Former Cleveland Heights resident Alan Gill, the CEO of the American Jewish Joint Distribution Committee, was honored Dec. 11 at a retirement reception attended by more than 200 people in New York City.

The Jewish Federation of Cleveland announces the IMPACT! Volunteer Showcase, a highly anticipated volunteer fair for Jewish Cleveland adults ages 50 and over. The Showcase will feature more than 20 organizations seeking volunteers, making it easy for guests to identify a possible match for their interests. The Showcase takes place on Sunday, January 22 from 9:30 – 11:00 am at the Federation’s Jack, Joseph and Morton Mandel Building (25701 Science Park Drive in Beachwood).

The Jewish Federation of Cleveland announced at its Campaign Closing Celebration Dec. 14 at the Mandel Jewish Community Center in Beachwood that it raised $31,672,731 in the 2017 Campaign for Jewish Needs, exceeding last year’s total of $30,761,661.

More than 300 children and their families came to the Jewish Federation of Cleveland in Beachwood on Dec. 4 for the Young Families Tzedakah Party, where children under 5 were encouraged to participate in arts and crafts and donate money from their piggy banks and unwrapped toys to the Federation’s 2017 Campaign for Jewish Needs.

The PJ Library Program’s PJ Our Way website will have a local flavor.

What started as a single fire on November 22 became a firestorm engulfing many parts of the country. Despite a collective sigh of relief that the flames have been extinguished and that rain is finally beginning to fall, we are painfully aware of the tragedy that has struck hundreds of Israeli families and that a sense of uncertainty remains for them.

The community is invited to the Campaign Closing Celebration, the grand finale of the Jewish Federation of Cleveland’s 2017 Campaign for Jewish Needs, on Wednesday, December 14 at 7 pm at the Mandel JCC Stonehill Auditorium (26001 S. Woodland Road in Beachwood).