It’s February, which means its Jewish Disability Awareness and Inclusion Month (JDAIM) all across the country. Throughout this month, Jewish Federation Los Angeles, in conjunction with our partners, is celebrating people of all abilities here in our Jewish community. In fact, making Jewish life accessible and affordable for everyone is one of our Federation’s top priorities. Check out our JDAIM website for resources, Jewish texts on inclusion, events to attend, and ways you can take action in making our community more inclusive. As part of JDAIM, we are proud to share a major announcement about our Federation’s work in the area of inclusion, and invite you to attend a special presentation:
L.A. Federation Selected for Groundbreaking Disability Employment Initiative
Jewish Federation Los Angeles is proud to be one of only five Federations around the country selected to participate in an innovative pilot program to promote inclusion of people with disabilities in the community and workplace. The Jewish Federations of North America (JFNA) are joining with the Ruderman Family Foundation to place young adults with disabilities in internships and fellowships at five Federations across the country, as well as in JFNA’s Washington office. “This initiative, in collaboration with JFNA, will provide an outstanding opportunity to promote inclusion and diversity in our Jewish institutions,” said Jay Ruderman, President of the Ruderman Family Foundation, which is generously funding this program. As part of the 2014 pilot, our Federation will offer 3 part-time paid internships, each 14-16 weeks in duration, over the course of the year to community members with disabilities. Each intern will receive appropriate supervision and mentorship, and will provide a meaningful contribution to Federation’s business needs. Our initial opportunity is a .net Developer position in our IT department, developing reports for our new Donor Management System. For more information about this position, please contact: Maria Spassoff, (323) 761-8063 or MSpassoff@JewishLA.org.
Rabbi Lynn Landsberg: “Possibly Affiliated – But Definitely Not Included”
The Federation’s Ezra Network invites you to join us for an inspiring presentation and discussion with Rabbi Lynne Landsberg on February 18th at 9:00 am at Leo Baeck Congregation (Ezra Network Westside Cluster.) Rabbi Landsberg is Senior Advisor on Disability Issues for the Religious Action Center of Reform Judaism in Washington, D.C. She has spoken across the country at synagogues, churches and interfaith programs advocating for the civil and human rights of people with disabilities to ensure all have equal access to religious and civic life. This event is free and open to the community. Special accommodations for the deaf or hard of hearing available upon request. RSVP is mandatory for security purposes: CTellez@JewishLA.org or (323) 761-8239 by February 13th. To learn more about Rabbi Landsberg, please view this short video.
