved. We have something for everyone. Read this edition of News and Views. Whether your passion is advocacy, community service or fund raising, please join us in the many ways we can repair the world.

Wishing you all a happy, safe, and healthy new year.
— Joan Bour,
NCJW President

2017-2018
Rosh Hashanah
Thursday and Friday,
September 21 & 22, 2017

Yom Kippur
Saturday, September 30, 2017

Sukkot
Thursday & Friday,
October 5 & 6, 2017

Shmini Atzeret
Thursday, October 12, 2017

Simchat Torah
Friday, October 13, 2017

Chanukah
Wednesday, December 13, 2017 – Wednesday, December 20, 2017

Purim
Thursday, March 1, 2018

Passover (start)
Saturday & Sunday,
March 31 & April 1, 2018

Passover (end)
Friday & Saturday,
April 6 & 7, 2018

Yom Hashaoh
Thursday, April 12, 2018

Yom Haatzmaaut
Thursday, April 19, 2018

Lag B’Omer
Thursday, May 3, 2018

Shavuot
Sunday & Monday,
May 20 & 21, 2018

Tish’a B’av
Sunday, July 22, 2018

The JANET (Jewish Action for Non-Violent Expression of Tweens) Project’s mission is to sponsor at-risk “tweens”, from Sarasota and Manatee Counties, who attend Camp Mariposa, an addiction-prevention and mentoring program for youth who have been impacted by substance abuse in their families. This program currently is funded, in part, by a grant from The Moyer Foundation and is sustained and managed by the Jewish Family & Children’s Service (JFCS). Since JFCS’s welcoming The JANET Project to be a part of the Camp Mariposa structure in 2016, NCJW has funded one camper, for one year, provided the 30 campers with “blankees” assembled by our members, and finished off by the campers as a craft project, and has given the campers toiletry items donated by our NCJW members.

With the children attending six weekend overnight camp sessions during a calendar year, NCJW members were day visitors to Camp Mariposa during two of those weekends. During the year, JFCS staff members meet with the children and the children’s caretakers for counseling purposes. They also host family social gatherings.

There are opportunities to volunteer for this project, for example, organizing a craft project, teaching a sports skill or volunteering at a family outing. If interested, please contact the co-chairs.
In addition to any direct donations to The JANET Project, all contributions to the NCJW Tribute Card Fund go toward The JANET Project.

Our goals with this Project are to maintain financial sustainability, from year to year, to provide funding for at least one camper (or more) each year, and to provide the campers with personal items (clothing, toiletry items, etc.) to help give them a feeling of being special!

By Barbara Aferiat
Barbara@aferiat.com | 941-923-8160
NCJW Sarasota-Manatee is a registered organization with the Amazon Smile Foundation, which makes us eligible to receive 0.5% of the purchase price on many purchases. Below is information regarding the Amazon program.

Amazon Smile is just like ordering on Amazon.com, except on your first visit to the site you will be prompted to select a charitable organization from a list of eligible organizations. Amazon will remember your selection, and then for every eligible purchase you make on smile.amazon.com, the Amazon Smile Foundation will donate 0.5% of the purchase price.

Amazon will not charge any administrative fees or take any deduction from the donation amount, and there is no cost to the charitable organization to participate.

It’s very easy. Just go to the following link: http://smile.amazon.com
From the list of charitable organizations click: National Council of Jewish Women Sarasota-Manatee. This registers your eligible purchases with the Amazon Smile program.

It’s that easy!!

By Evie Batten and Vivian Carasso, Co-Chairs

Human Trafficking is a modern form of slavery, with illegal smuggling and trading of people, for forced labor or sexual exploitation. Traffickers use coercion, abduction, force, deception, and abuse to control their victims. It is one of the fastest growing businesses of organized crime, a 150 billion dollar worldwide industry, as reported by the International Labour Organization. The FBI reported that between 2008 and 2010, 83% of sex trafficking victims found within the U.S. were U.S. citizens. Approximately 100,000 American children are at risk of commercial exploitation each year.

