After Hurricane Sandy, a storm of unprecedented magnitude, struck the eastern portion of the United States, the Jewish community and the Jewish Federation movement quickly took action to help with recovery and rebuilding on the East Coast.

Jewish Federation has established the Hurricane Sandy Relief Fund to help with these efforts. One hundred percent of all donations to this fund will go directly to support disaster recovery and rebuilding efforts.

“We send our support and prayers to those affected by the hurricane, and we will stand beside them during the recovery and rebuilding through the generous emergency donations that are pouring in from many in Kansas City,” said Todd Stettner, Jewish Federation vice president and CEO.

Once the storm hit, after much prep work was done by Jewish Federations of North America (JFNA), JFNA began communicating with affected Jewish Federations to assess damage and communal needs, and working with emergency response personnel from across the region. JFNA also began working with Jewish Federations across the United States — including Jewish Federation of Greater Kansas City — to provide aid to contribute to recovery and rebuilding in the wake of Hurricane Sandy.

In conjunction with JFNA, Jewish Federations in the affected areas are working overtime with partner agencies and synagogues to help wherever possible. In the New York City area, the UJA/Jewish Federation of NY reports stories of dedication, including the Bronx Jewish Community Council’s Home Attendant Services homecare workers, who spent the night at its facility to ensure service to those in need on Monday, Oct. 29. At the same time, another partner agency, Parker Jewish Institute for Health Care and Rehabilitation welcomed 19 new clients from an evacuated nursing home.

“What happened with UJA/Jewish Federation of New York reminds us how Jewish Federation remains the go-to Jewish organization during times of crisis. In New York City, thanks to support from Jewish Federation, the myriad Jewish services operated even though their headquarters were waterlogged or without power. These are simply more examples of why support from people like us, here in the middle of the country, is so vital to our network.”

To  donate online go to jewishkansascity.org, and click on the Hurricane Sandy link under the Latest News section. To donate via phone contact Gail Weinberg, director of financial resource development, at  913-327-8123. To donate via mail mail a check to Jewish Federation of Greater Kansas City, 5801 W. 115 Street, Suite 201, Overland Park, KS 66211, Attn: Hurricane Sandy Relief Fund. One hundred percent of donations to this fund will go directly to helping victims and emergency responders.

As part of its mission to sustain and enhance Jewish life at home and around the world, JFNA and Jewish Federations are committed to care for victims of global natural disasters, and have emergency relief plans in place to aid those in immediate need. Through the network of 157 Jewish Federations across North America, Jewish Federation of Greater Kansas City and Jewish Federation of St. Louis raised more than $250,000 to help Joplin tornado victims rebuild their lives.

Award-winning author Rita Roth, Ph.D., has just published a new book, “414 Pine Street.” It is available in both print and Kindle editions on amazon.com.

“I’ve been thinking about writing a book for a long time, but I wasn’t sure if it was for adults or young people,” Roth said in a recent interview.

Roth spent 20 years as an associate professor in the Education Department of Rockhurst University. During that time she wrote “The Power of Song and Other Sephardic Tales.” It was published by the Jewish Publication Society and received the National Jewish Book Award in the category of Jewish family literature in 2007.

While the new book is classified as fiction, the author said it is “to some extent,” an autobiographical work.

“It’s really a memoir,” she said.

It is about a Jewish family who emigrated from Eastern Europe to a small town in Pennsylvania. The heroine Hannah is 9 years old in the book and was born in the United Staes. Like the author, Hannah’s three siblings — 13-year-old Frankie, Esther (Et for short), 17, and an older sister were born in the old country. The older sister is in New York, studying to be a nurse. The story focuses on the problems the family faces during the Depression.

“I was trying to capture what it was like in a small town during that time period.”

And capture she does in a very well-written, interesting novel for 9- to 12-year-olds.

“It was unusual in that the town was so open as far as different backgrounds went,” said Roth. “It was an ideal way to grow up in a very difficult time. Because of that, we all helped each other.”

