FROM JONAH’S DAD
Dear friends,
At this moment in history, no issue is of greater importance to me than immigrant rights. You certainly know as much as I about our current government’s draconian policies. Not only have the doors to our nation been slammed shut to most but the most privileged, but mistreatment — especially of children — has become a stain on America’s record of compassionate human rights.
FROM ELLEN DRESKIN
Dear friends,
As I reflect on The Jonah Maccabee Foundation’s re-articulated mission, “Turning love into action,” I am reminded how 19-year-old Jonah was evolving into someone who saw himself capable of making a big difference in other people’s lives. True to his “Maccabee”-ness, he was often champion to those whose voices were not being heard, and was known for bringing lights of friendship and inclusion to all of the communities of which he was a part.
If you didn’t get a chance to see last week’s note about our work in 2019, I’ve copied it below. I hope you are moved by reading about the ways in which your donations to the Foundation have made a difference in the last twelve months, and that you will donate to our December campaign, “Jonah-Inspired.”
Were Jonah alive today, I can easily imagine him soliciting funds for these organizations, and possibly even running one himself. I believe he is proud of us all.
Thank you again for enabling us to continue to bring Jonah’s light into the world these past 10 years and into the future as well.
Ellen
FROM THE DRESKINS
We’ve kicked off our December campaign, sharing our brand new tagline, “Turning love into action,” to convey our family’s passion for how we want to continue paying tribute to the beautiful gift of Jonah’s life.
We want you to donate, but because we deeply respect the trust you place in us, here’s a list of our most recent projects. Immigration rights screamed for attention this year. Morally impossible to ignore the cries of children separated from their families, we made a whole bunch of grants to organizations we felt were doing important, significant work. We also made grants to folks who are doing great stuff in the arts and in Jewish life. Read on!
Jewish Star is a North American talent search competition designed to find and encourage the next generation of singer-songwriters in the Jewish community. Celebrity music artists judge and select winners based on vocal, instrumental and performance skills, as well as their passion for impacting the Jewish world.
Jewish Star is a project of Jewish Rock Radio, a high-caliber, 24-7, Jewish rock internet radio station that broadcasts contemporary Jewish rock music and pieces of related interest.
The Jonah Maccabee Foundation is delighted to support Jewish Star with a grant from our Jewish Life Fund. Learn more by visiting Jewish Star and Jewish Rock Radio online.
Thank you for making our support possible.
With 680 undocumented workers arrested in a record-setting immigration sweep on the first day of school in Mississippi, The Jonah Maccabee Foundation felt the need to do something.
United We Dream is the largest immigrant youth-led community in the country. They create welcoming spaces for young people – regardless of immigration status – to support, engage, and empower them to make their voices heard and win!
Photos are not allowed in U.S. Immigration Court, but you can imagine what it’s like for a young child to go through a deportation hearing. Of children who enter Immigration Court without a lawyer, 9 out of 10 are deported. When provided legal representation, half are able to remain in the United States.
With the successful completion of our summer campaign, The Jonah Maccabee Foundation is honored to direct grants to the following five organizations:
The Jonah Maccabee Foundation feels privileged to be able to support this most worthy work. Learn more by visiting these organizations’ website or home on Facebook.
Thank YOU for making our support possible.
As we continue to witness both a surge in immigration from Central America and a hostile response from the White House, we’ve found an organization that has devoted itself to assisting the children, especially those traveling alone, who have been caught up in this mess.
KIND works to do the following: a) ensures no child appears in immigration court without high quality legal representation; b) lobbies for legislation that ensures children’s protection and their right to due process; and, c) promotes in countries of origin solutions to child migration grounded in the best interests of the child, to ensure that no child is forced to involuntarily migrate.
The Jonah Maccabee Foundation feels privileged to be able to support this most worthy work. Learn more by visiting Kids in Need of Defense website or their home on Facebook.
Thank YOU for making our support possible.
Dear friends,
We thought you might like to know how we spent the money you donated to The Jonah Maccabee Foundation in 2018.
Here’s the rundown of the grants we made:
1) California Fire Foundation: The wildfires in California devastated so many lives. California Fire Foundation’s SAVE program provides financial assistance and other support services to survivors struggling to put their lives back together.
2) Families Belong Together: As we continue to witness America’s betrayal of its long-standing passion for being a nation of refugees, some 250 organizations representing Americans from all backgrounds have joined together to fight family separation and detention, seek accountability for the harm that’s been done, and to reunite all families who remain torn apart.
As we continue watching refugees at our southern border be treated with cold-hearted animus, all of us want to try and be of help. Fortunately, we have friends who are lending a hand. Catholic Charities’ Humanitarian Respite Center in McAllen, TX, is frequently the 2nd stop for those entering our country. After processing at the U.S. Border Patrol immigration processing center in McAllen, men, women, children and infants are released to the Respite Center for food, a shower and other care until they move on to join their family or sponsor, awaiting their date in immigration court where they will be granted or denied their asylum claim.
It was Sister Norma Pimentel’s idea to create a place to welcome the immigrants to the border town of McAllen. She calls them “miracles,” as they flee poverty and violence in the hopes of finding sanctuary in the United States.
The Jonah Maccabee Foundation feels privileged to be able to support this most worthy work. Learn more by visiting the Humanitarian Respite Center online (or visit their Facebook page).
Thank YOU for making our support possible.
We are heartbroken here at The Jonah Maccabee Foundation as we watch families being separated at our nation’s border, with children experiencing grave trauma from the prospect of never seeing their parents again. As our summer campaign concludes, we know that this is exactly what Jonah would have wanted us to do with the money you’ve entrusted to us. RAICES, Refugee and Immigrant Center for Education and Legal Services, is hard at work throughout the state or Texas providing free legal information, referrals and direct representation for unaccompanied children in the custody of the Office of Refugee Resettlement (ORR). Given their proximity to the U.S.-Mexico border, RAICES is uniquely positioned to help thousands of children find their way back home.
Learn more about RAICES by visiting raicestexas.org.
While some knew him as Jonah and others as Mac, we all loved and respected him. And we miss him dearly.