Florida ranks third in the country in having one of the highest incidences in human trafficking, with California and Texas being first and second. Since part of NJCW’s mission is to strive for social justice by improving the quality of life for women, children, and families, and to safeguard individual rights and freedoms, NCJW is committed, on a national and local level in Florida, to educate and make people aware of the presence of trafficking in our communities. Our Advocacy team has developed a Human Trafficking Program in hopes of helping to eradicate human trafficking.

As of last year, we presented at the Boys and Girls Club, Girl Scouts of America, Braden River Library, Triad and Laurel Civic Association in Nokomis, Fl. We also had a panel discussion at the Jewish Federation. There were four panelists: two sheriffs, Camille Chapman, a representative from Safe Place and Rape Crisis Center (SPARCC), and Concetta Holmes, a representative from Child Protective Services. This summer we were asked to present again at Laurel Civic Association. Our presentation consists of a video narrated by a 17 year old who narrowly escaped being trafficked with a discussion after the video. We provide a display of life-size teen silhouettes, each with a breastplate relating their sad tales and distribute informational cards in English and Spanish on which there is a Hotline number and important facts about Human Trafficking.

The Human Trafficking Program also works with Council’s Legislative Program. On March 29th and 30th 2017, four members representing the Sarasota-Manatee Section joined members from other Florida sections, met with different legislators and their aides during the Tallahassee Advocacy Days for support of SB286, Human Trafficking Education in Public Schools Health Classes.

This coming year we plan to expand our program by presenting at more venues. We have filled out paperwork to present to the Sarasota Board of Education Speaker‘s Bureau and are exploring ways to broaden our base.

Anyone interested in helping may contact, Vivian Carasso, Co-Chair, 917-365-5238, vivi6778@aol.com and Evie Batten, Co-Chair, 330-421-9553, evie.batten@gmail.com

We are thrilled to welcome so many new members to NCJW and excited that you share the goals and mission of an organization that has been at the forefront of social change for more than100 years.

Our programs will begin in the fall with a New and Prospective Member coffee morning, which will be held at the home of Debbie Heller on Wednesday, October 11, 2017 at 10:30 a.m. This is a lovely way to meet other new members and learn more about NCJW and the work we do in the community and our efforts in advocacy on behalf of women, children and families. Please let us know if you have any friends and neighbors who might be interested in coming to the coffee morning.

Please make sure to mark your calendars for the “Paid Up Members” luncheon which will be held at the Sara Bay Country Club, Sarasota on Wednesday, November 8, 2017 at 12:00 p.m., We are very fortunate to have as our speaker this year, Jean Elson, Senior Lecturer Emerita in the Department of Sociology at the University of New Hampshire and author of “Gross Misbehavior and Wickedness: A Notorious Divorce in Early Twentieth Century America.” At a time when women needed husbands for economic support, this is a fascinating true story of a high-society couple and their acrimonious divorce. The book sheds light on a period in the evolution of American culture.

Our second New and Prospective Member coffee morning is scheduled for spring 2018, date to be announced. We have previously had a new member volunteer her home enabling new members to meet in a warm and social environment. Please contact us if you are interested in hosting.

We look forward to the vitality that our new members will bring to our Section.
Membership VP’s: Vivian Carasso at vivi6778@aol.com or Micki Sherin Evans at mickisofta@gmail.com

NEW 2017 MEMBERS
Doris Alpern
Holly M. Bockow
Fredda Chalfin
Deena Dell
Elyse Diamond
Helen Feinman
Alice Fishman,
Life Member
Ilene Gelber
Susan Girese
Nancy Golden, MD
Judy Grossman
Barbara Guter
Marsha Halpern
Micki Hochberg-Gamer
Lillian Sturm Katz
Ginny Kutikoff
Julie Kupersmith
Gail Leavitt
Carol Levin
Ronni Loundy
Sandy Otchet
Paula Reich
Suezette Rice
Roz Rosenthal
Carol Statoff
Madeline Tolchinsky

Our community service committees and volunteers are all actively involved in their various activities and enjoying the pleasure that comes from giving back to our community. The following is a synopsis of the many community service projects in which our Section is currently involved.

HEARING SCREENING OF PRESCHOOLERS
This continues to be a very successful program. Last year new audiometers were purchased and our volunteers were trained in their usage. Children are referred to hearing professionals based on their test results. We currently cover Sarasota and would love to expand into Manatee County.