In the book, the family shares resources and holds on to meaningful family projects as a way of coping with the tough times. They also turn to bartering. For example the family makes sauerkraut and hosenblozen (crispy twists of sweet dough deep fried and sprinkled with powdered sugar) to give and barter to the neighbors. They come home with watermelon rind, sugar cookies, spearmint candies, hard candies and oranges.

The family’s strength lies in the relationship between the mother and father and the projects they do together as they deal with adjustment to living in America, a small town and a community.

Roth said she’s received a lot of feedback already. “Adults who lived through that period felt very connected to the book.”

Roth volunteers at a local charter school and students there have heard sections from the book. The author said they can relate to the themes.

“Many of the children are in families where their parents have lost their jobs, so they understand some ideas about the economic situation in the book,” she said.

Roth’s own five grandchildren, ages 9 to 17, have also read or are reading the book.

“Kids are very aware today and are exposed to so much stuff, they’re pretty savvy about what’s going on,” Roth said, noting the book appeals to both children and adults.

TEDx ENERGIZES COMMUNITY — The license holder for TEDx in Overland Park is a Jewish woman, Sherri Jacobs. Jacobs, an art therapist by trade, said the independent events are part of a global movement devoted to bringing “Ideas Worth Spreading” to communities around the globe. The widely popular events are meant to inspire conversation, prompt innovation and create connections in the areas of technology, entertainment and design. All the speeches are recorded and placed on the TEDx website, www.ted.com. The Oct. 17 event featured Jay Lewis, KU Hillel’s executive director, as emcee and Alana Muller as one of the five featured speakers. Several members of the steering committee are also Jewish: Kristin Schultz, Celeste Aronoff, David Horesh, and Lainie Decker.

MAKING A DIFFERENCE — We’ve reported on Dr. Jordan Metzl’s activities several times now. This past Sunday the Kansas City native who is one of New York’s most respected sports medicine docs expected to run his 30th marathon. Instead he organized more than 1,000 runners to help the victims of Hurricane Sandy in Staten Island, N.Y. They passed out food, water, batteries, flashlights and prepaid mobile phones to people affected by the biggest storm in Atlantic Ocean history. More than one national news organization, including Bloomberg.com and NBC news, covered Dr. Metzl’s efforts.

HOME TOUR FEATURES CHANUKAH — Chanukah will be featured in one home at the Johnson County Young Matrons 21st Annual Home for the Holidays Tour, scheduled from 9:30 a.m. to 8 p.m. Wednesday, Nov. 14. The upper floor of the home located at 16120 Lucille in Mills Farm will be decorated for Chanukah. The first floor will feature New Year’s decorations. “Putting on the Glitz,” a special event dinner and fashion show is scheduled the night before the tour. To purchase tickets visit the website at www.jcym.net.

ISRAELI CLARINETIST COMING TO KC — Israeli jazz clarinetist and saxophonist Anat Cohen has released her sixth album as a bandleader. “Claroscuro” takes its title from the Spanish word describing the play of light and shade (chiaroscuro in Italian). The new album features Jason Linder, Joe Martin and Daniel Freedman as well. With this new CD, the Pittsburgh Tribune said she breathes new life into the jazz clarinet and is rapidly becoming one of the best clarinetists in jazz. The album is available on her own label, Anzic Records, or at amazon.com. Voted Clarinetist of the Year by DownBeat readers in 2010 and 2011, she will perform in Kansas City on Dec. 14 at the Folly Theater. For ticket information, visit www. follytheater.com or call 816-474-4444 .

After 35 years as a pediatrician in Kansas City, Dr. Michael Blum is hanging up his stethoscope.

He and his wife, Jenifer, initially came to Kansas City so he could attend medical school at Kansas City University of Medicine and Biosciences. They left for an internship in New Jersey but returned when he landed a residency at Children’s Mercy Hospital.

