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February 18, 2011
Reinvigorating success
New CHW campaign has a strong mandate.
REBECA KUROPATWA
A refreshed and renewed Canadian Hadassah-WIZO (CHW) has just launched its 2011 annual campaign, Today’s Dream, Tomorrow’s Reality, with the goal of raising $2.5 million to support a multitude of programs and projects devoted to children, health care and women in Israel and Canada.
CHW Vancouver co-president Judy Mandleman is proud of the work CHW does here in Canada and abroad, especially in light of recent tough economic times and changes in the organization. “Our organization, nationally and locally, recently went through a very difficult time, with staff changes and more. But now everything is turned around. We have excellent staff and chairs,” she told the Independent.
Born in Vancouver, Mandleman became involved with CHW nearly 50 years ago. “At the time, I was a young, married bride, a volunteer and a stay-at-home mom,” she said. “Many of us got involved for the socializing and networking opportunities.”
In Vancouver, the organization has a number of chapters, similar in structure to CHW chapters in other major Canadian cities. According to Mandleman, there are about 1,000 women involved in CHW Vancouver and 10,000 women involved in chapters across Canada. She added that CHW is one of the largest women’s organization in the country. “We started off this organization in the early ’30s, with our first council president in the early ’40s, mainly as a way to help make youth aliyah to Israel possible,” she explained. “We’re a group of women who raised funds to save children from terrible circumstances in Europe and to get them safely to Israel (what was then called Palestine). We’re still doing that today, as well as helping women and standing up for health-care rights.”
Day cares are also critical in Israel, continued Mandleman. “The women of Israel have always had to work hard. There, you really need dual incomes to support a family – something impossible without day cares. We focus on helping and taking care of entire families, not just the children.”
Diaspora communities should know, "We’re supporting the people of Israel, people who are very heavily taxed because of the country’s needed defence expenses. Israel is there for us all, and this is our opportunity to give back,” she said.
As CHW’s focus is on children, health care and women, it concentrates its energy on supporting hospitals, kindergartens, schools, family homes and day cares. The day care in Holon, which was established in the 1970s, was renamed in 1996 as the CHW Judy Mandleman Vancouver Day-Care Centre, in Mandleman’s honor.
CHW has re-established itself with consistent office staff and it has repositioned itself as a premier women’s organization doing important work, doing the work it’s always done, albeit in a wider variety of ways, said Mandleman.
“We now have much more available online, including our Highlights publication, and [there is] online registration for our annual golf tournament,” she said. “We’re sending out our Staying Connected publication in hard and electronic copies to reach out, reconnect and communicate. We’ve become part of the 21st century!
“Today, we have a lot of different chapters, reflecting the different groups of people interested in being a part of CHW. We have chapters made up of younger girls, new brides, university students, seniors – you name it! We can’t make this a one-size-fits-all thing, so we’re opening it up to whatever works for a variety of women, in line with our mandate.”
Annually, Vancouver CHW donates partial proceeds from the annual golf tournament to the University of British Columbia/ Vancouver General Hospital Vancouver Prostate Centre. “We’re one of the first women’s groups to donate funds to help men,” she said. “But really, it’s mostly our husbands who participate in the golf tournament, so it’s our way of giving back to men.”
Local campaign chair Debbie Lewin said, “As chair of the annual campaign, it’s my responsibility to make sure we have as many dedicated canvassers as we can, so we can reach as many of our entire membership as possible, because every dollar counts.”
Outside of her CHW volunteering, Toronto-born Lewin has worked at the Jewish Community Centre of Greater Vancouver for 25 years as an early childhood educator and Judaic program coordinator. Outlining the goals of CHW’s campaign, Lewin said, “Our goal, as always, is to reach for the sky, because the money we make helps so many in need. This is our largest fundraiser, and we count on everyone to do their part and make a difference.
“Through mail-outs, we let families know about our campaign in advance. Many choose to get right on the bandwagon and donate right away.”
In 2012, CHW enters its 95th year of operation. “Our organization supports timeless causes, without boundaries or time frames, relevant to both Israel and Canada,” said CHW national executive director Alina Ianson. “Our mission is one that endures – funding a multitude of programs and projects for children, health care and women.
“Our sponsorship of Hadassim and Nahalal youth villages and after-school clubs enables vulnerable children from needy, neglectful or abusive families to have a warm and loving home where they can flourish and grow into well-adjusted, productive citizens.”
It’s important, said Ianson, to note that CHW is a grassroots organization dependent on its volunteers to provide local community support. “In both small and large centres across the country, there are women of all ages offering their talents, skills and enthusiasm to help our organization and its constantly increasing needs through projects and programs in Israel and Canada,” she explained. “As our organization moves forward, we’ll look to our young leaders to join generation upon generation of members who have enriched their lives by being involved with CHW. Their personal enrichment, lifelong friendships and leadership, and fundraising skills development will continue to ensure our future.”
CHW plans to build on the success of its 2010 campaign, Mandleman said, which enabled the organization to send an additional $250,000 gift to Israel’s CHW Hadassim Children and Youth Village, over and above its annual commitment to the school. CHW also provides support to the Nahalal Youth Village, CHW Netanya Technological High School, CHW Neri Bloomfield College of Design and six CHW day-care centres across Israel.
CHW Vancouver kicks off its national 2011 campaign with a screening of The Name My Mother Gave Me, a film about a group of Ethiopian Israeli teens, on Monday, Feb. 21, 7 p.m., at the JCCGV. Tickets are $10. CHW’s 2011 annual campaign runs from Feb. 27-March 27. For more information, visit chw.ca, call 604-257-5160 or e-mail [email protected].
Rebeca Kuropatwa is a Winnipeg freelance writer.
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