To celebrate Richmond Jewish Foundation’s 40th Anniversary, the Board of Directors awarded the Weinstein JCC a $40,000 competitive Genesis Fund grant.

Miriam Davidow, Grants Committee chair, explained, “We originally received seven thoughtful requests for funding designed to enhance Jewish life in Richmond. After narrowing the list to four finalists the grants committee unanimously selected the Weinstein JCC’s project. We look forward to celebrating this forward-thinking and exciting project with the JCC and the entire community.”

Following their Global Day of Jewish Learning’s success, the Weinstein JCC successfully submitted their Genesis Fund request for, “Celebrating Jewish Richmond: 1700’s to the Present.” This celebration, planned for October 2020, will begin with a family Shabbat dinner. The celebration will continue Saturday night with an evening of music, dance, poetry and more with a musical and historical journey through time that celebrates Jewish life in Richmond. Storytelling and performances by some of Richmond’s most iconic Jewish artists will bring the community together for an educational and entertaining experience with friends.

The celebration will conclude Sunday with festivities modeled after the JCC’s inaugural Global Day of Jewish Learning that will include a day of multiple educational experiences led by local Rabbis around a themed-topic or a keynote speaker of national stature for an uplifting message of Jewish peoplehood.

Plans also include the creation of an exhibit, with the participation of local agencies, synagogues, schools and museums, featuring a timeline of cultural and historical events spanning 200+ years of Jewish life in Richmond. The exhibit will remain open to the public in the Sara D. November Gallery including educational outreach opportunities to supplemental schools and throughout greater Richmond as part of CultureWorks annual celebration of arts and culture. The exhibit will be gifted to the Beth Ahabah Museum and Archives for permanent display.

The three-day celebration, as outlined above, will be a community-wide celebration where individuals from all denominations, geographic areas, and affiliations will find common ground in history and learning.

This project promotes community building through education and engagement. It honors our past and inspires our future.

The goal is that the programs will create opportunities for our community to connect and hopefully will inspire all involved to continue to engage in the Jewish community, activities and Jewish organizations in the future.

Weinstein JCC Chief Executive Officer Rick Nelson said, “The Weinstein JCC is honored to be chosen as the recipient of this important Genesis Fund grant. The funds will be used to help further our mission of building meaningful relationships and providing opportunities for educational experiences guided by Jewish values and culture.”

He noted, “We thank the Genesis Fund Grant Committee and Richmond Jewish Foundation board for their continued commitment supporting our community.”

The first Global Day of Jewish Learning was held at the Weinstein JCC on November 17 and proved to be an enlightening day of learning and community engagement. Over 130 community members came together to learn from local Rabbis and Jewish educators as they reflected on the theme “Speaking Volumes.”

Members of the RJF grants committee include Miriam Davidow (chair), Rosann Bocciarelli, Josh Goldberg, Dan Rosenthal, and Jessica Samet.