“Kansas City provided a lot of opportunities for me,” he said.

Since he retired this summer, Blum has seen an outpouring of affection from former patients — some of whom had brought their own kids to him when they needed a pediatrician.

“Many of the kids brought old pictures … many patients sent me thank you notes and well wishes with a lot of their stories over the years ... about how I have affected their lives and the lives of their children,” he said. “I’ve had second generations of families come to me. That’s an exciting part of my journey.”

Other fond memories he has include performing magic tricks for children, both in office and in hospital wards, and having an impact on safety issues for kids. Twelve years ago, he appeared on The Rosie O’Donnell Show to promote his program that gave free gun locks to families.

“If you have the opportunity, you can talk to a child about wearing a bike helmet or brushing their teeth or eating the right foods or getting exercise. You can influence their life at a much earlier age,” he said.

He is proud of the practice he’s built, Pediatric Partners, that will continue to function under the guidance of other doctors, and the effect he’s had on the health of children in the community.

“Oftentimes during my career, I would have to attend a delivery or come and see a very sick newborn, and being able to fix the problem and being able to tell a family that their baby is going to do well … is an exciting experience,” he said.

Blum, also a mohel in the community for about eight years, will maintain his medical licenses in Kansas, Missouri and Texas so he can continue providing the community with that service.

Although Blum was already performing circumcisions as part of his pediatric duties, he first came to the attention of then-director of Reform Judaism’s Brit Milah program Rabbi Neal Schuster while pursuing adult education in Judaism through the Melton courses. Rabbi Schuster encouraged him to take a course in the religious aspects of the procedure.

At the time, the Kansas City area only had one mohel, and Rabbi Schuster was looking for someone who knew the medical procedure and was really interested in Judaism.

“This is a guy who is a mensch. He’s serious about his Judaism, and he’s really skilled at circumcision,” Rabbi Schuster said. “I couldn’t imagine someone who would be more of an ideal person to become a mohel. He really is able to connect with people in a way that not only sets them at ease and makes them feel very comfortable throughout (the process) but gives them a sense of meaning.”

In addition to being a mohel, Dr. Blum has been very active in the Jewish community. A member of many area synagogues, he’s been president and is currently on the board of Congregation Beth Torah, stayed involved with the Melton adult education programs, done guest lectures for the Hyman Brand Hebrew Academy and worked with Boy Scout Troop 61 at Congregation Beth Shalom.

“When Jenifer and I came to Kansas City in 1969, we didn’t know anybody, and we’ve been able to become involved with not only the Jewish community but the many parts of the greater Kansas City area,” he said. “I just want to thank everyone for their help in making our journey through Kansas City and in pediatrics be as memorable, fun and successful as it has been.”

The Blums will stay in the Kansas City area, but he plans to spend more time visiting his two children, Deanna and Steve, and five grandchildren, all in Dallas, and focus on some of his hobbies, including magic and photography.

Rabbi Avraham (Avi) Weiss, the founder and president of Yeshivat Chovevei Torah Rabbinical School and senior rabbi of the Hebrew Institute of Riverdale (New York), will be Kehilath Israel Synagogue’s scholar in residence the weekend of Nov. 9. This is the first weekend of the new Caviar Family Jewish Scholar in Residence Series.

For the fifth consecutive year, Rabbi Weiss was named among the top 50 influential rabbis in the United States by Newsweek and The Daily Beast, ranking him No. 11 in 2012. The magazine noted that as senior rabbi at the 850-member Hebrew Institute of Riverdale, Rabbi Weiss is considered the father of “Open Orthodoxy,” which maintains strict observance while also expanding its definition. He founded YCT in 1999 and one of its graduates, K.I.’s new senior Rabbi Shmuly Yanklowitz, was also listed among the 2012 top rabbis in the country at No. 40. In 2009 he founded Yeshiva Maharat, the first seminary for Orthodox women spiritual leaders.

