June/July 2025

We are going through big transitions in how we do everything, including how and what donations we can accept! If you're going to donate or send a tribute, please remember to choose a fund you see on our website's Donate or Tribute page.

Exciting changes are underway at NCJW!

Sorry to bother you if you have already RSVPed; if you have not, please please do come!! We want as many members as possible to come hear about our future!

Come Celebrate with Us!

Deadline is fast approaching: RSVP by June 15!

If you value what NCJW does for our community

and you want it to evolve and grow,

this is the event you don't want to miss!!

Our keynote speaker is NCJW National's Chief Engagement Officer Ellen Buchman, here to tell everyone about NCJW's exciting changes and to answer questions. She will share a vision of us working more closely together at the local, state and national levels to advocate for meaningful change. Be among the first to hear about our future, how we are embracing change, and our transition plans as we evolve into a more dynamic organization.

Our celebration also includes a pre-lunch mingle with friends over a glass of wine on the lovely Club patio, a delicious lunch, live music and an opportunity to win a special door prize!

All are welcome -- NCJW membership is not required. RSVP early as space is limited. The cost is $54.

We recently mailed you a lovely paper invitation and a detailed letter explaining what's happening. Please mail the RSVP card back, or register on our website. Deadline to register: June 15.

Dec My Dorm is an ongoing community service project for us, aligned with our Education advocacy work and with our community service work related to foster youth. Run by the nonprofit Connecting a Caring Community, DMD provides 100+ foster youth who have earned their place in college with the essentials needed to set up their freshman college dorm room-- all items are free for the students. Each year, we celebrate these resilient, hard working youth at an event with balloons, a DJ, photo booth, food, fun and more. Last fall Natalie Swit, Sherri Sobel, Deb Lewis, and Sadie Sacks gave all the students headed to college from foster homes really nice reusable water bottles, which NCJW provided!

Dec My Dorm also has an Amazon wish list, where you can send an article from their list directly to the program. Please support this cause by checking out their Amazon wish list for the event.

If you're interested in volunteering to give out bottles on July 20th, contact Sherri Sobel via our Directory or leave her a message at info@ncjwlongbeach.org.

Hameeda Banai is one of three Afghan ladies our NCJW/HIAS Welcome Circle sponsored to come to Long Beach after the Taliban took over. Many of you donated to help support them when they first arrived, for which she's very grateful.

We are overjoyed that Hameeda's husband Roeen was finally given permission to immigrate from Germany. What a blessing to see the happy couple together!

Hameeda and Roeen have rented their first apartment together and our Welcome Circle has been helping them furnish it with all that is needed to set up a household. The only thing they really need now is a small dining table and a couple chairs (for 2 - 4 people). Do you have one you'd like to give the couple?

Another one of our Afghan guests, Masuma, has settled in a small apartment with her husband Ruhullah and their baby Sana! The main thing that would help them enjoy where they are is a small patio table and a few chairs, so they can sit outside this summer.

If you have either of these items or ideas how to get them, please contact our Welcome Circle chair Michelle Samit directly (find her in our directory) or leave a message for her at (657) 235-2511 or at info@ncjwlongbeach.org.

Congratulations to the recipients of the Linda Calderón Scholarships for 2025!

This year, there were more applicants than ever before in the past 25 years—even more than last year! Each student had high academic scores and exemplary involvement in Jewish life, learning, and leadership. Our future is in good hands with these young people and their various pursuits of tikkun olam and professional development. We only wish that there was more money to fund the additional applicants.

The graduate student scholarship recipients include

🎇Taryn Williams, $3,000.00 – Pursuing a Ph.D. in Organization and Management

🎇Carol Beckerman, $1,000.00 – Pursuing a Ph.D. in Transformative Studies

🎇Melanie Edwards, $1,000.00 – Pursuing a Master of Social Work

The undergraduate student scholarship recipients include

🎇Sophia Kaplan, $3,000.00 – Pursuing a Bachelor of Arts in Communication Studies

🎇Samuel Cullen, $1,000.00 – Pursuing a Bachelor of Science in Biology: Option in Molecular Cell Biology and Physiology

🎇Simone Parvizi, $1,000.00 – Pursuing a Bachelor of Science in Cognitive Science

The high school senior scholarship recipients include

🎇Evie Hoddevik, $3,000.00 – Pursuing a Bachelor of Science in Viticulture and Enology

🎇Aravah Marcus, $1,000.00 – Pursuing two Bachelor of Arts in History and Jewish Studies (either Jewish Ethics or Jewish Thought)

🎇Sydney Rofe, $1,000.00 – Pursuing a Bachelor of Science in Pre-Medicine/Health Sciences

These students demonstrated grade point averages ranging from 3.66 to 4.45. They included graduating high school seniors from Los Alamitos and Wilson High Schools, current undergraduate students at CSULB and UCLA, and graduate students at the California Institute of Integral Studies, CSULB, and UCI. In the Fall, the graduating high school seniors will be attending Barnard College of Columbia University & List College (Jewish Theological Seminary) Double Degree Program, Cal Poly SLO, and Southern Methodist University.

We wish each of these students and all the other applicants a bright future and much success!

NCJW Scholarship Committee Members

Deborah Lewis, María E. Osorio, Dr. Lisa Raufman,

and Dr. Cookie Shapiro Sieger

HOW TO REACH US - CALL US IF YOU HAVE A QUESTION

Email us at info@ncjwlongbeach.org, call (657) 235-2511, or send mail to NCJW–Greater Long Beach & West Orange County, 3801 E. Willow St., Long Beach, CA 90815. Please add this contact information to your contacts list.