Jewish Women’s Foundation of the Greater Palm Beaches Awards New Social Change Grants

Jewish Women’s Foundation of the Greater Palm Beaches (JWF) has awarded $300,000 in social change grants to 17 local, national, and Israeli organizations in the areas of health & safety, economic security, and women’s leadership.

Additionally, JWF awarded a $50,000 designated grant to the American Jewish Joint Distribution Committee (JDC) to empower elderly Jewish women in Moldova.

Following is a partial list of the recipients:

National Organizations – Organizations based outside of Florida with a national impact

Yeshivat Maharat
General Support
Two year grant award of $20,000 per year beginning in 2015; this is the second year of funding

Yeshivat Maharat was the first institution in the US to ordain women as Orthodox clergy. This ground-breaking leadership program trains Orthodox women to serve Jewish communities as full spiritual and halakhic leaders. To date, 33 women have enrolled in Yeshivat Maharat’s programs and 11 have been ordained.

Israeli Organizations – Advancing the status of women in Israeli society

ATZUM – Justice Works
Task Force on Human Trafficking
$10,000 for one year

The Task Force on Human Trafficking (TFHT) aims to promote the passage of legislation based on the Nordic Model, the international standard designed to criminalize the purchase of sexual services and protect the prostitute; ensure the enforcement of such legislation; stimulate further action and advocacy to increase women’s economic sustainability; and alter the misconceptions of Israeli law makers and citizens.

Center for Women’s Justice
Public Interest Litigation Project
$15,000 per year for 2 years

The Public Interest Litigation Project works to cement proven legal solutions and pioneer others that help Israeli women escape the prison of get abuse and attain economic and social equality, and bolster the human rights of Israeli women by compelling the State’s legal arm to step in and protect them from religious court infringements.

Eden Center
Mikveh Attendant Empowerment Program
$20,000 for one year

The Eden Center’s Mikveh Attendant Empowerment Program trains the religious and ultra-Orthodox women who serve as mikveh attendants to identify crisis, abuse and various health issues so they direct women to professional resources and advocate for better health care and prevention.

ImaKadima
General Support
$10,000 for one year

ImaKadima aims to empower working mothers to reach their potential by assisting employers in enacting family friendly work models and advocating for family friendly workplace policies in the Knesset. They coordinate community meet ups and professional networking events for their over 2,300 members.

Itach Maaki – Women Lawyers for Social Justice
Raising the Voices of Marginalized Israeli Women for Economic Justice
$20,000 for one year

Itach-Maaki is advancing the rights of women from marginalized groups nationwide, including Arab women, Bedouin women, single mothers, low-income working women, women dependent on public assistance, and immigrants via legal aid, policy change, leadership training for women and public advocacy.

Jasmine
IZUN – Promoting Jewish & Arab Women Leadership in the Economy
$15,000 for one year

IZUN Trains diverse women business leaders – both Arab and Jewish – to serve as board members on corporate, public and NGO boards to increase the number of women in board leadership positions. Participants are paired with a mentor and trained in a special 4-month course that includes board meeting simulations.

Kolech
TELEM Educational Program for Gender Equality
$15,000 for one year

The TELEM program is a series of interactive-experiential workshops for teenage girls and boys, designed to boost the confidence and self-image of the participants, helping them to explore and understand the issues of gender roles and sexuality. They learn the warning signals of potentially dangerous partners, and ways to prevent or deal with harassment and sexual and physical abuse.

Ohr Torah Stone
The Women’s Institute of Halakhic Leadership (WIHL)
$15,000 per year for 2 years

WIHL is a full time, modern Orthodox Israeli enterprise that trains committed women scholars to become rabbis in a way identically broad in depth and scope as that studied by men training for rabbinical ordination.