Rabbi Weiss is no stranger to activism and served as the National Chairman of the Student Struggle for Soviet Jewry, and is the National President of AMCHA — the Coalition for Jewish Concerns. He has also authored two books: “Women at Prayer: A Halakhic Analysis of Women’s Prayer Groups” and “Principles of Spiritual Activism.”

The rabbi will make five presentations at K.I. The schedule, and his topics, include:

Friday night, Nov. 9: 7 to 7:30 p.m. — “Spiritual Activism!”

Shabbat morning sermon, Nov.10, 10:30 a.m. — “Love & Growth: Human Relationships!”

Shabbat afternoon (se’udah shlisheet), 5 p.m. — “Open Orthodoxy”

Saturday night kumzitz (songs and story-telling), 6 to 6:30 p.m.

Sunday morning, Nov. 11, 10 to 11 a.m. —“Challenges facing the Jewish people today”

All events are free and open to the entire community. For more information call the K.I. office at 913-642-1880.

“Physics Can Be Fatal,” by Elissa D. Grodin, Cozy Cat Press, available on amazon.com and barnesandnoble.com in paperback, Kindle and Nook

Meet Edwina Goodman, a young university physics professor, and Detective Will Tenney as they solve the death of esteemed visiting physics professor Alan Sidebottom in “Physics Can Be Fatal,” by Elissa D. Grodin.

This is Grodin’s first adult novel, after having written several children’s books, and the book is getting good reviews on Amazon.

“I always wanted to be a novelist, but for mysterious reasons I don’t really understand, I did not find a voice for [adult] fiction until very recently,” Grodin said in a telephone interview from her home in Connecticut.

Grodin said Edwina Goodman is her alter ego (notice they even have the same initials). She chose a university physics department as the setting of her novel because “it’s different … I wanted to try to do something a little bit original.”

“As a girl, I wanted to be an astronomer, but I really stink at math because my brain just won’t go that way,” she said. “I’m kind of a physics buff. I love cosmology and physics and astronomy; it gets me very excited. So if I couldn’t be one myself, I was going to create a character who was smart enough to do it.”

The daughter of Stan Durwood, founder of AMC Entertainment, Grodin grew up in Prairie Village. While not observant Jews, she said her family observed holidays with their cousins, who belonged to The Temple, Congregation B’nai Jehudah. Passover seders were a highlight of her childhood, she said.

“We had our seders at Oakwood Country Club; that’s a great memory.”

Grodin said it was fun being Durwood’s daughter. She and her five siblings got to see lots of free movies, including screenings of movies not yet released.

“The most striking thing about him was his life drive. He was just the most driven and full of life guy I think I’ve ever met in my life,” Grodin said. “That was exciting because it’s contagious. It’s exciting to be around someone who has such a strong life drive.”

Writing children’s books came about serendipitously, Grodin said. She had written a manuscript of poetry for children, which she also illustrated, and a publisher saw the manuscript.

“They didn’t ask me to publish it, but they asked me to do some books for them and that’s how the children’s books came about,” she said. “I was very, very happy to do those … but adult fiction is what I’ve always wanted to do, so I’m really grateful that it finally came out of me.”

For her first adult novel, she chose mystery because she loves the genre and believes it is underrated.

“My mother was a huge mystery buff and so I think it has something to do with that. It’s a way of being attached to her,” Grodin said. (Her mother passed away two-and-a-half years ago.) “She introduced me to Agatha Christie when I was a teenager. [And] somebody like Wilkie Collins, it doesn’t get any better than that. He and Agatha Christie are sort of at the top of the mountain for me. But I love a good story and that’s really the reason.”

The Durwood household was full of storytelling. Grodin said either her parents were reading to their children or they were going to movies.

“So there were just stories, stories, stories. There has to be a really good page-turningly good story and that’s what I love [about mysteries],” she said. “In college I was a kind of pseudo-serious literature student, but as I’ve gotten older I’ve come to value a great story over something that’s just very highly literate. I hope that’s not sacrilegious.

