PARKLAND TRAGEDY: HOW OUR JEWISH COMMUNITY IS RESPONDING

Since the Parkland tragedy, thousands of local community members have reached out, taken action and expressed their solidarity with the victims’ families and our South Florida community.

Here are some ways our local Jewish community has responded to the tragedy and stood with our broader community:

• Our Federation has been in consistent contact with the Jewish Federation of Broward County to offer solidarity and support for any needs identified for their community. The Broward Federation opened a fund to provide vital services in the Jewish and general communities: mental health counseling, training for front-line professionals, and creating safe places for the treatment of ongoing trauma for students, teachers, families, and community members. Click here to learn more and donate to this fund.
• Dozens of local community members have participated in grief counseling sessions, coordinated by our partners at Alpert Jewish Family & Children’s Service. Led by clinical professionals, the sessions included gatherings for teens only. If you are interested in participating in a grief counseling session, please contact Dr. Elaine Rotenberg, AJFCS’s Clinical Director.
• We’re providing local Jewish preschools and Hebrew schools with educational resources to help children cope with the tragedy. Our partners at the Friedman Commission for Jewish Education have been in close touch with schools and synagogues throughout the Palm Beaches, providing toolkits, expert guidance and discussions on responding to the tragedy in the classroom. Here is one example of resources we’ve provided to local schools.
• Preschool children at the Mandel JCC created a message of support to students at Stoneman Douglas High School. The children, guided by their teachers at the Barbara and Jack Kay Early Childhood Learning Center, assembled a “Hearts for Hope” collage to share comfort with Stoneman Douglas students when they returned to school. Click here to see the project and learn more about it.
• Our partners at the Gross Family Center for the Study of Anti-Semitism and the Holocaust sponsored a powerful program for the Parkland community. The program, which focused on the consequences of hatred and bigotry, included 60 free copies of the best-seller Survivors Club signed by the authors and donated by the Gross Family Center for attendees.

Here are some additional opportunities for you to respond to the Parkland tragedy:

• Donate blood. Blood banks need our continued support. Click here to find a donation site near you.
• Create a banner of support. The principal of Stoneman Douglas High School has requested banners to help line the walls and the outside of the school with words of support, encouragement and love for students and teachers. Visit Broward Federation’s dedicated webpage for more information.
• If you’d like to see a change in public policy, contact your representatives. Regardless of where you fall on the political spectrum, we can all agree that we want our community’s children to be safe at school. Click here if you’d like to contact our Florida senators and click here to contact your representatives. If you are not eligible to vote, click here to register.