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November 2020 Newsletter
An Important Message from the JCAS President
This past year has been like no other in our long history at JCAS.
Like the rest of the community, JCAS was greatly impacted by the pandemic, with the Posh Opp Shoppe forced to close and an important source of our funding halted. All the while, children with special needs still required extra assistance, with classes being conducted remotely and children and their families having to adapt to new schooling arrangements.
At JCAS we are proud that we were able to provide important support to the children and their families throughout this most challenging year, with the generous support of our amazing donors, the enormous work of our volunteer board members and the wonderful work of our Schools Coordinator, Sharon Goodhardt.
As the community emerges from the extended lockdown, we are heartened to see children returning to school and once again in the company of their teachers, aides and friends. We are excited that the Posh Opp Shoppe has reopened and that Rosalie Silverstein OAM and her dedicated team are once again welcoming customers into the Glenhuntly Road store in the heart of Elsternwick. Make sure you pay them a visit and browse the many bargains on offer!
We do hope that life returns to normal next year, but we know that whatever awaits, JCAS will be there to provide important support to Jewish children with special needs to attend Melbourne Jewish day schools.
Thank you again for your ongoing interest and support. If you can make a donation to JCAS, I implore you to please do so. Your support will make the world of difference.
Warmest regards
Trevor Cohen AM
President, Jewish Children’s Aid Society Inc
we're back...
The Posh Opp Shoppe at 484 Glenhuntly Rd Elsternwick is open again.
Our regular trading hours are
Tuesday to Friday 10am - 4:30pm
Saturday 10am-4pm
“So far it's been very busy which is fantastic and we've been delighted by support from regular shoppers, new shoppers and donors. It's been really great”, reports Jason Silverstein.
Come in and visit Jason and Rosalie and the team!
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We are now taking your generous donations again. Our customers love cameras, hi-fi equipment (stereos, records, speakers), good quality clothes, collectible glassware. jewellery and watches.
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We have a Covid-safe plan including cleaning bathrooms and benchtops, a sign-in book or a QR code to scan with your phone.
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Our 1226 Glenhuntly Road, Glenhuntly store isn't open yet.
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We do have second hand King David School uniforms stored at Glenhuntly, so if you need them you can call Jason on 0402317020 to arrange a time to meet there.
Schools and aides rise to the challenges of 2020:
Sharon Goodhardt, JCAS Schools Coordinator
The sudden onset of the COVID crisis brought incredible challenges for our teachers and assistants. With very little notice we had to switch to remote learning. Never before was there a greater need to show a positive mindset and resilience. Teachers had to create online content and at the same time plan adjustments for our students with disabilities and extra needs. Our learning support assistants were a crucial part of the support programmes. They showed incredible flexibility, and dedication throughout.
There were so many wonderful and inspiring stories from 2020, teachers, assistants and children all responding to the challenges and adversities they faced. I have chosen one story to share with you below.
Julee Wertheimer is an assistant at Sholem Aleichem College. She used many weird and wonderful tricks to keep children focused and learning on the screen. It was a matter of trying different approaches and meeting both academic and emotional needs. Families who were stressed and anxious were so grateful for the positivity and care shown to them. Julee also volunteered to be onsite during the second lockdown, to help the most vulnerable students who were permitted to come in.
Thank you to Julee and all our JCAS assistant heroes!
Students at Sholem Aleichem College enjoying time with Julee Wertheimer in a small reading group.
Why JCAS’ support matters so much:
Some messages of gratitude from the Melbourne Jewish day schools
“We are extremely grateful to have the support of JCAS and the Posh Opp Shoppe as the funding ensures many of our students are able to fully participate and engage in all aspects of Leibler Yavneh College. With this generous support, we have been able to provide personalised interventions and programs whereby students have been able to demonstrate their learning. The relationship between JCAS and Leibler Yavneh College is vital in allowing students with additional needs to access a Jewish Education. Thank you for your ongoing support in providing this tremendous opportunity for our community.” (Cherylyn Skewes - Principal, Leibler Yavneh College)
“The greatest gift we can give a student at risk is the gift of ‘belonging’. Rather than finding ways to move such children out of our schools JCAS provides real assistance to help ensure that we keep them in our schools. In this way JCAS has helped us to support the most vulnerable in our community - and gives them a gift that will forever make a difference in their lives.” (Hilton Rubin - Principal, Yesodei HaTorah)
A message to our kind donors
Thank you to all our loyal sponsors listed below, and to our many other generous donors and supporters.
A huge thank you to Noah Machet for thinking of JCAS on the occasion of his Bar Mitzvah. Noah has set a wonderful example and made a very generous contribution. Mazel Tov Noah to you and your family.
We were grateful recently to receive donations from Bendigo Community Bank, The ORAH Fund and Equity One, all generous and proud supporters of JCAS.
In Covid-19 difficult times, our generous sponsors, Bendigo Bank, provided us with additional funding.
Please consider Bendigo Bank Caulfield Branch for all your personal and business banking needs.
L-R; Michael Karp (JCAS) and Hannah Downes, Customer Relationship Officer,
Caulfield Park Community Bank Branch of Bendigo Bank
The ORAH Fund was established in 2016 as a professionally managed investment solution where the management and performance fees are donated by the fund managers to Jewish charities without diluting investment returns.
Check out below the invitation to a live webinar hosted by The ORAH Fund.
Over the past few years JCAS has been lucky to be one of the many organisations to benefit from an amazing group of Australian Fund managers who have come together under The ORAH Fund to build an asset and ongoing stream of support for our community.
These exceptional and generous fund managers will be presenting in a professional investor panel series which we believe will be extremely insightful for anyone who invests in the market (both locally, and globally). This is a truly unique opportunity to hear from so many different professional fund managers in one place.
Register at http://webinar.orahfund.com.au
The ORAH Fund is an innovative charitable venture that does NOT require donations from the community.
Members of the community simply invest in a highly compelling fund-of-funds where the fund managers donate 100% of their fees to Jewish Charities. Their donation does not affect investment returns in any way.
To date, The ORAH Fund has donated over $840,000 to Jewish organisations around the world thanks to the support of their generous and exceptional underlying fund managers.
Equity-One: A proud supporter of JCAS
Who are we?
Some facts about us:
1.What is JCAS’ mission? Our mission is to support students with special needs to attend Melbourne Jewish day schools and to ensure that they can participate in mainstream classrooms and school life.
2. Where does my donation go? We fund the cost of teachers’ assistants and aides which are not covered by government subsidies and other sources. We also provide emergency funding in exceptional circumstances; eg for education of a child requiring prolonged hospitalisation or time away from school due to illness.
3. What percentage of funds raised go directly towards the cause? 99%
4. Who benefits from JCAS? The children with special needs and their families. In addition, a whole generation of school children are also educated to embrace difference. We also run a training program for teachers’ assistants supported by Gandel philanthropy, and supply ongoing training for the assistants which is important vocational training and can assist them in later job qualifications.
5. What is the relationship between JCAS and the Posh Opp Shoppes? We are the organisation that set up and runs the opportunity shops.
6. How does JCAS raise funds? JCAS raises funds from proceeds of the Posh Opp Shoppes and generous donations from supporters in the community.
7. How much does a full-time teacher’s assistant cost? Upwards of $45,000.
8. How many children does JCAS assist? Since our program began in 1990 we have assisted over 1000 children with disabilities. This year we are assisting nearly 250 children, who are supported by over 110 teachers’ assistants.
9. Doesn’t the NDIS pay towards this? No. The NDIS supports children out of school hours.
If you can donate to JCAS in our time of need please click here to donate now