Augusta Jewish Federation

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2017 AJF Annual Campaign

Welcome to the Augusta Jewish Federation

Community

The Augusta Jewish Federation promotes a vibrant, active Jewish Community in the Augusta area. We are a primary benefactor for the Augusta Jewish Community Center, and the Federation sponsors events and activities that foster Jewish life, Jewish values, and Judaism worldwide.

Sharing

The Federation supports programs consistent with Jewish Values. We provide family services to Jewish families in need. We award scholarships to young adults, including those traveling to Israel while participating in the Taglit Birthright program. The PJ Library provides books to young Jewish readers that opens a window into Jewish life and values.

Giving

Augusta Jewish Federation activities depend on volunteers and donors such as you. There are many opportunities to get involved; volunteering, sharing and leading. Many of our activities are dependent on our Annual Fundraising Campaign, but we do sponsor fundraising for targeted relief efforts as they arise.

 

Our Welcome Center helps people new to the area to connect with Jewish resources.

 

Our Welcome Center is designed to assist people new to the Central Savannah River Area (CSRA) in finding Jewish resources in the area. If you plan to move to the area, or just passing through, the Welcome Center is a quick way to learn about Judaism in the CSRA

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Shalom! - We're glad you found us!

 

JEWISH RESOURCES IN THE CSRA

 

We don't need to tell you that reading to your children is important. Study after study has shown it impacts a child’s development. Even the mere presence of books in a home increases the level of education they can reach.

But finding the right books and making the time to read as a family can be hard. That’s where PJ Library comes in. 

PJ Library sends free Jewish children's book to families across the world every month. We know that something magical happens when parents sit down together to read with their children. PJ Library shares Jewish stories that can help your family talk together about values and traditions that are important to you. 

A program of the Harold Grinspoon Foundation, PJ Library is made possible through partnerships with philanthropists and local Jewish organizations. Families with kids ages 6 months through 8 years old with Judaism as part of their lives, are welcome to sign up. PJ Library welcomes all Jewish families, whatever your background, knowledge, or family make-up, or observance may be.

As a PJ Library partner, the Augusta Jewish Federation makes access to the library easy through the Augusta Jewish Community Center. Stop by the AJCC at 898 Weinberger Way in Evans, GA to learn more and see what is available today!

 

 

 

 

 

LTC John Shoenholz - Augusta Jewish Federation Member

Federation is the only Augusta organization that touches every aspect of the Jewish community. We are the voice of the Central Savannah River (CSRA) community collective, welcoming newcomers, anticipating the present and future needs of our local and global Jewish world with our community and for our community.  The Federation welcome newcomers and visitors alike to our thriving community and helps in any capacity it can depend on the individual or family needs.  Here we see community member Lieutenant Colonel Jonathan Shoenholz of the US Army  Judge Advocate General's Corp returning from overseas training to his family.  We are proud that the CSRA is home to many military personnel as Augusta is home to the US Army Garrison Ft. Gordon, the home of the US Army Cyber Center of Excellence, the Army's Signal Regiment, and a other units from all four military branches. Ft. Gordon.  Lieutenant Colonel Shoenholz came to Ft. Gordon on military assignment and has stayed to raise his family because of the quality of life and our great August Jewish Federation community!

 

 

 

The Augusta Jewish Museum is working to preserve Jewish history in Central Savannah River Area (CSRA).

 

Learn More About the Augusta Jewish Museum

 

Our Regional Reach

Snapshot of the wide area served by the Augusta Jewish Federation

  • Organizations

Education for the 22nd Century: How World ORT Sustains Jewish Life in Rome

“Growing up as a Jew in the capital of Christianity is not an easy thing. You always feel different. But you also feel a part of something.”

 

For Shirel, Rome is not just history; it’s also her home. Jews have lived in the Eternal City for 21 centuries, through golden ages and ghettos, Fascism and freedom. But things are changing. And without ORT Liceo Renzo Levi — the city’s sole remaining Jewish high school, run by Federation partner World ORT — Rome’s Jewish future would be a lot less certain.

 

The Engine of Jewish Life

 

Alumni of the Liceo Renzo Levi make up the heart of Rome’s 15,000-strong Jewish community. In fact, nearly every Jewish communal professional and lay leader in the city calls the school their alma mater.

 

 “Each time I go home, I find a new synagogue, new kosher restaurant, and more and more Jewish nonprofits,” says Shirel. “I think the school is playing an important role in this communal project.”

 

Liceo Renzo Levi helped alum Daniel Bedusa find his passion for Jewish life. “My Jewish identity was forged at that school,” he remembers. “My family is from Libya. They fought for generations to keep this identity, and I want to hold onto it for the next generation.”

 

He also learned to follow his own path. While a lot of fellow students went into law or real estate — in his words, “BORING!” — Daniel now runs his own design and communications studio in Rome. His inspiration? Liceo Renzo Levi’s teachers, who “always encouraged me to do what I loved.”

 

An Eternal Heritage

 

With jobs scarce and the economy struggling, not every Liceo Renzo Levi student stays in Rome. So the school works to provide connections to Jewish life wherever graduates find themselves.

 

Like other World ORT schools, Liceo Renzo Levi offers a high-quality STEM education. Shirel, then a budding researcher, seized the incredible opportunity to work with Rome’s leading scientists, including a Nobel Prize recipient, while still in high school. “Even though I was only 16, I was able to take an active role in the research,” she says.

 

The school later helped her attend a prestigious summer science program in Israel, where she got hooked on life in the Jewish State. She went on to graduate from the Technion and is now a program manager for the Israeli Air Force.

 

Though she’s now an Israeli, her heart has never left Rome. “Thanks to the education I received by my parents and school, I can proudly say I have a strong European-Jewish identity. Professionally, I owe everything to World ORT.”

Love, Birthright Style