Dear Community Members, 
 
I hope you are having a pleasant year so far and keeping warm! I’d like to begin this month’s update by providing the latest on the Combined Jewish Appeal (CJA) campaign. As of January 31, we are at $5.74 million and very close to our campaign goal! We couldn’t have gotten this far without our valued donors, and although we are close to our goal, we are still accepting donations - all of the funds that we raise are essential to funding our partner agencies. Make your IMPACT today!

I would like to remind you that there is only one week left to nominate leaders and volunteers for the 2019 Kavod Evening Awards! Do you know someone who is a valuable community volunteer or leader? The deadline to nominate someone is February 8, so don't delay! 

February is Jewish Disability Awareness and Inclusion Month (JDAIM). Its mission is to build awareness in Jewish communities and increase community engagement by removing barriers, celebrating diversity and connecting with our Jewish values. Specifically, JDAIM seeks to enhance inclusion of individuals with disabilities so that they are able to fully participate in, and contribute, to community life. Take the opportunity in February to put inclusion on your radar and think about how you can help make Jewish life more accessible for others by reading the vision statement here.
 
Starting this month, we will profile one of our partner agencies, share some of their history for those who may not be aware, highlight the great work that they are doing within our community, as well as current news and developments. Our first partner agency spotlight appears below, but will appear in its own email in subsequent months.
 
To get started, I’d like to spotlight the Gray Academy of Jewish Education, our largest beneficiary partner agency. For over 100 years, Jewish education has been an integral piece of the fabric of our Winnipeg community. Since 1902, we have been fortunate to have strong institutions that prepare our children for life inside and outside of our community. The Jewish Federation of Winnipeg has always viewed Jewish education as our top priority and critically important to the Jewish community today and in the future.
 
We know from recent research done by the Jewish Federations of North America (Challenges and Opportunities on the Jewish Day School Landscape) that students who graduate from Jewish day schools strongly identify as Jews and are more Jewishly literate than their parents. This means that our community is stronger when we have an affordable Jewish day school that goes from Junior Kindergarten to Grade 12. Our allocation directly supports the school’s needs-based bursary, ensuring that Jewish day school education is accessible to families in the community.
 
You don’t have to look much further than our own institutions to see the impact that Gray Academy (and its founding school, Joseph Wolinsky Collegiate) graduates are having on our community. Alumni are in professional leadership positions at the Jewish Foundation of Manitoba, Jewish Child and Family Service, Rady JCC, Congregation Etz Chayim, Congregation Shaarey Zedek, Adas Yeshurun Herzlia Synagogue, B’nai Brith Canada, BB Camp, Gray Academy and here at the Jewish Federation of Winnipeg. This is in addition to graduates who are both professional and lay leaders impacting their communities across North America and in Israel. As a note of interest, 18 Gray Academy staff members are alumni of the school.
 
There is so much to say about the impact of Gray Academy on