May this Chanukah bring you and your loved ones peace, joy, and renewed purpose.

The Jewish Federation of Cleveland raised a record $39,035,018 through its 2026 Campaign for Jewish Needs to support the needs of local and global Jewish communities, which was announced to about 900 attendees at the Dec. 8 campaign closing event at the Hebrew Academy of Cleveland’s Mendy and Ita Klein Okawood Campus in Cleveland Heights.

The Jewish Federation of Cleveland announced that a record $39,035,018 has been raised by 9,036 gifts representing 12,094 donors in the 2026 Campaign for Jewish Needs. The Federation’s annual Campaign provides the critical dollars necessary to help keep our diverse, local community safe, strong, vibrant, and welcoming, as well as serve the needs of the global Jewish community.

Thank you and mazel tov to Amir Jaffa for leading Jewish Cleveland during the 2025 and 2026 Campaign for Jewish Needs!

Mazel tov to Allison Brandon, recipient of the 2025 Amb. Milton A. and Roslyn Z. Wolf Young Campaigner of the Year Award. Allison was recognized at our Campaign Closing celebration on December 8 for her dedication to the Campaign for Jewish Needs.

The Jewish Federation of Cleveland and the Jewish Education Center of Cleveland will hold the Cleveland Jewish Teachers Summit from 12:30 to 3 p.m. Dec. 14 in the Jack, Joseph and Morton Mandel Building at 25701 Science Park Drive in Beachwood.

At Mandel Jewish Community Center of Cleveland’s Camp Wise in Claridon Township, a Jewish Federation of Cleveland beneficiary agency, hundreds of children arrive each summer ready for the simple joys of Jewish camp – friendship, nature, discovery and belonging. Ensuring that those moments remain safe, even in a changing world, requires both vigilance and creativity. That’s why this year, the Jewish Federation of Cleveland and JFC Security, LLC – Federation’s security provider – introduced a cutting-edge, tethered drone pilot program at Camp Wise — an innovative step that reflects thoughtful, proactive planning.

There’s a lot to do as a child prepares for a bar or bat mitzvah — from learning the ritual itself to finalizing details of the party that follows. One important element, however, sometimes gets overlooked: the mitzvah project.

With calendar year 2025 coming to the end, the Jewish Federation of Cleveland is nearly halfway through its challenge to raise $90 million in matching funds for the Jewish Day School Initiative driven by the Jack, Joseph and Morton Mandel Foundation, which announced the grant challenge on Jan. 21, 2025.

The Jewish Federation of Cleveland today announced that Kari Blumenthal has been named its chief financial officer, effective December 1, 2025. Blumenthal brings more than two decades of strategic financial leadership experience across nonprofit and corporate sectors, with expertise in investment oversight, financial operations, and strategic planning. This appointment follows a nationwide search conducted with assistance from the executive search firm Ratliff & Taylor.