Federation Of Jewish Communities Of The C I S Inc

TO PROVIDE HUMANITARIAN AID AND JEWISH EDUCATION, ORGANIZE AND PROVIDE CULTURAL EVENTS AND RELIGIOUS SERVICES, AND HELP DEVELOP JEWISH COMMUNITIES AND REBUILD JEWISH INSTITUTIONS, IN RUSSIA, THE FORMER SOVIET UNION, AND ELSEWHERE.

CULTURE & COMMUNITY CENTERS - THE FEDERATION FOR JEWISH COMMUNITIES IS PROMOTING THE REBIRTH OF JEWISH CULTURE BY SPONSORING PROGRAMS AND INSTITUTIONS IN 15 COUNTRIES. A CREATIVE INCUBATOR FOR THE FIRST POST-SOVIET GENERATION OF JEWISH ARTISTS, PERFORMERS, COMPOSERS, AND WRITERS, THIS CULTURAL ARCHIPELAGO INCLUDES LIBRARIES, COMPUTER CENTERS, MUSEUMS, CHESS TOURNAMENTS, ATHLETICS, ART EXHIBITIONS, POETRY READINGS, CONCERTS, THEATRICAL PRODUCTIONS, DANCE GROUPS, ADULT EDUCATION, AND HOBBY CLUBS. MOST ACTIVITIES TAKE PLACE AT FEDERATION-SPONSORED JEWISH COMMUNITY CENTERS. A SUCCESSFUL JCC IS A SECOND HOME, WHERE JEWS OF ALL AFFILIATIONS AND AGES JOIN EDUCATIONAL AND OTHER MYRIAD ACTIVITIES IN A NURTURING COMMUNAL SETTING. THEY HOST WOMEN'S CLUBS, SPORTS CLUBS, BOOK CLUBS, CHESS CLUBS, SINGLES' CLUBS, FAMILY CLUBS, BUSINESS CLUBS, AND YIDDISH CLUBS. THEY OFFER HEBREW CLASSES AND DISCUSSION GROUPS ON JEWISH TOPICS, SUCH AS TALMUD, KABBALAH, MEDICAL ETHICS, AND FAMILY LAW. THEY SERVE AS AN INFORMATION CENTER, AND WILL ARRANGE HOLIDAY EVENTS AND LIFE CYCLE CEREMONIES. IN MANY COMMUNITIES, THEY ARE THE SOLE SUPPLIER OF JUDAICA. THE FEDERATION CURRENTLY SUPPORTS MORE THAN 100 COMMUNITY CENTERS ACROSS THE FORMER SOVIET UNION. OUR GOAL IS TO OPEN A JCC CENTER IN EVERY CITY AND TOWN WITH A SUBSTANTIAL JEWISH POPULATION, EACH WITH ITS OWN FITNESS CENTER, MULTI-FUNCTION HALLS AND CLASSROOMS, THEATER, LIBRARY, SOUP KITCHEN, AND EVEN MEDICAL FACILITIES. WE ALSO HELP REBUILD SYNAGOGUES AND MIKVAS, REFURBISHING CEMETERIES AND HELPING THE NEEDY. THROUGH A STRATEGIC PARTNERSHIP WITH CHABAD LUBAVITCH AND THE ROHR FAMILY FOUNDATION, THE FJC SUPPORTS MORE THAN 200 PERMANENT RABBIS SERVING OVER 90 COMMUNITIES IN 15 COUNTRIES. MANY SERVE IN REMOTE LOCATIONS AND INHOSPITABLE CLIMATES. IN ADDITION TO LEADING PRAYER SERVICES AND PERFORMING WEDDINGS, BAR AND BAT MITZVAHS AND FUNERALS, THESE RABBIS PARTNER WITH LOCAL JEWISH LEADERS IN REBUILDING THE ENTIRE COMMUNITY INFRASTRUCTURE AND LEADING THE REMARKABLE REVIVAL OF JEWISH LIFE THROUGHOUT THE FORMER SOVIET UNION.

RELIGIOUS & EDUCATIONAL SERVICES - FOR MILLIONS OF JEWS WHO WERE UNFAILINGLY EDUCATED IN THE STATE DOCTRINE OF ATHEISM, FORCED TO GROW UP WITH NO KNOWLEDGE OF THEIR RELIGION, CULTURE OR HERITAGE, JEWISH EDUCATION IS ESSENTIALLY AN EXPERIENCE OF SPIRITUAL REBIRTH. THE FEDERATION FOR JEWISH COMMUNITIES SUPPORTS 124 EDUCATIONAL INSTITUTIONS, INCLUDING JEWISH KINDERGARTENS, ELEMENTARY SCHOOLS, HIGH SCHOOLS AND UNIVERSITIES, WITH AN AGGREGATE ENROLLMENT OF MORE THAN 7,000 STUDENTS.

HUMANITARIAN AID - OVER TWO MILLION JEWS STILL LIVE IN THE FORMER SOVIET UNION. MORE THAN A THIRD OF THEM ARE POOR, SINGLE-PARENT FAMILIES, ELDERLY, DISABLED, OR SICK, MANY LACK THE MOST BASIC NEEDS, SUCH AS FOOD, CLOTHING AND MEDICINE. THE FEDERATION FOR JEWISH COMMUNITIES SUPPORTS SOUP KITCHENS AND THE DELIVERY OF THOUSANDS OF ADDITIONAL MEALS TO PEOPLE WHO CAN'T LEAVE THEIR HOMES, CHILDREN, AND NEEDY FAMILIES. THE FEDERATION ALSO SUPPORTS THE DISTRIBUTION OF CLOTHES AND MEDICATIONS, MEDICAL CLINICS, ORPHANAGES, SAFE HOMES, ASSISTED LIVING, AND SENIOR ACTIVITY CENTERS FOR JEWS THROUGHOUT THE FSU.