Periodically, members of our Jewish community ask me, “What does the Federation do?” Initially, the question seemed unusual, but as I thought about the question, it began to make sense. Although I am highly involved with the Federation it is easy to forget that others may not be as focused on who, what, how and why events and programs happen in our community.

The easy answer is that Federation runs an annual philanthropic campaign to further the welfare of our local Jewish community and Federation provides funding for organizations that support Jews and Judaism regionally, nationally and worldwide, including significant support for the State of Israel. Funding for local programs include our Jewish Community Sunday School and Celebrate Diversity. Federation also runs its own programs such as the Altoona International Jewish Film Festival for our community, as well as partnering with local organizations, such as Penn State and SAMA for programs of Jewish content. Federation also organizes and supports mitzvoth projects, coordinates Holocaust education in our schools, and the represents the Jewish community in interfaith events.

Thus, Federation allows our community members to easily participate in philanthropy, and we try to provide and help others with programs of Jewish content for our community in the areas of culture, spirituality and education.

However, I do not think that this adequately answers the question of “what does the Federation do?” I think that people are really asking, what is Federation about, what does it believe, what does it stand for, how is Federation different, and how will it make a difference in my life?

I believe that Federation is a special place because our leadership, our board, and our members stand for community building for the benefit of all members of our community regardless of denomination, and congregational affiliation. We allocate, we program and we give of our time without self-interest for the greater good. We seek to unite and build a more vibrant and supportive Jewish community.

Federation is a place that welcomes all who are interest in doing mitzvoth. As the Talmud says, “I did not find the world desolate when I entered it; my fathers planted for me before I was born: so do I plant for those who come after me.”

Not only is our leadership focused on mitzvoth, we strongly believe in the Jewish concept of chesed, treating others with loving kindness. We may agree or disagree on various issues, but we respect each other’s opinions, and we trust that we are all motivated to help others without pettiness, conflict, accusations or prejudice. We gather with smiles and we leave with smiles, knowing our efforts are going to make a positive impact in our community.

In essence, the Federation is a positive place where people want to be involved in the life of their community. We seek to bring the joy of Judaism to our community with mitzvoth and through chesed, which is it’s own reward, because Kol Yisrael Averim Zeh v Zeh – Every Jew is Responsible for one another.