“If it’s good, you will learn something about human nature and that is the ultimate; that is the point of all art, to learn something about human nature. Because the more you learn about that, the more tolerant you become and the better world it would be.”

Grodin says she tries to incorporate the Jewish idea of tikkun olam (repairing the world) into her writing.

“If everybody did their thing with a view to improving their little corner of the world, how great would that be? So I try to do that with my work,” she said. “I don’t like gory, graphic forensic stuff because I just find it gratuitously violent. A good mystery can be uplifting, you just feel good somehow. It’s my little tiny microscopic way of doing good.”

In addition to loving physics, Grodin said she also is fascinated with academic life, which comes from teaching at University College London and working as a research assistant at Dartmouth College. She said academics is “so pure. It’s kind of like the ideas or the commodity gets them excited and I like that quality in people.”

Doing project research for professors was like solving a mystery, Grodin said. “It was so much fun. So, I guess I was a detective from way back.”

Grodin said she plans to make “Physics Can Be Fatal” the first in a series of books with Edwina and Will. “I’m working on the second one … and for this one I’m going to bring in all my movie background. The working title is ‘Murder at the Film Society.’ ”

Grodin is married to Charles Grodin, actor/writer/CBS radio news commentator. They met when she interviewed him for American Film Magazine. She said at the end of the interview, he asked her to marry him. “It must have been beshert,” she said, because they’ve been married for 29 years. They have one son, Nicholas, 25, and live in Connecticut and New York City.

KOLLEL GETS ITS OWN PLACE — The Community Kollel of Kansas City was formed in 2007 and up until now the group of rabbis — now consisting of Rosh Kollel Rabbi Yehuda Sokoloff, Rabbi Binyomin Davis, Rabbi Elchanan Schulgasser and Rabbi Avi Feigenbaum — wandered throughout the Jewish Community Campus. The organization held classes at the Campus and studied and had office space at the Hyman Brand Hebrew Academy. But now the Kollel has a home of its own. Its new office suite is located at 6400 W. 110th Street, Suite 204, very near the Overland Park Convention Center. The Kollel rabbis are now studying in their own beit midrash, which is home to one of the best Talmudic libraries in the Midwest thanks to a gift from Aaron Robinow. Weekly classes will now take place in the conference room at the new Kollel center. To see a complete schedule of Kollel classes, visit www.kckollel.org.

REACHING OUT FROM WITHIN TO HONOR FRIED — For 30 years, SuEllen Fried has helped prison inmates find ways to change their lives to become better spouses, parents, neighbors and citizens. In 1982 Fried co-founded Reaching Out from Within, along with Greg Musselman (who is now deceased), and since that time thousands of incarcerated men and women have participated in weekly discussions with a curriculum about child abuse, spouse abuse, addiction, anger management and other topics that touch the roots of violence in their lives. Fried will be honored for her 30 years of dedicated service to Reaching Out from Within at 6 p.m. Nov. 15, at the Overland Park Sheraton. For more information regarding tickets, table sponsorships, or the organization visit http://www.rofw.org.

CHANUKAH ART CONTEST — Students in grades K through eight are encouraged to enter the 16th annual Chanukah Art Contest sponsored by The Chronicle and The Chabad House Center. The grand prize is an iPad. Entrants will be divided into two age categories — grades K-4 and 5-8. Students must live in the greater Kansas City or surrounding areas (Lawrence, Topeka and St. Joseph) to be eligible. Photos of the winners will be published in the Dec. 6 edition.

All entries must be received by 5 p.m. Monday, Nov. 26. Art projects must be original and relate to the story or celebration of Chanukah. They may be either two- or three-dimensional (for example painting, drawing, craft or sculpture). The top finishers in each of the grade-level categories will be awarded an iTouch. A student is not eligible to win the grand prize two consecutive years.

