Children are the greatest source of hope for a bright Jewish future - Jewish Children's Network

Sunday May 16, 2010, 4-7 p.m.

Registration begins at 3:30 p.m.

Scholarship Raffle 2010

Drawing held at Strike It Rich Event!

Click here to: RSVP 2010 Scholarship Event • Purchase Raffle Shares

Akiba's Great Bowling Event is Back by Popular Demand!! 

Sign up today by clicking here to purchase tickets to attend the 2010 Strike It Rich event, or Raffle Shares, or email Marilyn Rutner, Development Director, for sponsorship or reservations.

Questions??  Please call Marilyn at 214-295-3400.

We sincerely thank the following sponsors who help make this event possible:

Carol and Steve Aaron, Bella Diamanti, Linda and Steve Blasnik, Dallas Jewish Funerals, Forest Lane Pediatrics, Kahn Mechanical Contractors, Liz and Robert Liener, Dan and Stephanie Prescott, Nicole and Andy Schultz, Leslie and Howard Schultz, Texas Jewish Post, Waldman Bros, Laurence Weider, M.D., P.A.

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Akiba Gala an Inspiring Success!

On Sunday September 13, over 350 Akiba Academy supporters gathered to honor former Akiba parent Dr. Rick Hodes, the current director of medical programs for the American Jewish Joint Distribution Committee (JDC) in Ethiopia. In addition to managing medical clinics that provide treatment, immunization, nutritional support and community health for thousands of adults and children, Dr. Hodes is an attending physician at Mother Teresa’s mission.

Dr. Rick Hodes with his son Dejene Hodes,
a student of American Hebrew Academy in North Carolina.

The event began with a cocktail hour and silent auction enlivened by the beat of traditional African drums. Following the dinner, event co-chairs Sharon Blumberg and Dana Feinstein officially welcomed everyone and introduced the guest of honor, Dr. Hodes, who was accompanied to the event by his mother, Betts Flynn, and his son Dejene Hodes, who is currently a student at the American Hebrew Academy in Greensboro, North Carolina.

One of the surprises planned for the evening was the audiovisual presentation of chesed – acts of loving kindness – performed by Akiba students throughout their time at school. The engagement of the children who were interviewed and the evident care and passion that went into every project initiated by students and supported by the faculty were heartwarming. Akiba parents were so proud of their children, and the community was able to experience first hand the true Akiba spirit.

Board president Andy Schultz with
Akiba grandfather Bill Finkelstein

After greetings from the leadership team of Rabbi Zev Silver and Dr. Beverly Millican, Board of Trustees president Andy Schultz shared with the audience his strong personal connections with Akiba: from being a student in Mrs. Newman’s first grade class, to the positive influence of his role models, parents Leslie and Howard Schultz and his sister Jaynie, who all generously served as presidents of the Akiba board throughout the past several decades.

Following humorous shout-outs to Akiba alumni present for the occasion, Andy introduced the chief executive of the JDC, Steven Schwager, and philanthropist Morton Meyerson, who both proceeded to paint a portrait of the magnitude of Dr. Hodes’ life commitment to helping the sick and destitute afflicted with heart disease, spinal deformities and cancer. In Rick Hodes’ words, when asked why he had chosen this path, “I like to help people who have been abandoned by everyone else.”

In addition to being rousingly inspirational, the event helped raised over $250,000 which will benefit scholarships, programming and professional development at Akiba Academy. “I am very pleased with the way the evening unfolded this year. Our event and auction co-chairs Sharon Blumberg, Dana Feinstein, Shari Handler and Sarina Schick helped organize a wonderful evening”, commented Marilyn Rutner, Director of Development at Akiba. “Our staff and volunteers worked tirelessly to ensure that this wonderful evening was not only a well-deserved celebration of Dr. Hodes life accomplishments, but also a heartfelt recognition of the importance of our students’ social action commitment.”

Michael Fleisher, Executive Director of Jewish Family Service
and Mrs. Ann Rosenberg

In recognition of Dr. Hodes extraordinary work and to help him treat even more people, Akiba students personally raised $3,500 for JDC projects in Ethiopia. Community members who are inspired by Dr. Hodes’ story and who wish to contribute to this incredibly worthy cause are welcome to bring their gifts in the name of the JDC to Akiba’s development office, who will forward the donations to the appropriate address.

Dana Feinstein, Sharon Blumberg and
Marilyn Rutner present Dr. Hodes with the Akiba students’ donation.

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Strike it Rich for Akiba Academy - Scholarship Raffle and Faculty Appreciation Dinner held Monday, May 25, 2009

Every Jewish Child deserves a Jewish education. It has always been a tenet of Akiba Academy that no family who desires a Jewish education for their child should be turned away for financial reasons. Today more than ever, many families are struggling to find ways to keep their children in Jewish day school. This year, 39% of our students received tuition assistance, representing 21% of our budget. Due to current economic circumstances, we are predicting an increase of 10-20% in tuition assistance needs for 2009-2010. Tuition assistance ensures that a Jewish eduction is available to all who value a Jewish learning environment.

100% of net proceeds from this event are allocated to Akiba's Scholarship Fund. 100%!

To view our invitation, CLICK HERE

Questions? Please call the Development Office at 214-295-3411, or email director Marilyn Rutner

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