The Jewish Federation of Greater Los Angeles was founded in 1952 to identify and fund a broad range of Jewish social service, educational and humanitarian programs. The Jewish Federation mobilizes and integrates financial, human and organizational resources within the Greater Los Angeles Jewish community to foster a sense of common Jewish purpose; strengthens Jewish constituencies in order to enhance Jewish identity; meets critical human needs in a Jewish context; and deepens bonds with Jewish people worldwide.

Launched with funding from the Foundation, The HaMercaz collaborative of the Jewish Federation provides parents, grandparents, and siblings of special needs Jewish children a central resource to more easily access services, training, advocacy support, and enrichment activities from a network of agencies. These easy-to-access social services for special needs Jewish children and their families support their integration into the larger Jewish community. Special needs children access swim and gymnastic programs; siblings attend support workshops and recreational enrichment programs; Iranian families attend support groups and access educational materials in Farsi; and a new Jewish cultural competency curriculum trains therapeutic aids at private and public agencies.

 

We are enormously grateful to The Foundation for this funding, which allows us to expand our core program into a family support initiative. We plan to provide services for the siblings and grandparents of special-needs children, and to offer programs in Farsi for the Iranian Jewish community.

 

Michelle K. Wolfe, Director, HaMercaz