Entries must include the student’s name, grade, religious school name (if applicable), home address and telephone number. Entries will not be returned. Entries will be available for pickup until the end of the year at Chabad House.

Entries may be dropped off now through Nov. 26 at Chabad House Center of Kansas City: 6201 Indian Creek Drive, Overland Park, KS 66211.

The decision of the judges (staff members of The Chronicle and Chabad House) shall be final.

For questions or more information, visit www.ChabadKC.org or call the Chabad House, 913-649-4852 or email .

WRJ SH’MA SMACKDOWN AT BETH TORAH — In response to the arrest last week of Anat Hoffman, executive director of the Israel Religious Action Center, for leading prayer in a tallit at the Western Wall, the Union of Reform Judaism’s Women of Reform Judaism has stated that, “If government officials in any other corner of the world tried to prevent us from praying in our own voice, wearing our chosen ritual garb or worshipping freely, we would not be silent. We certainly will not tolerate it from Jewish extremists who have been empowered by the government of Israel to wrest control of our holiest site.” As a public response WRJ is suggesting women take part in a Sh’ma Smackdown by creating a video of women (just yourself or a small group) saying the Sh’ma. Send your videos and photos to WRJ at , where they will be compiled and posted on the WRJ Facebook page. After worship tomorrow night, Friday, Nov. 2, Congregation Beth Torah will video every woman who wants to participate in the Sh’ma Smackdown, wearing a tallit and singing the Sh’ma. Beth Torah will send the video to the WRJ, IRAC and the government of Israel.

The Jewish Community Foundation of Greater Kansas City is the recipient of the Association of Fundraising Professionals Mid-America Chapter 2012 Excellence in Fundraising Award. This award recognizes local nonprofit organizations that have developed creative, resourceful and inspired campaigns, initiatives, projects or techniques that have grown and increased their fundraising infrastructure, program and results.

JCF is being recognized in particular for its leadership in the area of planned giving and the impact it has had on area non-profits through the Bushman Community Endowment initiative. Since 2007, BCE has provided comprehensive educational seminars, one-on-one consulting, marketing materials and $56,000 in incentive grants each to 13 Jewish agencies and synagogues. As a result, the Kansas City Jewish community has new commitments of an estimated $33 million in future endowment gifts.

Lauren Mattleman Hoopes, JCF’s executive director, said the foundation is very, very excited about this award.

“We are really honored and very proud because this award is not just about what the Jewish Community Foundation has done but because it’s really celebrating the program,” Hoopes said.

Hoopes noted that one reason this recognition is so special is because it comes from the general community.

“The profile of lots of Jewish organizations is pretty low in the general community and I think this is an example that we are really doing something innovative within the Jewish community that’s not being done in the general community,” Hoopes said.

Shelly Doucet, AFP’s National Philanthropy Day chair and the development chair of Académie Lafayette, said one reason JCF’s nomination was so impressive is because the BCE program is replicable and that was always part of the plan. She said by giving smaller organizations “who don’t have the capacity to do planned giving” the training to do just that is “furthering the cause of philanthropy to empower other organizations.”

Hoopes is pleased this award “also acknowledges the great contribution that Stan Bushman made and the impact that his gift is having on the Jewish community.”

Doucet agreed, saying the award-winning BCE program started with Bushman’s seed money and his will to create a successful program.

“It used philanthropy to create philanthropy, which makes it unique,” Doucet said. “It’s clever, it’s efficient, it’s effective and it’s replicable.”

Merilyn Berenbom, a former president of JCF who currently serves as president of the Jewish Heritage Foundation, officially submitted the nomination. The original nomination was supported by letters written by Harold Kaseff, who has been a BEC team member for Congregations Ohev Sholom and Beth Shalom; Debra Goldstein, director of development for The Temple, Congregation B’nai Jehudah; and Don Goldman, executive director of Jewish Family Services.

Berenbom has been involved with BCE since its inception.

