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UJC/The Jewish Federations of North America Launches First Annual Jewish Community Heroes Event
Largest-Ever Jewish Social-Networking Effort Spotlights Those Devoted to Service: One Hero to Receive $25,000
NEW YORK, NY--(Marketwire - August 4, 2009) - UJC/The Jewish Federations of North America,
collectively among the top 10 charities on the continent, announced today
the launch of the First Annual Jewish Community Hero
Awards, which celebrates the selflessness and courage of individuals
who are bettering their communities through service and outreach.
The initiative -- to-date the largest-ever Jewish social-networking effort
-- will honor one Jewish Community Hero of the Year, who will receive
$25,000 to put towards his or her work, and also recognize four additional
finalists. About 50 partner organizations are supporting the initiative, in
addition to Jewish Federations across North America.
Any individual or group can nominate a hero through an open, online
submission process. After screening, each nominee is posted on the Jewish Community Heroes Web
site, where people can vote for their favorite Jewish heroes.
UJC/The Jewish Federations of North America will honor the five nominees
who receive the most votes at this fall's General Assembly (GA) in
Washington, D.C., which takes place Nov. 8-10. A panel of judges will
select the Jewish Community Hero of the Year from among the finalists.
"Too often the heroes among us, who do the most for our communities, go
unnoticed," said Adam Smolyar, senior vice-president, strategic marketing
and communications, UJC/The Jewish Federations of North America.
"The Jewish Community Heroes initiative aims to spotlight devoted
individuals who work incredibly hard for others, whether their efforts
affect five people or 5,000. We're absolutely thrilled to launch Jewish
Community Heroes in collaboration with so many of our community's
Federations and partner organizations."
UJC/The Jewish Federations of North America has been working with Blue
State Digital, a leading technology and online strategy firm that helped
the Obama campaign raise more than $500 million and engage millions of
volunteers, to develop and produce Jewish Community Heroes.
The project's Web-based platform creates an interactive forum that brings
community together around a common purpose: recognizing the invaluable
contributions of committed problem-solvers and advocates. Jewish Community
Heroes uses crowd-sourcing -- a Web 2.0 concept of open input by individual
users -- to generate content, including the nominees and the top five
finalists. With an emphasis on social media, UJC/The Jewish Federations of
North America and partner organizations are using a variety of online
channels to extend the initiative to people from all walks of life.
"Jewish Community Heroes celebrates those in our communities who exemplify
tikkun olam (repairing the world), one of the three core values of UJC/The
Jewish Federations of North America," said National Young Leadership Media
Co-Vice Chair Lisa Kudish.
"Recognizing these inspiring individuals through the use of digital media,
we hope to reach a new generation of heroes and motivate their unparalleled
commitment to community service -- a responsibility we all share."
Any individual, who is at least 13 years of age and a resident of the
United States or Canada, is eligible to be a nominee, provided that their
work impacts a community in North America.
A nominee could be the neighbor running charity bake sales, a teacher
building a school for the underserved, an entrepreneur donating services to
neighborhood development, or a community organizer bringing people together
around a cause. Nominations and voting will be accepted through Oct. 8.
Visit the Jewish Community Heroes Web site at
www.jewishcommunityheroes.org.
The Jewish Community Heroes initiative is part of a broad effort by UJC/The
Jewish Federations of North America to promote public service among the
entire Jewish community. The effort includes several major outreach
initiatives and provides tools for individual Federations to develop and
promote hands-on service activities.
UJC/The Jewish Federations of North America represents 157 Jewish
Federations and 400 Network communities, which raise and distribute more
than $3 billion annually for social welfare, social services and
educational needs. The Federation movement, collectively among the top 10
charities on the continent, protects and enhances the well-being of Jews
worldwide through the values of tikkun olam (repairing the world), tzedakah
(charity and social justice) and Torah (Jewish learning). For more
information, visit www.ujc.org.