Dear Friend,

We hope this message finds you well and that you were able to create meaning in your celebration of Passover. While many of us were physically separated from our loved ones, we still felt united in our shared traditions and common memories. In so many important and profound ways, we really are one people with one heart.

As we traverse this unprecedented situation together, Federation remains committed to identifying community needs and responding collectively to the challenges we face. We previously reported on the creation of a Coronavirus Crisis Response Task Force, which has been meeting regularly for the past several weeks to guide Federation’s strategies and priorities during this crisis. Our Community Planning Department is working determinedly to ensure we are able to provide help in as many ways as possible, addressing many critical needs for individuals, families and institutions.

Our top priority has been to make sure the needs of our most vulnerable populations continue to be met throughout the emergency. To date, our efforts include:

  • Delivering Passover Seder supplies and catered meals to 600 isolated senior adults in Miami-Dade through our Jewish Volunteer Center in partnership with Ahavat Olam, Aventura Turnberry Jewish Center, Bet Shira Congregation, Beth Torah Benny Rok Campus, Chabad Chayil - Highland Lakes Jewish Center, Congregation Dor Chadash, Jewish Community Services of South Florida (JCS), Mishkan Miami, Seasons Hospice, Temple Judea and Temple Sinai of North Dade. These older adults would not have had a Passover Seder otherwise. Mishkan Miami also provided a spiritual connection during the holiday through a Seder on Zoom and Facebook Live.
  • Mobilizing volunteers on an ongoing basis through the Jewish Volunteer Center to deliver food to those in need, pack household provisions at the JCS Kosher Food Bank and make thousands of phone calls to older adults to check on their well-being, offer an opportunity to talk and assess whether they require assistance. Any needs identified are immediately passed on to professionals who determine how the Jewish community can provide help.
  • Launching the Free Loan/Emergency Grant Program through the Hebrew Free Loan Association of Miami to provide interest-free loans of up to $3,000 and grants of up to $1,500 to pay critical bills on behalf of individuals and families impacted by the pandemic. Federation has raised $1 million to support these loans and grants. Loans are available to Jewish individuals as well as employees of Jewish organizations. Grants are available to all members of the community by referral from partner agencies and synagogues.
  • Approving a $1.1 million cash disbursement to Jewish Community Services of South Florida (JCS), our primary human services agency, to ensure they are able to meet the increased need for services and requests from new clients as a result of the crisis. JCS is on the front line of service delivery providing homecare to more than 600 Holocaust Survivors, home-delivered meals weekly to more than 800 older adults and food to 500 families through the Kosher Food Bank.
  • Contributing $100,000 to the Miami Pandemic Relief Fund operated by United Way in coordination with the Miami Foundation and others to provide food, rent and mortgage assistance to individuals who have lost their job or had their wages reduced due to the pandemic.

In addition, with the closure of all nonessential institutions, Federation has undertaken special initiatives to assist with the financial strain facing our Jewish agencies, ensuring they will be able to serve the community when the crisis ends. These include:

  • Providing $1.25 million in emergency cash to the Dave & Mary Alper, the Galbut Family Miami Beach and the Michael-Ann Russell JCCs to continue to employ their full-time staff through the end of April while they await responses to their applications to the Federal Small Business Administration loan program. Keeping the JCCs intact will allow them to quickly meet the needs of their members and the community once they are able to reopen.
  • Designating $100,000 to an emergency small business loan fund in Israel’s Negev region to assist those affected by the coronavirus crisis through The Jewish Agency Ness Business Loan Fund.

Even as we struggle together as a community and as a country to cope with the current crisis, hatred and bigotry continue unabated, now with the desecration of two synagogues in Alabama during Passover. We are sadly reminded that before this pandemic, there was a disturbing increase in anti-Semitism globally, one of the reasons that we in Miami have always prioritized the annual commemoration of Yom HaShoah (Holocaust Remembrance Day). This year, although – with regret – we will not be able to gather in person at the Holocaust Memorial Miami Beach to honor our brave Holocaust Survivors and pay tribute to the 6 million murdered by the Nazis, we want to encourage you to commemorate this important day meaningfully, but from the safety of your home. With Yom HaShoah beginning this Sunday, April 19 around the world, we invite you to examine the lessons of the Shoah and remember those who were lost by:

As always, we hope you will stay connected to your Jewish community by visiting our Coronavirus Community Resource Page. Please remember: if you or someone you know is in need of assistance, call our Jewish community’s confidential helpline at 305.576.6550 for guidance. Operated by Federation partner agency, Jewish Community Services of South Florida (JCS), the helpline is open 24/7 every day of the year.

We wish a refu’ah sh’lemah to all those people affected by this and other illnesses, and we pray for comfort for those who have lost loved ones in recent weeks. We urge everyone to please remain diligent in following health and safety guidelines.

Have a peaceful, healthy and safe Shabbat,