JFS Perspectives

We hope you have been reading The Story of Beautiful Girl that we told you about last month as part of Jewish Disability Awareness Month and are getting excited for Jewish Disabilities Awareness Day next Sunday, February 12 from 2 to 5 at the JCC! This day promises to be fun, informative, and inspirational. We can't wait to see you there!

Learn more about this event from the flyer below and check out the full schedule.

-Alaina Green and Kari Alpen, JFS Marketing Department

 

The Jewish Disabilities Network (JDN), a program of Jewish Family Service, will host the fourth annual Jewish Disabilities Awareness Day event on Sunday, February 12 featuring Rachel Simon, award-winning author of The Story of Beautiful Girl.

Simon's new book is a fictional account of Lynnie and Homan, residents of the School for the Incurable and Feebleminded, who fall in love. Simon guides us on a 40-year journey where people with disabilities were housed in massive institutions and were mistreated and abused, to our own time, where people have a much greater opportunity to live, work, learn, play, love and worship as they choose. 

 

In preparation for this event, people from across the country are encouraged to read and discuss The Story of Beautiful Girl through a national Jewish Disability Awareness Month (JDAM) project, “JDAM Reads.”

JDAM challenges us to think about why it is so important to understand that all people have something to contribute to their communities. The act of reading allows adults and children to think critically, to develop attitudes of awareness and empathy, and to embrace Jewish values. 

A discussion guide was developed specifically to encourage readers to explore the presence of Jewish values and concepts in Simon's novel. The guide will enhance the conversations that we hope will take place in your organization, with your family, and in your book club. Download your free copy of the JDAM Reads! discussion guide.

This book is featured at Tattered Cover Book Store in January and February and will be sold at a discounted price.

-Alaina Green and Kari Alpen, JFS Marketing Department

 

On Sunday, November 6, Jewish Family Service (JFS) participated in the Jewish Federations of North America’s General Assembly (GA) Day of Service, in which hundreds of Jewish young professionals conducted hands-on service projects benefiting approximately 20 different charities in the Jewish community and the greater Denver community at-large. JFS hosted two different projects – challah baking with the Jewish Disabilities Network (JDN) at the University of Denver Hillel house and rice bagging at JFS for our refugee mental health clients.

Before volunteers dug in to each project, JFS staff spoke briefly about our agency and showed our most recent video so that participants understood a bit about the organization and who we serve. The volunteers and the agency benefited greatly from both projects!

At the Hillel house, five GA volunteers partnered with five JDN clients and their family members to make challahs that were then served at SHALOM Denver the next day at lunch time, which was a big hit! They also made extra dough for the Group Home to freeze and serve for upcoming Shabbat dinners.

Approximately 40 volunteers bagged 500 pounds of rice at JFS to be distributed to refugee families. When they were finished, they helped sort food to be placed on the Weinberg Food Pantry shelves.

Thank you to all of the dedicated volunteers and staff members who made this day a success!

-Alaina Green and Kari Alpen, JFS Marketing Department

Did you know that the Jewish Disabilities Network runs a program called Summer Magic that offers day-trips to Shwayder and the JCC Ranch Camp for campers with special needs and their volunteer teen buddies? For the last 15 years, Rita Singer has been the coordinator of this wonderful program!

Rita moved to Denver in 1994 from New York, where she was a director of a secondary special education department in a large school district. Rita has bachelor’s degree in English and Secondary Education, a master’s degree in Special and Deaf Education, and a second master’s degree in School Administration.

“I have a passion for children with special needs and always try to think of ways to include them more into Jewish life,” says Rita. “People with disabilities want the same things everyone wants: comfort, growth, socialization opportunities, and fun! I look at them holistically, at their gifts and challenges, and ask myself how I could offer them an enriched environment to help them reach their potential.”



Summer Magic Camp has a special place in Rita’s heart. She believes it provides a perfect opportunity for children with special needs and the general population to socialize in a casual environment and experience each other as peers and friends. “Familiarity brings comfort and acceptance,” Rita says. “In the beginning of the camp, the kids notice their differences more than their commonalities. By the end of the camp day, the differences have become less important and children connect at the level that transcends disability. Through the years, I have observed the moments of true social inclusion that happen at Summer Magic, and these moments are of enormous value.”