“She’s the one who came with me and Stan Bushman on our field trip to San Diego to look at an example of a model of a program in action. She definitely supported me in my vision of how we might bring a comprehensive approach to introducing planned giving techniques into the Jewish community,” Hoopes said.

Hoopes believes this award honors more than JCF.

“It also recognizes all of the Jewish communal professionals, all of the volunteers and all of the donors that responded so well to this idea. I think it really collectively belongs to the Jewish community,” she said.

As a result of BCE’s success, JCF has already been recognized in the national Jewish community as a leader and pioneer in the implementation of community-wide planned giving and endowment building programs. In 2011, JCF was selected by the Jewish Federations of North America to sponsor and host a national Jewish Legacy Forum and is now consulting with Jewish community foundations in other communities on how to replicate this unique fundraising model.

Now that the general community has also recognized JCF’s success with BCE, Hoopes believes it is a distinct possibility that others in the general community will want to learn more about such a program as well.

“We anticipate that we may have both other smaller Jewish communities in the region as well as potentially some non-Jewish charities that are interested in hearing about what it is that we’ve done and possibly talking to us about how that might work in the general community,” she said. “I think this will be the first that a lot of the general community not-for-profits here in Kanas City have ever heard of such a program.”

As far as Hoopes knows, no other program such as BCE, especially one that provided incentives to its participants, has ever existed in Kansas City before. She believes the financial incentive is one of the reasons BCE participants were attracted to and succeeded in their endeavors, especially as the severe economic downturn was setting in hard just as the program was kicking off.

“So the idea of getting $12,000 of unrestricted funds for doing work that was good for them anyway was really another attractive thing about the program. Coincidentally it was a godsend for a number of participants,” she said.

While BCE’s formal program is coming to a close, that doesn’t mean JCF’s commitment to the Jewish community will lessen.

“One important piece of the mission of the Jewish Community Foundation is to specifically build financial resources to promote sustainable Jewish organizations. We take that responsibility, that commitment to doing that, seriously,” Hoopes said. “We also have a separate but very important responsibility to the Jewish organizations themselves to make sure they are as effective and sustainable as we can help make them.”

During fiscal year 2011, the Jewish Community Foundation distributed more than $17.2 million in 2,800 separate grants to Jewish and secular charitable organizations.

AFP celebrates philanthropy in KC

The Jewish Community Foundation is not the only representative of the Jewish community being recognized when the Association of Fundraising Professionals Mid-America Chapter celebrates National Philanthropy Day. Henry Bloch will be honored as Individual Philanthropist of the Year at the reception and awards ceremony set for Nov. 1 at the National WWI Museum at Liberty Memorial. That evening Liberty Fruit, owned by Arnold and Carol Caviar, will be also be honored as Business Philanthropist of the Year.

Leo E. Morton will be presented with the 2012 Henry W. Bloch Human Relations Award by the Jewish Community Relations Bureau|American Jewish Committee. He will be honored at the JCRB|AJC Human Relations Dinner Nov. 18 at The Westin Crown Center.

This award is named for Henry W. Bloch, whose quiet brand of leadership and compassion has set a benchmark for community activism and an extraordinary civic standard. He is a man devoted to principle, a caring visionary of exemplary character and integrity, a role model in the pursuit of justice and an inspiration to the citizens of our community. The dinner annually honors Bloch, and in 2012, Morton, for a lifetime of justice and selflessness and for making our community a better place in which to live, as exemplified by Henry W. Bloch.

“Over his lifetime, Leo Morton has not only done an excellent job in his career, but he has inspired countless individuals by the life he has lived, and the examples he has set. His approach to management is very engaging, which coupled with his knowledge and outlook for excellent education make him a very skilled leader. I am very honored that he has agreed to accept this year’s Human Relations Award given by the JCRB|AJC,” Bloch commented.

Morton, who is the chancellor of the University of Missouri-Kansas City, will be honored for his commitment to justice, his service to the community, his civic leadership and vision, and his devotion to our city.

