Building Jewish Life and LeadersJDC PROGRAM DASHBOARD

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Building Jewish Life and Leaders

Even at this uncertain and turbulent time, Jews around the world are boldly determined to connect—or reconnect—to their heritage. JDC makes it possible. We’re fostering inspiring Jewish experiences for Jews of all ages and investing in exciting leaders to build strong and vibrant communities from Havana to Sofi a and Moscow to Mumbai.

OVER 90,000 service hours completed by

college students and young adults

STRENGTHENING COMMUNITIES

In a changing Hungary, Andras Borgula’s work is more important than ever.

“Everybody is worried. Only the blind are not,” said Borgula, one of the creative minds behind Judafest, JDC’s signature street festival in Budapest. “Judafest has become a statement of sorts in the last few years. We Jews come out of our homes proudly and loudly and in bigger numbers than we’ve seen at any point since 1945 or maybe 1989.”

Growing up in communist Hungary, Borgula didn’t know he was Jewish until he was 14.

But once he embraced his roots, his Jewishness became not just an identity but a passion.

“Once I understood what being Jewish meant to me, I knew I had to try to bring that experience to others,” said Borgula, a Jewish community activist in Budapest and the director of the city’s Gólem Theatre. “I had to try to give something back. Today, I’m doing so much that it feels like my life is one big Jewish wedding.”

Judafest began eight years ago with a simple goal: to get 1,000 people to attend. A rousing success, 3,500 people came out that fi rst year. Now, the festival regularly attracts

crowds of closer to 10,000 to a robust, multifaceted Jewish cultural event: street festival, culinary demonstrations, musical performances, fi lm screenings, family day, picnic, and more.

An example of JDC’s commitment to extending Jewish learning beyond the walls of Jewish community centers and making Jewish culture visible and accessible, Judafest’s success and structure has been replicated in cities across

Europe.

“This celebration of life is one of a kind, and people know it,” he said. “I can’t emphasize enough how important it is for us, for Hungarian Jews, to have this day together.”

Meeting the challenges Hungarian Jews face in these trying times, JDC programs help strengthen this Jewish community of

about 100,000, Borgula said.

“It’s simple: Without JDC, there would be 90 percent less Jewish life here. Not because JDC supports or gives budget for 90 percent of our activities, but because JDC has built a reputation of helping people like me do the things we never thought we were capable of,” he said. “JDC doesn’t only foster a spirit of resilience. It’s more than that—I cannot imagine resilience without JDC.”

PROGRAM SPOTLIGHTStrong communities need strong leaders and expert professionals, and JDC has decades of experience honing the skills of both. Through regional training and networking opportunities, the Buncher Community Leadership Program, and ICCD/Leatid’s top leader initiatives, JDC has been enhancing the capabilities of those currently guiding Jewish communities from Latin America to India. We’re also giving critical crisis-management tools to Jewish leaders on the front lines in embattled European communities, helping them maintain a thriving Jewish life amid ongoing anxieties and social and economic unrest.

// CHALLENGE To bring a Jewish world nearly lost to Communist repression back to vibrant,

extraordinary life by creating open and diverse access points through which hundreds of thousands

of people from varying backgrounds can rediscover, reclaim, and put their own stamp on their rich

cultural heritage.

// INNOVATION JDC-supported Jewish Community Centers (JCCs) in Europe and the former Soviet

Union now resonate with Jewish life, off ering classes, events, and activities for every age group. Citywide

holiday celebrations, street festivals, and other Jewish cultural experiences are taking Judaism to the people,

raising the public profi le of an increasingly proud Jewish identity. JDC has also facilitated the spread of

Limmud grassroots Jewish learning models in Argentina, the Baltics, Bulgaria, Germany, Poland, Romania,

and Turkey, with fi rst-ever studyfests also bringing young Jews across East Asia together in China and India.

Transformational Jewish

experiences impacting kids from

DOZENS OF COUNTRIES

SCORES OF THOUSANDSengaged with Jewish

culture and tradition

JEWISH CAMPING

// CHALLENGE Children and teens throughout Europe, the former Soviet Union, and beyond struggle

to connect to robust Jewish life in their often-small home communities.

// INNOVATION Szarvas, JDC, and the Ronald S. Lauder Foundation’s pioneering international Jewish

summer camp in Szarvas, Hungary, brings together some 2,000 children, teens, and young adults each

summer for an immersive, inspiring Jewish experience that is building the next generation of Jewish

leaders. Dozens of other Jewish camping opportunities and family retreats reach thousands more globally.

JDC ENTWINE

// CHALLENGE Young Jews from Los Angeles to Latin America are looking for an outlet for their

philanthropic and volunteer spirit. They want to make meaningful connections with their peers worldwide

and, together, to make a diff erence.

// INNOVATION Enter JDC Entwine, a one-of-a-kind movement of young Jewish advocates, infl uencers,

and leaders who are striving to make a lasting impact on the global Jewish community. Entwine off ers unique

opportunities to engage with the world as global Jewish citizens through exploratory trips, moving volunteer

service experiences, local learning networks, and more.

Building

Resilience in

a Changing

Europe

FRONT LINESon the

“ JDC doesn’t only foster a spirit of resilience. It’s more than that—I cannot imagine resilience without JDC.”

THOUSANDSof alumni of young

leadership programs

YOUNG LEADERS

// CHALLENGE Young adults around the Jewish world strive to form lasting personal and professional

relationships with other Jews and to acquire the leadership skills needed to signifi cantly impact their home

communities.

// INNOVATION JDC has developed an innovative suite of programs and conferences that are bringing

vibrant leadership development to young Jews, including Gesher, in the Balkans; JUNCTION, for emerging

European entrepreneurs; Lehava, for Russians interested in leadership and volunteerism; and Metsuda,

leadership development for those in Ukraine and the Caucasus.

JDC.org

The American Jewish Joint Distribution Committee (JDC) is the world’s leading Jewish humanitarian assistance organization. JDC works in more than 70 countries and in Israel to alleviate hunger and hardship, rescue Jews in danger, create lasting connections to Jewish life, and provide immediate relief and long-term development support for victims of natural and man-made disasters.

JDC is primarily funded through the Jewish Federations of North America. Key JDC funders also include: The Harry and Jeanette Weinberg Foundation, the Conference on Jewish Material Claims Against Germany, the International Fellowship of Christians and Jews, the Maurice and Vivienne Wohl Charitable Foundation, World Jewish Relief (UK), UIA Federations Canada, and tens of thousands of individual donors.