David Merage presented ”Making Ben Gurion’s Dream a Reality: The Negev from Now to 2020” at the 2011 General Assembly in Denver, Colorado on Nov. 7th.

The session envisioned the future of the Negev through the lens of the many partnerships–with philanthropists, Federations, and other organizations from the North American and French Jewish communities–who are already investing in and contributing to Negev development. The presentation spotlighted the work of some major donors and Federations who have made the Negev a priority, and showcased the beneficiary organizations who are carrying out this work on the ground.

“David brings his entrepreneurial spirit and business acumen to his philanthropy, and he is leading an effort to grow the population, economy and cultural vibrancy of Israel’s Negev Region.”

David Merage is the co-founder of Chef America, a national frozen food manufacturer known for inventing and marketing products including Hot Pockets, and Lean Pockets. he is chairman and CEO of Consolidated Investment Group, a Denver-based investment firm, focused on Wall Street and real estate investments. David is passionate about giving back to the community and he leads a consortium of private foundations representing three generations of his family. The foundations focus on innovative initiatives in education, art, and community development in the US and Israel. David brings his entrepreneurial spirit and business acumen to his philanthropy, and he is leading an effort to grow the population, economy and cultural vibrancy of Israel’s Negev Region.

There are currently 1800 citizens living at the at Ben-Gurion village, where the existing education complex serves 350 children under the age of 18 from Sde Boker. The new “Green Campus” was built using environmentally-friendly techniques including windows built to maximize sunlight and in the direction of the wind. The campus houses 16 classrooms, sport fields, offices, and meeting rooms for the school staff.

The Merage Foundation – Israel believes that education is the basis for success and that it is critical to shaping overall quality of life in the Negev. The Merage Foundation – Israel is investing in the formal education sector to promote academic excellence and the personal empowerment of students and teachers within the Negev’s different cities. Through the support of innovative educational programming and the availability of the most advanced educational facilities, technologies, and methodologies, the Merage Foundation – Israel’s investments are already making a dramatic positive impact on the cities and communities of the Negev.

Founded by a group of dedicated and passionate young people in 2007, 30 Years After is designed to promote involvement in American civic and Jewish communal life amongst Iranian American young adults.

Focused on civic activism and Jewish communal involvement, they have already touched thousands of young adults through conferences, receptions, lectures and workshops.

JVPF funding is for strategic planning as they transition from an all-volunteer run organization.

Thirty years have passed since the Islamic Revolution drove the vast majority of Iran’s Jews from their homes.

In the face of religious and political persecution, over 30,000 Iranian Jews immigrated to the United States.

This community of Jewish immigrants, like the diverse Jewish and non-Jewish communities before it, followed the well-traveled path of the “American Dream” – from immigrants to American citizens.

Over the last thirty years, the Iranian Jewish community has emerged as one of the nation’s most affluent and best-educated groups. With its passionate connection to Israel and strong traditional Jewish values, the community has also made significant cultural and philanthropic contributions to Jewish causes.

However, the transition from decades of life under authoritarian rule and a new fear of acculturation have hindered the community’s expansion into American civic and Jewish communal life.

After thirty years in the United States, the Iranian-American Jewish community is now “coming of age” at an auspicious time-thirty years after the Islamic Revolution, sixty years after the founding of the State of Israel, and during an American election year of unprecedented importance.

In recognition of this momentous time in the community’s history, a group of three-dozen Iranian Jewish young professionals founded “30 YEARS AFTER” in November 2007 with three objectives in mind:

(1) to educate and unite the Iranian American Jewish community on important political issues

(2) to promote the participation of Iranian Jews in American civic life

(3) to enhance the involvement and integration of Iranian Jews in the greater American Jewish community.

www.30yearsafter.org

The online magazine launched as a private venture in 2006, and was offered to JDub in 2009 with the express goal of leveraging JDub’s expertise in providing relevant and quality Jewish content to young Jews.

Covering everything from politics and religion to food and culture, Jewcy is an online magazine with something for everyone, with articles of the highest caliber that range in tone from frank to humorous.

With a complete redesign & initiatives focusing on local-based content, the brains behind JDub are taking Jewcy to the next level supported by JVPF seed funding.

Jewcy has become a cultural icon at the forefront of a new wave of Jewish culture and pride.” – Guardian

JEWCY is a curated platform for ideas that matter to young Jews today.  We are dedicated to presenting a spectrum of voices, content, and discussion.

JEWCY is a project of JDub, a 501(c)(3) not-for-profit organization that forges vibrant connections to Judaism through music, media, and cultural events.

www.jewcy.com

When David Cygielman graduated from college in 2006, he started hosting Shabbat dinners at his home. When the crowds started to overflow the house, he realized that there was a void in terms of Jewish programming options for 20somethings.

That year he created Moishe House – a place where residents receive subsidized housing in exchange for offering community events that they plan themselves on Jewish and non-Jewish topics relevant to their peers.

There has been spectacular growth in the organization – in just over four years, there are over 33 locations throughout the US and in 12 other countries. JVPF funded the creation of a new COO position to manage the organization’s growth and fundraising.

Moishe House is an international organization providing meaningful Jewish experiences to young adults in their twenties.

Our innovative model trains, supports and sponsors young Jewish leaders as they create vibrant home-based communities for their peers.

Our scalable approach has enabled the existing 37 houses worldwide to engage more than 40,000 attendees a year.

From Shabbat dinners to book clubs to sporting events, residents find ways to connect their peers with the community wherever they are.