She adds, “I have seen a terrific change that has happened in the last 15 years in the Denver Jewish community in terms of inclusion of people with disabilities into Jewish life, due to the efforts of CAJE, Keshet of the Rockies, Jewish Family Service, and other agencies. The general population has many more opportunities now to be around people with disabilities and is much more sophisticated in providing accommodations that make Jewish life available to everyone. Many of us have learned the lesson that valuing inclusion and diversity makes our community stronger.”

Thank you, Rita for all you do to make the world a better place for so many people!

-Alaina Green and Kari Alpen, JFS Marketing Department

Join us for Jewish Disabilities Awareness Day this Sunday, February 27 from 2 to 5 p.m. at the Robert E. Loup Jewish Community Center, 350 S. Dahlia St. This event is the cornerstone of the metro Denver Jewish community celebration of National Jewish Disabilities Awareness Month, promoting understanding and inclusion in community life for Jewish people with disabilities. The goal of the day, which focuses on “finding ability in disability,” is to increase awareness in both the Jewish and general community around the abilities, goals, and contributions of people with disabilities.

If you're not convinced, here are a Top 10 List of why you should attend!


 
10. You might learn something and you’ll have fun doing it.

9. Work with other participants on the Hiddur Mitzvah art project to create a custom piece of Gary Rosenthal Judaica that will be on display after the event.

8. Get inspired by Ken Gordon, former Colorado Senate majority leader, who will speak about his decision to become a legal guardian for a child with autism to whom he is not related.

7. It’s a Jewish event, so of course there will be food!

6. Hear the touching account of how disability and silence shape a life from Dr. Anne Gross, author of “The Polio Journals: Lessons from My Mother.”

5. Hear about the success of the ARC Thrift Store model from Lloyd Lewis and self-advocate, Lori Espinoza, in a presentation entitled “the Heroes of Thrift.”

4. Learn more about Josh Blue, a Denver-based comedian with cerebral palsy and winner of NBC’s Last Comic Standing, as he shares his story in “Conversations with Josh Blue.”

3. View art and other achievements by community members with disabilities, including the Circle of Light Photo Project in the Singer Gallery.

2. Focus on the abilities of people with disabilities!

And the Number One Reason to Attend is...

1. It’s free and open to the public! And did we mention Josh Blue will be there?

We hope to see you there!

-Alaina Green and Kari Alpen, JFS Marketing Department

In addition to the activities listed in the poster above, participants can view the Circle of Light Photo Project in the Singer Gallery. This powerful exhibit shows photographs taken by cornea and sclera transplant recipients who captured the things they were most grateful to be able to see through their restored vision.

Learn more about Jewish Disabilities Awareness Day...

-Alaina Green and Kari Alpen, JFS Marketing Department

On Sunday, September 26th, eight members of the Jewish Disabilities Network and five students from the Voices for Inclusion club gathered at the Denver Jewish Day School (formerly Herzl/RMHA) for a Sukkot celebration. They recited the blessing over the lulav and etrog, decorated the Sukkah, and played soccer and Jewish holiday bingo.



Everyone had a great time! Below are some quotes from members of Voices for Inclusion:

“This gathering of people of all ages from throughout the community combined holiday spirit, chesed, and fun for everyone. I can think of no better way to enjoy the holiday of Sukkot.”
-Doniel Kaye

“This program was a great example of inclusion in the Jewish community. Every person is of equal value and every voice needs to be heard. This program showed that the students of Denver JDS, through the Chesed Club, are ready to work for this goal of inclusion.”
-Anonymous

“This was a great thing to do over Sukkot and the High Holidays. Being with these special people makes me feel like I did an amazing thing. It also makes me amazed to see what some people in our community do every day and spend all their heart, time, and energy on."
-Avi Kaye

-Alaina Green and Kari Alpen, JFS Marketing Department