Wednesday night, the Jewish Federation of Greater Portland held its 106th Annual Meeting. It was an opportunity to reflect on the past year and to look forward to the future. You can watch a recording of the meeting here or read more in the Jewish Review.

This has been a year of incredible growth and impact for the Jewish Federation of Greater Portland! I am continually in awe of how our community evolves, adapts, and thrives. The year has been filled with successes and challenges, and I am so deeply proud of how we have navigated it all.

I was incredibly moved by the opening remarks of our Board Chair, Leslie Beard. She eloquently reminded us that leaders serve, and do so with humility. Her parents, both major leaders in the Milwaukee Jewish community, were true role models and Leslie has beautifully followed in their footsteps. (I do encourage you to watch her opening remarks).

Here are some accomplishments we celebrated last night:

The Jewish Federation had another successful fundraising year. As of today, we have raised $4,511,871. Included in that, we saw an astonishing 8% increase in our annual campaign and welcomed over 300 new donors! Thank you to our Campaign Co-Chairs, Jack Birnbach and Rich Meyer, our tireless campaigners, and the thousands of you who gave so generously.

However, it is not about the money -- it is about what the money does.

We are proud to support over 50 Jewish organizations and programs locally, in Israel, and around the world. Locally, our impact has been profound:
 

• We granted over $500,000 across the state to ensure Jewish spaces remain safe and secure.
   
• Over 2,500 people were touched by our Gather Grants, empowering community members to curate their own meaningful Jewish experiences.
   
• Through our Community Shlicha and NextGen initiatives, we welcomed over 1,200 people to our programs and initiatives.
   
• 52% of participants in our Jewish Life and Learning programs were engaging with Jewish Federation for the very first time!
   
• Our JCRC led over 20 professional development trainings on antisemitism for local schools, municipalities, and law enforcement.
   
• Our Dignity Grows initiative packed 2,384 hygiene totes for those experiencing period poverty, and Rachel’s Well Community Mikvah facilitated over 250 immersions for traditional and contemporary life transitions.

Globally, our reach remains just as vital. We continue our core support for the Jewish Agency for Israel (JAFI) and the American Jewish Joint Distribution Committee (JDC), touching Jews in over 70 countries around the world. We provided financial assistance to over 300 vulnerable Holocaust survivors, supported trauma response programs, funded therapeutic surfing groups for youth who experienced abuse, and replanted 220 plum trees in Moshav Margaliot destroyed by the war.

I must also highlight the Marvin Harris estate. Marvin (z”l), a Jewish man from Prineville who no one truly knew, left our community $3.5 million to take care of orphans in Israel. Today, it is a bittersweet blessing to provide over $200,000 annually to support 43 Israeli children orphaned following the October 7 attacks.

To ensure we can secure more transformative gifts like this, we are currently in collaborative discussions with the Oregon Jewish Community Foundation about a potential endowment campaign for our community's future.

Looking ahead, core focus areas for the Jewish Federation include:
 

• Growing financial resources and building endowments to secure our strong future.
   
• Enhancing our community engagement to help catalyze deeper connections to Jewish life.
   
• Further strengthening all Jewish organizations to thrive.
   
• Expanding our efforts to combat Jew-hatred.
   
• Deepening our relationship with global Jewish peoplehood.

We will achieve this through a relentless focus on impact (metrics and analytics) and talent. As Jim Collins wrote in From Good to Great, we must focus on getting the right people on the bus.

We formally welcomed four new board members: Michelle Fliman, Miles Newmark, Alona Shaked, and Jacob Winkler. Each brings commitment and expertise to our leadership team. We also expressed our appreciation to Jessica Zutz Hilbert and Jack Birnbach (more on him later) for their years of board service.

We proudly presented Sammy Monk with the Laurie Rogoway Outstanding Jewish Professional Award and celebrated Isabella Robinson with the Sussman-Shenker Scholarship as she continues her studies at Chapman University.

This year also brought exciting transitions. We celebrated the well-deserved retirement of Wendy Kahn after 10 years of tremendous campaign leadership. We also wished Caron Blau Rothstein a hearty mazel tov as she relocates to Denver after 15 years of shaping our allocations and engagement efforts. I am thrilled to announce Rachel Nelson as our new Chief Planning Officer.

Finally, we established a brand-new honor -- the Jack Birnbach Volunteer Service Award. Jack is the epitome of a volunteer leader. His rigorous thinking, quiet dedication, and selfless mentorship have left an indelible mark on this organization. We look forward to recognizing many volunteer leaders in the years ahead.

We are deeply proud of our accomplishments this past year. We will share even more in our Annual Report that will come out in August. On behalf of the Jewish Federation, thank you for your partnership and your generosity.

There was a fascinating article in Time magazine last week that stated “From 2005 to 2019, the number of words the average person uttered in a day fell by 28%.” That comes out to roughly 120,000 fewer words spoken during the course of a year. And it is probably even worse following the pandemic. Texting, social media, and workplace messaging apps have heavily replaced verbal communication. Plus, with more social isolation and remote work, we have fewer opportunities for social bonding, which can lead to heightened feelings of loneliness.

The study said, even “small talk” is good for our wellbeing. “These little interactions put us in a good mood and help us feel more connected.” I chuckled when I read that.

My wife and I went on a group trip to Turkey 26 years ago. In our group were two older sisters from Missouri -- both worked at the same branch of their local post office for 33 years. One morning, they went up to our Turkish guide and asked how he was doing. Before he could even answer, they stopped him and said, “No need to answer. In America we call that chit chat.” Apparently that small conversation would have been quite positive.

Here's to less texting and typing -- and more talking.

Shabbat shalom.