News

Donate packages of toilet paper and enjoy free popcorn and a fun evening at Theatre in the Park (TIP) during the new musical “Half Time-Gotta Dance” July 16-18 and July 21-24.

The Jewish Community Foundation’s Community Legacy Fund has awarded $81,438 in innovative and emergency grants. The grants support high-quality, new programs that provide an innovative approach to an existing or emerging community need, or respond to financial or humanitarian emergencies.

Although the pandemic is easing, there are still more than 775 families in our community who count on the Jewish Family Services food pantry each month for food, household and personal care items, and even pet food.

The Rabbinical Association of Greater Kansas will once again offer a community-wide Judaism for Conversion Candidates course beginning August 19. The comprehensive year-long course is designed for adult individuals and taught on a rotating basis by rabbis from the Reform, Conservative, Orthodox and non-denominational movements.

Mark your calendar and save the date for this year’s annual community Selichot service on August 28 at Congregation Beth Torah. The program will be offered in-person and available to view virtually.

Today’s high school students are tomorrow’s Jewish leaders. Unfortunately, it is also true that Jewish high school students in Kansas City encounter antisemitism on a disturbingly regular basis in their schools. By bringing AJC’s Leaders for Tomorrow (LFT) program to Kansas City, JCRB|AJC works to ensure that young Jews in Kansas City will be informed, prepared, and effective advocates for the Jewish people and for themselves.

Registration will begin at the end of July for this year’s Day of Discovery. The event is scheduled for 9:30 a.m. to 3:00 p.m. August 22.

Last week’s collapse of the Champlain Towers South in Surfside, Florida, is more than just a distant tragedy to Rabbi Mendy Wineberg, director of Chabad of Leawood.

In March 2020, when the pandemic hit and the world temporarily shut down, everyone was looking for a way to safely leave the confines of their homes and get a little social interaction. For one group of Leawood neighbors, their solution is still going strong 18 months later.

TEACHER RECOGNITION

When Shawnee, Kansas, Mayor Michelle Distler put out a call for residents to nominate teachers who stood out during this pandemic year, parents gave a big thumbs up to Vicki Widman, a member of the local Jewish community.