Kehila Society

Be an angel in February

Rose’s Angels provides hygiene care packages, nonperishable food items and warmth bundles to 1,000 Richmond individuals in need. (photo by Lianne Cohen Photography)

The month of February is special because it’s both Heart Month and the birthday month of Rose Lewin, after whom Rose’s Angels is named.

“The Kehila Society’s Rose’s Angels program is celebrating its fifth year this coming February,” said organizer and co-founder Courtney Cohen. “As the need for care packages has increased every year since our inception, and after receiving feedback and input from service agency’s and their recipients, we’ve been able to extend our outreach efforts this year. This program continues to honour Rose Lewin and Babs Cohen in the truest form of tzedakah and love for our Richmond community.”

Rose’s Angels provides hygiene care packages, nonperishable food items and warmth bundles to 1,000 Richmond individuals in programs such as Richmond Family Place, Salvation Army, Jewish Food Bank, Richmond Food Bank, Kehila Meals on Wheels and other similar Richmond outreach initiatives.

For the care packages, Rose’s Angels are looking for the following items: packaged dried fruit or nuts (raisins, trail mix, etc.); canned foods, such as soup and tuna; boxed foods, like macaroni and cheese, rice and pasta; individually packaged baked goods (granola bars, energy bars, cookies, oatmeal, pudding, Jell-O, etc.) that are still sealed; peanut butter; juice boxes, hot chocolate and tea; individually wrapped chocolates; toiletry items such as toothbrushes, toothpaste, deodorant, floss, soap, mini shampoo/conditioner and tissues; feminine hygiene products; beauty care products (hair accessories, lotion, makeup); gloves or mittens, both children- and adult-size; toques; and thermal socks.

If you would like to come out on Feb. 11 to assist in packaging the bundles or would like to donate items and/or funds or help with package deliveries, call the Kehila Society office at 604-241-9270 or email rosesangelsevent@gmail.com.

Fader joins HFLA

For the first time in the 100-year-plus history of the organization, the Hebrew Free Loan Association of Vancouver (HFLA) has hired an executive director. In July, HFLA brought Lynne Fader on board to fill the new role.

Active between 1915 and the middle of the Great Depression and then reinvented in 1979, the purpose of the volunteer-run organization is, as the name suggests, to provide interest-free loans to members of the Jewish community. As the community has grown and spread out, the current board of directors decided it was time to extend HLFA’s reach and hire a part-time executive director.

photo - Lynne Fader is the first executive director of the Hebrew Free Loan Association of Vancouver — Lynne Fader is the first executive director of the Hebrew Free Loan Association of Vancouver. *(photo from Lynne Fader)*

Fader is a familiar face for many in the Jewish community, especially those in Richmond, as she was a founder of the Richmond Kehila Society. Since 2000, Fader has been co-executive director of Kehila and she will continue her work there, as it and HFLA have complementary missions. She also has served as a volunteer on various boards, including those of Richmond Jewish Day School and Richmond Multicultural Society.

Fader recently sold the company she owned and ran for 14 years, ER Plus Risk Management Inc., an enterprise that involved her in efforts to advance access for women in the trades and in the safety industry. She has worked with different levels of government both professionally and as a volunteer, and is looking forward to using her networking skills and drive to significantly raise the profile of HFLA.

Not only will Fader be meeting in the coming months with community leaders, but she will be planning and implementing educational opportunities for people who could most benefit from an HFLA loan. “I recognize that the HFLA is a hidden community treasure,” she told the Independent. “I look forward to meeting with fellow agency professionals in the effort to allow front-line professionals to have a face and a contact to connect with for their clients and members.”

The grassroots nature of HFLA – it has been run by volunteers for nearly 40 years – is a great fit for Fader. She understands the association’s mission and method: help people before they fall into poverty and as they emerge from financial difficulties. With a deep knowledge of the Lower Mainland’s various social safety networks from her work with Kehila, Fader is in the unique position of being able to refer applicants who don’t fit the HFLA framework for a loan to the appropriate assistance.

The HFLA board will continue to perform the work of interviewing and granting financial assistance. The association currently has $417,000 in loans out in the community. The loans are primarily to people in the Lower Mainland but reach as far away as Tofino, Victoria and Salt Spring Island. One of the reasons HFLA was looking to hire an executive director is the increasing number of Jews migrating to more affordable locations in the province, such as Squamish, the Sunshine Coast and further into the Fraser Valley.

In addition to Fader, HFLA also has recently hired a new office administrator, Judy Walker.

“I’m confident that Judy’s unique blend of technical and interpersonal skills will ensure those inquiring about loans are met with a professional experience,” said Leana Gaerber, vice-president of HFLA’s board of directors.

For more information on applying for a loan or becoming involved as a donor or guarantor, call 604-428-2832 or visit hfla.ca.

Michelle Dodek is a freelance writer living in Vancouver.

