Jewish Group Awards $43,700 in Grants

The Jewish Federation Valley Alliance has awarded $43,700 in grants to support local social, religious and educational programs for youth and young adults.

Projects and organizations receiving grants, which were announced Thursday:

* The Jewish AIDS Services of Jewish Family Service will open a branch office in a local synagogue to be determined in the West Valley and in partnership with several congregations. Services will include counseling, workshops and support groups.

* Gateways Valley Clinic will establish early detection and early intervention seminars for rabbis and Jewish school educators, helping them to be better able to recognize psychiatric and developmental disorders.

* The Bureau of Jewish Education, Heschel West Day School, will offer a 10-week Limud B’Yachad-Learning Together program to reach out to the rapidly growing Jewish community Valleywide.

* The Bureau of Jewish Education will create a Valley Alliance Israel Teen Teacher Corps, where students will work at a synagogue and attend job-related activities in exchange for the opportunity to study in Israel.

* The West Valley Jewish Community Center, Valley Alliance and Temple Aliyah will plan Shabbat dinners for singles, community youth group events and a joint Yom Ha’atzmaut celebration through a West Valley Gesher Project.

* The Center will also establish the JCC Maccabi Club to work with 400 athletes who participated in the 1995 JCC Maccabi Games to ensure they return for future games.

* The Finegood Art Council presented a exhibit at the Bernard Milken Jewish Community Campus entitled “Witness and Legacy: Contemporary Art about the Holocaust,” with docent tours of the exhibit and other educational programs for more than 5,000 area students.

* The West Valley Jewish Community Center will create Shabbat Family Baskets that will contain challah and candlesticks, a Tzedakah (charity) box and song tape. The basket will rotate among preschoolers to encourage family Shabbat celebrations.