Hadassah Foundation Grants $23,000 to Challah for Hunger
The Hadassah Foundation, which invests in social change to empower girls and women in Israel and the United States, gave Philadelphia’s Challah for Hunger a $23,000 grant.
Challah for Hunger is a volunteer-driven social justice project that engages 7,000 students, the vast majority of whom are female, on 82 college campuses across the country. Student volunteers bake and sell challah on their campuses, and donate funds to anti-hunger programs.
The grant money will go toward a mentoring program that will connect female college students with professional women who share their interests and for its annual conference for students and alumni.
The grant was one of seven announced by the foundation; the grants totaled $165,000.
Tools for Schools Packs More than 750 Backpacks in Margate
Tools for Schools, a program of the Jewish Federation of Southern New Jersey, packed more than 750 new backpacks full of school supplies at a community event in Margate on Aug. 27.
Community members formed an assembly line to fill pencils, pens, calculators, colored pencils, erasers, scissors, highlighters, glue sticks, sharpeners, folders, notebooks and index cards inside each backpack.
The backpacks will be distributed to local schools and organizations in need.
A board of 20 middle and high school students organized fundraising efforts for the event, raising more than $8,000 during the second half of the 2016-2017 school year.
Billy Joel Wears Star of David at Concert
Billy Joel via Twitter
During an Aug. 21 concert in New York City, Billy Joel wore a yellow star of David on his jacket comparable to those used in concentration camps as a political statement opposing neo-Nazi and white supremacists, Variety reported.
Joel, who was raised Jewish, didn’t comment on the subject during his Madison Square Garden performance.
Afterward, a spokesperson for the singer relayed a comment that cited writer Edmund Burke: “The only thing necessary for the triumph of evil is for good men to do nothing.”
Joel’s ex-wives, Christie Brinkley and Katie Lee, as well as daughter Alexa Ray Joel, supported Joel’s actions via Instagram.
“Thank you Billy for reminding people what was … so it may never ever be again,” Brinkley said.
Hateful Messages, Including Swastika, Spray-Painted on Car in Wilmington
A swastika, the letters “KKK,” an insult to President Obama, a racial slur, the words “Go back to Africa” and “Trump” were found spray-painted on a car in Wilmington, Del., on Aug. 23, The News-Journal reported.
A police official said the incident is being investigated as a hate crime “due to the nature of the graffiti.”
Wilmington Mayor Mike Purzycki and Delaware Gov. John Carney were among those condemning the graffiti.
“This expression of racism and hate is disgusting. I am so disturbed and upset to see this happen in my home state, and the city I’ve lived in for 30 years. We all need to stand up for our neighbors and refuse to tolerate this kind of intimidation,” Carney wrote on Facebook.