“Leo Morton’s life story is a wonderful testament to perseverance and determination. He was raised in Birmingham, Alabama, in the early 1960s through the harrowing days of Bull Connor, fire hoses and attack dogs. The fact that Leo was able to survive and thrive is a remarkable feat that he credits to family, community and education. We have much to learn from his life experience,” said Michael J. Abrams, a former president of the JCRB|AJC who serves on the dinner committee.

As the featured speaker as well as the honoree, Morton will share some of his personal civil rights history at the dinner.

For nearly 70 years, the Jewish Community Relations Bureau|American Jewish Committee has been an advocate for justice, protecting and preserving equal rights for all members of our greater Kansas City community. The JCRB|AJC continually builds bridges of understanding and nurtures guiding principles that all people of goodwill embrace — working to prevent discrimination, reduce prejudice, strengthen democracy and expand freedom. For more information call 913-327-8126 or email .

DROUGHT DOESN’T HURT MITZVAH GARDEN — Despite the drought, it was a wonderful growing season for the Mitzvah Garden. The garden donated an estimated 8,000 pounds of produce to food pantries, outpacing the past two years. Mazel tov to a job well done to all the Mitzvah Garden volunteers.

‘CURTAINS’ DEBUTS NOV. 2 —The Barn Players will present the award-winning stage show “CURTAINS” Nov. 2 through Nov. 18. The musical score is by famed playwright and Jewish Kansas City native John Kander and is rated PG.

“CURTAINS” is the story of a new musical premiering at a Boston theatre in 1959 on its way to the Broadway stage — when the no-talent leading lady is murdered during her curtain call on the opening night of the show the entire cast is suspect — can the Boston detective solve the case? This award-winning musical is the concluding production of the Barn Players’ 2012 season. Tickets may be ordered on line at www.thebarnplayers.org, or by calling 800-838-3006.

DRY BONES TO CREATE HAGGADAH — Cartoonist Yaakov Kirschen, creator of Dry Bones, Israel’s longest-running comic strip, recently launched The Dry Bones Passover Haggadah project on Kickstarter, the world’s largest crowd-funding platform for creative projects. Kirschen hoped to raise a minimum of $5,000 from the ever-expanding Kickstarter community to create the new Haggadah and within a day and half of the Oct. 15 launch, 101 backers had already provided more than that.

Funding through Kickstarter works on an all-or-nothing basis. Project creators set a funding goal and deadline. Interested funders pledge money; if the project reaches its goal, the backers’ credit cards are charged. If the project falls short, no one is charged. If successful, the backers are rewarded for their pledges, no matter how small.

“The beauty of micro-funding,” Kirschen explains, “is that anyone can participate. We’ve set a range of rewards for our backers — pledge even one dollar and we’ll recognize that gift with a certificate. Pledge $10 or more and you’ll get an unprotected eBook (pdf) of the completed Haggadah, and we have gifts of original artwork and more.”

According to the Times of Israel, Kirschen said he’s been dreaming about this project for many years, and loved the idea of being able to fund it without selling the Haggadah through a publisher and going through the commercialized publicity process. He wants “to sit down and do the manuscript,” and then plans on self-publishing the Haggadah on Amazon, using the money raised on Kickstarter.

The Dry Bones Passover Haggadah project will conclude on Kickstarter on Nov. 16. Interested backers can learn more about the project at: http://www.kickstarter.com/projects/997082407/the-dry-bones-passover-haggadah-by-yaakov-kirschen/.

Correction

The article about the Caviar Family Jewish Scholar in Residence Series published in last week’s edition (Oct. 18) mentioned Dr. Ron Wolfson is coming to the community Nov. 9 as part of the series. Wolfson will actually be here as part of the PJ Library Shabbaton, under the sponsorship of CAJE/Jewish Federation and the JCC. The event will be held that evening, from 4:30 to 7 p.m. at K.I. For the cost and additional information, or to register, visit jewishkansascity.org.