Federation responds swiftly to emergencies

By Polina Olsen

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Wednesday, July 12, 2006. Israeli warplanes bombed a Palestinian base outside Beirut trying to strike Hezbollah guerillas who, earlier in the day, crossed the border, killed eight Israeli soldiers, and kidnapped two others.
   
The war with Hezbollah had begun.
   
Landing in Tel Aviv three days later, Portlander Steve Bloom, this year’s Super Sunday co-chair, wanted to help.

   
“I planned the trip and went despite the war,” Bloom later said. Jumping into action, Bloom joined convoys delivering food and supplies to Northern towns under attack. “The sound of rockets falling was unlike anything I ever heard.”
   
Meanwhile, Portland mobilized. Within a week, the JFGP geared up everything from a public rally in Pioneer Square, to a major fund-raising campaign. In addition to email appeals, parlor meetings and outreach to donors, they kept the community informed about events from a Jewish perspective.
   
“There is no way we could do this without a system in place,” said JFGP Associate Executive-Vice President and Campaign Director Laurie Rogoway.
   
An organized, well-connected Federation insures flexibility and rapid response, she said. Rogoway noted that without the federation, “We wouldn’t have anything as basic as a community-wide mailing list,” not to mention a system to receive, track and make sure funds go where they are most needed. 
   
“Tens of thousands required everything from updating of air raid shelters to massive evacuation of children,” Rogoway added. “When the war broke out, JFGP and partner agencies on the ground immediately assessed needs.”
   
Rogoway explained the mechanics of fund-raising: “United Jewish Communities  is the umbrella for North American federations and the vehicle for collecting funds. Our partners are the Jewish Agency for Israel and the American Jewish Joint Distribution Committee. They assess the situation together with the UJC Israel Office and other partners in Israel.”
   
So, if Portlanders donated $100 to the Israel Emergency Fund, where did their money end up? Since no funds were withheld for administrative costs, 100 percent of the money went to Israel to meet the myriad needs that arose from the war.
   
“Most of Portland’s money went into the large national pool,” Rogoway said, adding that a definitive list is available of all the emergency projects funded by more then $300 million American Jews contributed to the Israel Emergency Campaign.
   
Money also was set aside for special emergency needs created by the war. For example, Neve Michael Children’s Village took in children from the north and had no resources for this. And, JFGP helped build an emergency coordination center in the Hof Ashkelon region.
   
Still, emergency funds are not part of JFGP’s annual allocation.
   
“We’ve talked about setting money aside for emergencies,” Rogoway said. “The consensus has been—we need to use every dollar. If there is an emergency, we’ll find a way. Donors are giving us their money now …  and they want to see it used now.”
   
While each emergency stands on its own, the objective remains the same.
   
“We work with everyone to see where our dollars will make the most significant difference,” Rogoway said. “When the (Mittleman) Jewish Community Center was in crisis, we worked with the bank to negotiate a mortgage that allowed it to stabilize and rebuild.”
   
And, nationally UJC raised $20,000,000 for Katrina relief with the help of communities like Portland.
   
“This is exactly how I see the Federation’s strongest suit,” Bloom says, remembering the war. “They can immediately jump in and ask the community to help, and we do.”