Mission:

To provide meaningful Jewish experiences for young adults around the world by supporting leaders in their 20′s as they create vibrant home-based Jewish communities.

Vision:

We envision Moishe House as the global leader of pluralistic Jewish life for adults in their 20′s. We facilitate a wide range of experiences, so that they have the leadership, knowledge and community to enrich their Jewish journeys.

http://moishehouse.org/

They achieve this remarkable feat by rescuing excess, nutritious food that would have otherwise been destroyed and redirected it to those in need. However, many of the Israeli nonprofits providing this food lack the basic infrastructure and capacities to meet their clients’ food needs.

They lack refrigeration, adequate lighting, proper electrical systems, shelving and a range of other capacities.

JVPF is helping Leket to improve the capacity of these organizations through a program that will provide free consultation and funding to make basic improvements.

Serving as the country’s largest food bank and food rescue network, Leket Israel works to alleviate the problem of nutritional insecurity.

Each year, with the help of 40,000 volunteers, Leket Israel rescues over 700,000 meals and 13 million lbs of produce and perishable goods, and supplies over 1 million (7,000/day) volunteer prepared sandwiches to underprivileged children.

Food, that would have otherwise gone to waste, is redistributed to nearly 300 nonprofit partners caring for the needy.  Leket Israel offers cooperative purchasing, nutrition education, and food safety projects to further assist our partners.

The History of Leket -

January 2003: Joseph Gitler begins delivering excess food from caterers to social service organizations in Raanana, Herzliya and Kfar Saba.

March 2003: Nighttime volunteer food collection program begins.

June 2003: Leket Israel purchases first refrigerated delivery truck and opens first warehouse.

February 2004: Nighttime food collection goes national.

April 2005: 10,000th night-time pick up.

Dec 2005: Project Leket gleaning initiative starts.

Summer 2006: Leket Israel provides 50,000 care packages for IDF soldiers and thousands of meals daily for families displaced by the Second Lebanon War.

Sept 2006: Sandwiches for Schools project begins.

February 2007:  Leket Israel welcomes 100,000th volunteer.

July 2007: 100th partnership established with social service organization.

January 2008 Leket Israel opens a regional warehouse in Nesher to service northern Israel.

June 2008: Millionth sandwich delivered.

December 2009 (estimated):  Leket Israel welcomes 250,000th volunteer

www.leketisrael.com

For thousands of young men and women who are living in Israel without family and who voluntarily serve in the IDF, entering civilian life can be traumatic.

But the multi-faceted “Wings” program, a Jewish Agency program in partnership with the Merage Foundation and other donors, gives these lone immigrant soldiers support and guidance before and immediately after they are discharged.

To celebrate Wings fifth anniversary, the Jewish Agency held an all-day conference on December 30, 2009, in Tel Aviv. David Merage of Denver, whose vision and support makes Wings possible, was in attendance along with his wife, Laura, and mother, Katherine. Also present were Eli Cohen, Director-General of the Jewish Agency’s Department of Aliyah and Absorption, Shaul Mofaz, Kadima MK and former defense minister, Professor Dan Ben David, executive director of Tel Aviv University’s Taub Center for Social Policy Studies, and Avi Zamir, head of the IDF’s Personnel Directorate. Special guest included Tal Brody, former basketball star and chairman of the Spirit of Israel for the Jewish Agency.

Merage, who lives in Denver, created the David and Laura Merage Foundation to promote self-sufficiency through education and community development in the United States and Israel. His devotion to the lives of lone soldiers in Israel stems from his experiences as a teen leaving his native country of Iran to study in England. “I know what it is like to be alone in a strange country,” he told the crowd.

An estimated 2,500 soldiers serving in the IDF come from overseas and do not have parents in Israel. Each year, around 700 of these finish their military service and enter Israeli society, with 75% committed to staying in the country. But according to a Jewish Agency study, in which 113 lone soldiers were surveyed, the vast majority are not equipped for Israeli life.

In 2009 more than 800 soldiers participated in Wings. Through Wings, lone soldiers transitioning to civilian life can learn everything from how to write a check and reading a rental contract to navigating their rights as citizens, such as understanding and accessing their national insurance payments, medical insurance, taxes and college scholarships for new immigrants. Wings participants also have access to workshops on job market skills and higher education opportunities.

After the course, each soldier receives career counseling and testing, financial advice, personal guidance and counseling sessions, and follow-up and support from Rotary Club members.

The Wings program provides every lone combat soldier with an immediate “Landing on their Feet” grant of $500. This assists them with their initial living expenses until they receive their discharge grant from the army.

“We declare the establishment of 11 permanent settlements in the Negev and the Galilee and we vow to bring 300 families to these locations within 60 days,” Ayalim CEO Matan Dahan announced today. “The answer to the housing problem lies in settling the Negev and the Galilee.”

Like Israel’s pre-state settlers who first built towers and then received official recognition in a continuing operation called Homat V’Migdal, on Sunday, July 31 Ayalim began bringing caravans to 11 urban and rural locations in places such as Ramat HaNegev, Dimona, Yeruham, Ofakim, Mitzpeh Ramon and Kiryat Shmona.

In one day 300 families signed up and within 21 days Ayalim will provide them with housing facilities. In 60 days, Ayalim expects to receive government approval for the building of permanent settlements in the Negev and the Galilee as part of its Housing Plan.

“We need to offer young families like those protesting in the tentcities viable solutions for their future,” says Director General Dany Gliksberg. “Ayalim is made up of young people who have the energy, vitality and driving motivation to bring about historic change in this country.