VISION SCREENING
There are three teams of NCJW volunteers who conduct vision screening on preschoolers. This past year committee members were trained in the new standards and certified. Over 400 preschoolers were screened with a small percentage of children being referred for professional care. If you are interested in participating in this community service, we are always looking for new volunteers.

SOMEONE TO TALK TO
This very popular puppet program is presented to first graders in the Sarasota County School System to increase awareness of and identify mental, physical, verbal, and sexual abuse. In 2015 a brand new stage was purchased and last year new more modern full-size, hand-manipulated puppets and a new sound system were added for this delightful production. New puppeteers are always welcome — no experience required, just your inner child.

BEING DIFFERENT IS OKAY
This program continues to be very successful with presentations at 11 preschools/VPK in Sarasota and Venice. We are thrilled to announce that our program will be expanding to all the VPK classrooms in the Manatee School District this year. The goals are to teach a lesson on diversity covering the Social/Emotional/Communication and Emergent Literacy Standard guidelines for the State of Florida 4-year-olds programs.

Our teams utilize 5 hand puppets who live in the jungle with each representing a challenge: hyperactivity, shyness, visual impairment, physical issues, and non-English speaking. In the interaction the children are asked questions about being different and accepting those who are different. Volunteers are needed and welcomed for our expansion this year.

HOPE HOUSE
Hope House is a longstanding community service endeavor. Hope House is a safe house for abused women and children. In the past we have supported this organization with donations of pillows, blankets, night-lights, towels, baby clothes, diapers, pajamas, sanitary products, and any other items that women and children need.

Donated funds were used exclusively for the purchase of bus tickets to job interviews, as employment can be the first step towards a new life away from an abuser.

H.I.P.P.Y.
The Home Instruction for Parents of Preschool Youngsters is a program developed at the Research Institute of Hebrew University and promoted in Israel. It was brought to the United States in the early 1980s by NCJW. The curriculum helps parents expose their children to letter recognition, writing, and drawing, early literacy, shapes and colors, and singing and rhyming. A community peer, as a “Home Visitor” works with the parents, guardians, or grandparents to facilitate this learning experience.

The Sarasota-Manatee Section donates backpacks to the graduating 5-year-olds in the Sarasota and Manatee County programs as they move on to kindergarten and provides a monetary donation for books and other supplies.

BLANKEE BEE SPREADS WARMTH
2014 brought a new community service project to our section – – the Blankee Bee Project. This project involves our members in making no-sew fleece blankets to be given to children and adults undergoing infusion therapy and those in need of comfort and a Hug.

The first recipients of our blankets were the children involved in the Manatee Community Action Agency’s Home Instruction for Parents of Preschool Youngsters (HIPPY), a program that NCJW has long supported. Various needy children, residents of Anchin Pavilion, and cancer patients undergoing infusion therapy at the Florida Cancer Center have also received blankets.

The Blankee project received press coverage in several local newspapers with a wonderful headline, “NCJW spreads warmth through crafted blankets”.

Join us in this rewarding project, make new friends, and have a fun time. You’ll get to know our members and have a warm, “fuzzy” feeling when you complete your first blankee. The Blankee Bees are held generally on the first Monday of the month at the Jewish Federation from 10:00 a.m. to noon.

SCHOLARSHIP
NCJW Scholarship Program annually recognizes and promotes education for “non-traditional” students. 2017 was our 17th award presentation and 7 deserving students were awarded monetary gifts to help them achieve their educational goals at a beautiful brunch on the campus of New College of Florida in Sarasota.

We are greatly appreciative of our donors who include the Yanowitz Family Scholarship, the Schoenbaum Family Scholarship, Geri Aaron Scholarship, Canandaigua Bank Scholarship, Publix Supermarkets Charities, Norma and Albert Cohen Scholarship, Helen Schusterman and Albert Samuel Morrison Women’s Scholarship, and the NCJW Scholarship. If you would like to participate on this most rewarding committee; please contact Cindy Solomon at cindysolomon42@gmail.com or Anita Knisbacher at ladylingo@verizon.net.

The Community Service teams make a difference in the lives of the people we serve in our Sarasota and Manatee communities. Join us and share in the joys and mitzvahs of our work.