JCF Honors Scholarship Winners at Special Awards Reception

The following is a reprint of the JCF's Money Matters column, published in the June 11, 2025 issue of the Jewish Community Voice, titled, "JCF honors scholarship winners at special Awards Reception":

On June 10, the Jewish Community Foundation (JCF) hosted our annual JCF Scholarship Awards Reception to celebrate 29 community members who collectively received close to $50,000 in financial assistance to defray costs from post-high school education and experiential travel. As JCF President Andi Levin said during her welcome remarks at the event, “It’s one of the highlights of being the JCF president,” and “seeing so many of our awardees and their families joining together for a positive celebration with JCF award donors and board members fills my heart with pride.”

Nearly 90 guests attended the reception, which featured lots of meeting-and-greeting, big smiles, and delicious desserts from Soups and Sweets of JFCS. Visit bit.ly/2025JCFAwards to read more and view event pictures. This year, we were proud to provide the highest dollar amount in our history dating back over 20 years, a very exciting accomplishment! There are many people to thank for enabling these awards to happen each year. Huge thanks go to donors who have generously established endowment funds that provide annual payouts now and for future generations. Thank you also to our volunteer Scholarship Committee members, led by Chairperson Carol Roth, who spend hours reviewing applications to determine who best qualifies for each award opportunity. And thank you to JCF Board members who attended the event and JCF staff who made the event possible.

For this year’s reception, Carol Roth presented certificates to the 14 awardees who were in attendance. We also were honored to welcome two guest speakers who added fresh perspectives to the program:

JCRC President Alan Moldoff spoke about the incredible legacy of Colonel David “Mickey” Marcus (z”l), who had many accomplishments while serving in the US Army and who was later named as Israel’s first general in 1948. Alan and his longtime friend Steven Eisner established an endowed scholarship award in Col. Marcus’ name to benefit graduating high school seniors. Thank you to Steven and Alan for creating this award and helping us all remember Col. Marcus for his important contributions to the United States, Israel, and the entire world.

And secondly, Rebecca Kaufman spoke about receiving JCF Scholarship Awards in 2017 and 2018 and how her life and career have progressed since then. Rebecca focused on the importance of interacting with people from all backgrounds, particularly during college, to learn about their viewpoints, share ideas, and find common ground. Now an occupational therapist who works with neurodivergent children and their families while specializing in feeding disorders, Rebecca regularly connects with community members of all stripes, and, thanks to her college experience of meeting new people, she can effectively communicate and work together with them for a shared common goal. It’s wonderful to see a previous awardee doing great things and helping others. The JCF is proud to support so many high-achieving individuals like Rebecca annually.

Looking ahead, the JCF Scholarship Awards initiative is set to grow even further in 2026. Our Scholarship Committee is thrilled to add the Stuart & Marylee Alperin Jewish Communal Service Professional Development Award, the Branfman Family Scholarship Award, and the Ed & Stacey Rivkin Aspiration Award to our existing slate of 12 endowed awards and two annual awards. Thank you to each of these generous donors for initiating these impactful, new endowment funds to benefit exceptional individuals.

If you have a passion for supporting South Jersey’s future leaders now and for many generations, I encourage you to contact me at (856) 673-2571 or dsnyder@jfedsnj.org to discuss opening an endowment fund or leave a legacy gift to perpetuate your values. The JCF would love to celebrate your endowed award at future receptions.