Rose’s Angels package care

Rose’s Angels co-founders Courtney Cohen, left, and Lynne Fader, surrounded by some of the 60 volunteers who came out Feb. 12 to make 1,000 care packages for those less fortunate. (photos by Lianne Cohen Photography)

On Feb. 12, this year’s Rose’s Angels event drew 60 volunteers to Richmond Jewish Day School to create a total of 1,000 care packages. Each package was delivered to service organizations within Richmond, such as the Jewish Food Bank, Chimo Community Services, Richmond Family Place and Turning Point Recovery, among others.

Rose’s Angels was created four years ago by Richmond residents Courtney Cohen and Lynne Fader, with the idea to make care packages for those less fortunate, in memory of Cohen’s late grandmother, Rose Lewin. Lewin’s generosity and constant willingness to help those in need is the inspiration for this project.

With the event growing over the last two years, Rose’s Angels partnered this year with the Kehila Society of Richmond, a not-for-profit society that offers seniors programming and outreach.

Cohen has made it her goal this year to connect with new programs and service providers that may be interested in receiving these special packages for their clients. Each care package contains a new pair of gloves, a toque, socks, non-perishable foods and hygiene-care items, with other items selected with consideration of the organization it is going to.

Rose’s Angels gratefully accepts donations year round through the Kehila Society, 604-241-9270 or kehila@kehilasociety.org.

An afternoon of song

JCC Showtime performers in action, left to right: Nassa Selwyn, Jocelyne Hallé, Marshall Berger, Dawn Hurwitz, Daniella Givon, Debbie Cossover and Arnold Selwyn. (photo by Binny Goldman)

Sunshine and song greeted the 120 people who gathered to enjoy a BBQ lunch and watch the sensational JCC Showtime perform on June 27 at Congregation Beth Tikvah.

Toby Rubin, executive director of the Kehila Society of Richmond, welcomed everyone and explained the event’s agenda. She then highlighted two of the society’s outstanding volunteers, Stacey Kettleman, who at one time had been co-president with Rubin, and Sylvia Yasin, a 90-year-old dynamo who had directed the set up of the whole room.

Marilyn Berger, president of the Jewish Seniors Alliance, which partnered with Kehila to present the afternoon’s program, noted that it was the fourth and final session in this year’s Empowerment series. The lunch’s theme, “A smile on your face – a song in your heart,” was brought to fruition through the dedicated efforts of Gyda Chud and Shanie Levin. The food – salads, beef and vegetarian burgers, fruit and chocolate cake – was catered by Kettleman and her staff.

JCC Showtime’s Debbie Cossover explained that the troupe consisted of volunteer performers who have been together 13 years, with their next show making a total of 200 performances so far. The group was created by Beryl Israel, who immigrated from South Africa in 2002; he had been involved with a similar group there and was inspired to establish one here.

The afternoon’s program began with Marshall Berger singing “Showtime,” accompanied by the group’s pianist, Muriel Morris, and aided by sound technician Gary Zumer. The crowd was transported down memory lane with nostalgia-laced songs such as “Chattanooga Choo Choo,” complete with suitcase; Cossover’s foot-stomping rendition of “You Can’t Get a Man with a Gun”; heart-tugging duets by Arnold and Nassa Selwyn, which included “Together,” “Do You Love Me?” from Fiddler on the Roof and the particularly crowd-pleasing “I Remember It Well.”

The “Hello, Dolly!” number charmed the audience, as well, as it actually included a visit from “Dolly,” a life-size doll that danced in the arms of Berger and Selwyn, both men vying for her attention. Another fun number was a chorus of cowgirls sequence, which required precisely timed twists and turns. And “Tzena Tzena” and “Hava Nagilah” set everyone’s hands to clapping, as the audience joined in with Berger and Selwyn on the last stop on a world tour of songs.

Clever costumes, with outfit changes accomplished in mere minutes, and intricate choreography achieved the illusion of instant scene changes and delighted the audience, which showed its appreciation by loud, sustained applause.

Rubin remarked in thanking the performers that she doesn’t mind growing old now that she has seen what seniors can accomplish. She noted that audience members were from the Weinberg Residence, Louis Brier Home and Hospital, L’Chaim Adult Day Centre, Jewish Seniors Alliance and, of course, Kehila Society.

Attendees left wanting more – some smiling, some singing – all buoyed by the afternoon’s session. I’m still humming.

Binny Goldman is a member of the Jewish Seniors Alliance of Greater Vancouver board.

Legacy of caring and giving

Rose’s Angels: Courtney Cohen, centre, is holding two bags, and Lynne Fader is to Cohen’s left. The two women created the group in honor of Rose Lewin, Cohen’s grandmother. (photo by Lianne Cohen)

Each Rose’s Angels contributor, supporter and volunteer has a story about why they give back to the community. With Rose’s Angels, it is not only to ensure that Rose Lewin’s legacy of love and generosity lives on, but also to support the many not-for-profit organizations in Richmond that desperately are in need of assistance.

