The world around us continues to shift. From the ongoing COVID-19 crisis to the growing movement towards racial equity, our "next normal" is changing at an increasingly rapid pace, and we are all equipping ourselves for the continued change ahead. Unfortunately, recent weeks have brought considerable growth in COVID-19 infections far outpacing the increase in testing in Arizona.

At the Federation and Foundation, we continue to mobilize our community to be positive actors in this evolving landscape. We seek to shape the future through our actions and words to create a better world than we have inherited, for the sake of Jewish and broader communities, here and far beyond Southern Arizona.

Wishing you continued health, happiness, and hope,
"I found a fruitful world, because my ancestors planted it for me. Likewise I am planting for my children."

Talmud, Taanit 23A
The Tucson J reopened with limited programming on Monday, June 1. The J's signature Taglit Program serves young adults with a wide range of physical and cognitive disabilities, and will now be held off campus at Or Chadash synagogue to allow for appropriate social distancing. A $15,000 grant from our Jewish Community Pandemic Relief Fund enabled the J to resume the Taglit Day Program safely by facilitating the requisite safety practices and relocation.
As Southern Arizona's Jewish agencies grapple with what it will mean to reopen their doors in a safe way for staff and visitors, the Jewish Community Pandemic Relief Fund has committed up to $8,000 in funding to jump-start agency PPE readiness with joint procurement to minimize cost.
Candlelighter's Childhood Cancer Foundation of Southern Arizona provides support to families with children who have been diagnosed with cancer, many of whom have been particularly affected by the health and economic impacts of the COVID-19 crisis. The Jewish Community Pandemic Relief Fund provided a grant of $3,000 to assist families during this time and referred them to other resources in our community, including those available through grantees JFCS and ICS, specialized in providing emergency financial assistance, who may be able to serve them in the longer term.
Racial Equity Activism

We issued a statement last week regarding our Jewish community's commitment to racial equity and need to take bold action to champion this cause. Our leadership is actively pursuing opportunities to make strides in this area, in terms of both activism and philanthropy. We are all thoughtfully considering the ways in which to best function as allies with Black communities and communities of color in making constructive progress toward a more equitable and just future.

If you have insights, input, or access to resources that you feel would be valuable in our efforts, please respond to this email. We intend to rapidly evolve our response, and will benefit greatly from receiving your constructive feedback. In our efforts to promote solutions to such a widespread problem, crowd-sourced input may yet yield unprecedented results.
Annual Campaign Update

Our annual campaign has been recharged in recent weeks thanks to the combined efforts of key volunteer solicitors and our campaign team. In the past week alone, we have received $18,800 in pledges bringing our campaign total to $2,600,491 . We are continually grateful for the generous commitments donors are making to secure our community's work now and for the future.

While these gifts bring us significantly closer, we have many more commitments to secure to reach our 2020 Campaign goal of $3.8 million - which is essential to supporting our beneficiary agencies, synagogues, and growing needs among our Jewish community.