JFNA and Houston Federation Offer Scholarships to Families Affected by Flood

Grants Awarded by Jim Joseph and AVI CHAI Foundations for day schools, preschools, & overnight camps

Houston area families affected by the Memorial Day Flood received scholarships for Jewish day schools, early childhood programs and overnight camps, thanks to two grants totaling $300,000 from the Jim Joseph and AVI CHAI Foundations. The grants were awarded to the Jewish Federations of North America (JFNA) and were allocated by the Jewish Federation of Greater Houston. Money was distributed to the schools and camps and designated for families who applied for FEMA support as a result of the flood.

The Federation distributed the scholarship funding in August in an effort to keep students registered in their early childhood and day school programs for the current school year. The flood placed an unexpected financial strain on many families who may have had to pull their children out of Jewish schools without the scholarship assistance.

Scholarship money was also awarded for children to attend overnight Jewish camp this past summer. This enabled children who were not previously signed up to attend camp while their families were getting their lives back in order.

“The Memorial Day Flood hit neighborhoods with large Jewish populations especially hard,” says Lee Wunsch, President & CEO of the Jewish Federation of Greater Houston. “The support of JFNA, the Jim Joseph Foundation, and The AVI CHAI Foundation helps ensure that children continue the Jewish learning so important to their families’ lives.”

JFNA Chair of the Board Trustees Michael D. Siegal noted, “We are proud to work with our partners in the Houston Federation to assure that this scholarship funding goes to assist families whose lives were deeply impacted by the flood. We deeply appreciate the generous support offered by these Foundations who continue to support Jewish education in times of need.”

The Jim Joseph Foundation, established in 2006, is devoted to fostering compelling, effective Jewish learning experiences for young Jews in the United States. The Foundation does not award grants to individuals for direct tuition assistance. However, the Board is guided by the principle that grants to established Jewish organizations that know their constituencies can provide support for Jewish educational experiences that families would otherwise have to forsake. The Foundation implemented a similar grant-making strategy following Hurricane Katrina; early in the 2008 recession; and in response to Hurricane Sandy.

“After a disaster, families need a range of assistance and support to return to normalcy,” says Al Levitt, president of the Jim Joseph Foundation. “We can help families continue to access Jewish education that comprise such meaningful and important parts of their lives.”

The AVI CHAI Foundation, established in 1984 by Zalman Chaim Bernstein z”l, works to further the perpetuation of the Jewish people, Judaism, and the centrality of the State of Israel to the Jewish people through its operations in North America, Israel, and the former Soviet Union. In North America, the foundation’s focus has been to foster and nurture Jewish literacy, religious purposefulness, and peoplehood/Israel at Jewish day schools and overnight summer camps. Like the Jim Joseph Foundation, AVI CHAI does not award grants to individuals for direct tuition assistance, but has worked with established organizations to enable the continuation of Jewish educational experiences in times of crisis, including during Hurricane Katrina and Hurricane Sandy.

“We believe in the critical importance of Jewish day school education to raise up a next generation with the values, commitments, motivation and skills to lead the Jewish people in the 21st century. Indeed, the continuity of the Jewish people depends on it. We are pleased to be able to offer this support to families affected by the flood to ensure their ongoing access to Jewish education,” said Mem Bernstein, Chairman of the Board of The AVI CHAI Foundation.

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