Rose’s Angels was created by Richmond residents Lynne Fader and Courtney Cohen. Lewin, Cohen’s grandmother, was a well-respected and much-loved Holocaust survivor who believed in doing good for everyone she could.

photo - Lianne Cohen — *(photo by Lianne Cohen)*

Now in its third year, Rose’s Angels, which is supported and endorsed by the Richmond Kehila Society, just wrapped up its Feb. 14 Care Package Campaign. With the help of 40-plus volunteers, more than 400 toiletry and non-perishable-food care packages, along with 750 warmth bundles (toques, scarves, gloves and socks), were packaged and distributed to a variety of nonprofit organizations in Richmond servicing individuals living in poverty or well below low-income standards. Recipients included the St. Alban Drop-In Centre, Touchstone Family Services, Chimo Outreach, Richmond Multicultural Community Services, Richmond Food Bank, Jewish Food Bank, Turning Point Recovery, Richmond Family Place, Pathways Clubhouse and Light of Shabbat Program.

“It was very fitting to coordinate this event on Valentine’s Day,” said Cohen, “as this is a day when people go on dates and it’s supposed to be ‘extra-special,’ where people buy each other cards, heart-shaped boxes of chocolate, roses, teddy bears and other stuff that basically tells them they love them…. We wanted to share our love within the Richmond community.”

Anyone wishing to make a donation to Rose’s Angels should contact the Richmond Kehila Society at 604-241-9270.

Showtimers wow audience

JCC Showtime’s cowgirl dance was an audience favorite. (photo by Binny Goldman)

The duet sung by Maurice Moses and Debbie Cossever, “Teach the World to Sing,” set the tone for the entire afternoon performance by JCC Showtime at the last of this year’s JSA Snider Foundation Empowerment Series, which had as its theme, “A Smile on Your Face, a Song in Your Heart.”

Toby Rubin, executive director of Kehila Society of Richmond, welcomed the crowd of 100 who gathered June 29 at Congregation Beth Tikvah for the Jewish Seniors Alliance of Greater Vancouver and Kehila event.

Rabbi Howard Siegel, who led the Hamotzi, joked with those assembled that the reason there was no clock on the wall was because it would not suffice to record the length of his sermon (which he said he was about to deliver), as his would require a calendar.

After the BBQ lunch catered by Stacey Kettleman – and just before a huge cake honoring all the volunteers was served – Rubin called up a number of those volunteers from her various committees and presented them with certificates.

Rubin said that, in the audience, there were people from the Louis Brier Home and Hospital, L’Chaim Adult Day Centre, JSA, Angels There for You, CARP and seniors from Beth Tikvah, as well as people who had heard about the event through publicity.

The program began with “Happy Opening“ and showcased the talents of the JCC Showtime performers, accompanied on piano by Muriel Morris and with Gary Zumar as sound technician.

photo - Arnold Selwyn leads other JCC Showtimers in a song — Arnold Selwyn leads other JCC Showtimers in a song. (photo by Binny Goldman)

Each number presented new and charming scenarios, which included quick and clever costume changes. Some crowd favorites were the duets “Together” and “Let’s Call the Whole Thing Off” by Arnold and Nassa Selwyn; the guest appearance of “Dolly,” Marshall Berger dressed as a woman; Cossever belting out “Can’t Get a Man with a Gun”; Moses engaging the crowd with “Beautiful Morning”; and the striking cowgirl dance, as well as “Chattanooga Choo Choo.” Two of the last songs, “Tzena Tzena” and “Hava Nagila,” led by Moses and Arnold Selwyn, took the crowd to Israel as they sang along.

Complex choreography and the blink-of-an-eye costume changes were all conceived and created by the founder of JCC Showtime, Beryl Israel, who immigrated in 2002 from South Africa, where she had been involved with a similar program.

photo - Videographer Stan Shear, left, and performer Maurice Moses — Videographer Stan Shear, left, and performer Maurice Moses. *(photo by Binny Goldman)*

Rounding out the Showtime lineup were Sara Bernstein, Rona Black, Lisa Conn, Andria Engel, Tamar Glaser and Susan Goldstein.

Just as the performers were about to leave the stage, Berger was handed the microphone and asked to sing “Happy Birthday” to his wife, Marilyn Berger, president of JSA, who was celebrating her birthday that afternoon. He was joined by all the performers in the singing of a touching rendition of the song.

Marilyn Berger thanked the performers for a wonderfully joyful afternoon that traveled down memory lane and she also gave a short talk about JSA, highlighting its advocacy and its peer support program. She then handed out gifts for each of the cast, helped by Kenneth Levitt, one of JSA’s vice-presidents.

Stan Shear, with Karon Shear, JSA coordinator, by his side, made a video of the performance, which will be posted at jsalliance.org.

It was an afternoon that definitely put smiles on faces and songs in hearts.

Binny Goldman is a member of the Jewish Seniors Alliance of Greater Vancouver board.

Angels make delivery

(photo by Lauren Kramer)

Lynne Fader, Courtney Cohen and Toby Rubin hold some of the 500 care packages that were distributed to the needy in Richmond recently by Rose’s Angels, an organization founded by the Kehila Society and Cohen, in memory of her grandmother Rose. Each package contained toiletries and food, while additional bundles supplied socks, toque, gloves and scarves. The packages were distributed to CHIMO, Richmond Family Place, the Jewish Food Bank and Turning Point Recovery House.