Words from our President
As a daughter of Holocaust survivors, I was brought up to support Israel. I watched my father as he wrote out cheques to many Jewish organizations in Calgary, Canada, and Israel. He taught me tikkun olam, by including many other secular organizations. When I asked why he gave to this charity or that, he told me that they were poor and needed our help. An education, especially a Jewish education, was very important to my parents and they so they sent my brother and me to the Calgary Hebrew School, though money was extremely tight in the early days. But I never really knew that, because I was surrounded by love and great role models, each and every day.
I am proud to be serving as the 20th president of Na’amat Canada following in the footsteps of the wonderful women and role models who have come before me. I am lucky to be joined by an amazing group of women with great skills and talents who serve on the board, executive and staff.
This term, we have slightly modified our committees.
Our Education and Social Advocacy Committee led by our Na’amat Canada national Vice President Brenda Fayerman of Montreal will continue to keep our members, donors, and the general public up to date with regards to all the facets of the important work that Na’amat does in Israel and in Canada. Whether through our social media, website, zoom programs and regular updates from Na’amat Israel, the important work of Na’amat needs to be acknowledged, celebrated, and publicized. Social advocacy is important and Na’amat strives to respond to important issues of the day that align with our core mission.
Our Membership Engagement and Leadership Development committee led by Lisa Charow of Toronto will continue to support our existing members while working diligently to attract new membership. Our members are the heart and soul of our organization, and we sincerely value and appreciate all the hard work done by them on an ongoing basis.
Our Fundraising Committee led by Lori Dessau of Hamilton continues to explore ways to raise funds to support our important work. We have been creative at raising funds through virtual fundraisers and partnerships with our chaverot from Na’amat USA and Na’amat International. Last term, we added legacy giving to our portfolio under the tutelage of Will Power.
The Financial Committee led by Roni Maderer of Toronto continues to steward our finances with our ongoing commitment to fiscal responsibility in sending as much of the funds we raise as possible to support the work of Na’amat in Israel where it is so greatly needed, especially now that all Israelis are dealing with the ongoing trauma of the recent violence and war inflicted upon them by Hamas. The fallout from this will create long lasting needs.
At our recent convention, we agreed to continue to support Kanot Youth Village by raising additional funds for their new wing to support students in Grades 7 and 8. Kanot helps at-risk youth change the trajectory of their lives by offering guidance both emotionally and academically. Kanot has been innovative in finding new and unique ways to reach out to these students. Students at Kanot have demonstrated a high level of achievement. In fact, the successful matriculation rate at Kanot far exceeds the national rate and Kanot has been chosen as one of the top schools in Israel on more than one occasion. We are extremely proud of these accomplishments. With our current three-year capital campaign, we will be able to serve at risk youth with new state of the art facilities.
While our fundraising efforts have been diverted from our capital campaign, due to urgent present needs, we hope to soon be able to fulfill our objectives.
I am so privileged to work with all our members, donors, and supporters. Your dedication is inspiring.
If you have any questions or concerns, please feel free to reach out to me at susan.inhaber@naamat.com
Susan Inhaber
Na’amat Canada, President