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Who will be the first Jewish baby of 2014? Will the baby be born on Jan. 1 or will we have to wait until later in the month until we hear the good news? This year, as is our custom, The Chronicle will shower the first Jewish baby of 2014 with prizes. Information about The Chronicle’s annual contest, and the 2014 prize package, appears on pages 12, 13 and 14 of this edition of the newspaper.

Last year’s first Jewish baby, Amelia Esther Kaye, the daughter of Alison and Adam Kaye, was born Jan. 10. Dad Adam said Amelia is growing up fast, noting that she “already has a few words and signs.”

“She has begun to walk and is a true daredevil. She likes hanging out in swimming pools and jumping waves in the ocean. She gets along famously with her two older siblings. Abigail showers her with kisses, Asa likes to push her down and she keeps coming back to her older brother for more,” Kaye said.

The Chronicle’s First Jewish Baby contest is limited to residents of the five-county greater Kansas City area (Jackson, Clay and Platte in Missouri and Johnson and Wyandotte in Kansas), and the birth must take place in greater Kansas City.

Parents should call The Chronicle editor Barbara Bayer at 913-951-8425, or contact her via email at as soon as possible after the child is born, preferably the day of the birth. A winner may not be declared immediately and could take as long as 24 hours after the initial contact with The Chronicle. The parent or parents must agree to be interviewed and photographed along with the baby for a story in the newspaper to be awarded prizes. The official rules can be found on page 13.

For many years, Jews have been performing mitzvot for Christians during the Christmas holiday. Perhaps the longest running of these projects is the Christmas Mitzvah Project organized by The Temple, Congregation B’nai Jehudah.

This is the 26th year for the project and it has been organized each and every one of those years by Suzanne Gladney, who is an immigration attorney for the Migrant Farmworkers Project. While she is the top dog, she said it takes many people for it to succeed every year. For two full days, and sometimes more depending on the year, volunteers take over running the two area Ronald McDonald Houses located near Children’s Mercy Hospital downtown. Ronald McDonald Houses provide a “home away from home” for families who don’t live close to the hospital, generally more than 40 miles away. These families are given a place to sleep, meals and snacks. This allows the RMH staff and regular volunteers to have time to be with their families on Christmas.

The idea of planning a mitzvah project at Christmastime came to Gladney after she attended an event sponsored by the Religious Action Center about 28 years ago. At the time she was chair of B’nai Jehduah’s social action committee.

“Everybody was gung ho about it,” she said.

Many congregations across the country were working with hospitals, so Gladney originally made arrangements with Menorah Medical Center to provide volunteers on Christmas. At the time it was located on Rockhill Road where the Stowers Institute is now. But it didn’t work well because volunteers simply can’t replace essential hospital personnel on a holiday.

“People felt like they were just sitting around and not really helping,” Gladney said.

So she went back to the drawing board and someone suggested they try Ronald McDonald House. The idea was well received and Gladney said RMH staffers told her that “if volunteers are willing to come to training, there’s not that much that couldn’t be fixed once the staff gets back.”

Over the years this partnership has worked well. RMH uses volunteers on a regular basis, so those volunteers — in addition to staff — are replaced for Christmas by the Jewish crew. They do everything from answering the phone to making and serving meals to washing linens and anything and everything else that needs to be done.

“They have about 200 volunteers a year that staff the houses,” Gladney explained. “We replace the staff and we have back-up staff people available by phone in case anything goes wrong. It’s a good fit.”

Holly Buckendahl, CEO/executive director of Ronald McDonald House Charities-Kansas City, agreed.

“The Christmas Mitzvah Project is an amazing gift of time and talent for families and staff at Ronald McDonald House Charities of Kansas City. For 26 years our partnership has ensured that families’ needs are met while their child bravely battles life-threatening illness during the holiday season. When life unravels, RMHC-KC provides sources of strength, hope and healing. Our mission would not be possible if it weren’t for supporters like this Christmas Mitzvah Project,” Buckendahl said.

Rabbi Jonathan Rudnick and two of his children will volunteer this year for the third time. He said “as a family who has received warm care and hospitality from RMH in the past,” he was happy to learn of the project and be able to give back to an organization that helped him. Now a seasoned Christmas Mitzvah Project volunteer, he is impressed with how well RMH trains its volunteers.

“It’s very well organized so you feel like you can deal with anything that comes up,” Rabbi Rudnick said.

The volunteer training indeed pays off. Gladney remembers one year when Gloria and Alvin Fry were working a shift (they were regular volunteers for many years) a water pipe broke. Instead of panicking and simply calling a staff member, the pair cleaned up the mess and called the plumber on call (also a volunteer.) When everything was all repaired, they then placed the call, informing the staffer about the incident and reporting it was all taken care of.

“A lot of what you do is common sense,” Gladney said. “It’s stuff we are all capable and competent to do and once you have the training you can take care of it.”

“It is really a place where you can give staff time with their families at Christmastime and you can say, ‘I got that done. I did it.’ ”

Stan Stern, a teacher of gifted education at Shawnee Mission South High School, has been involved with the project because he “feels like I’m helping in some small way.” While he’s at RMH he has seen firsthand how generous people in the community are and is very impressed by it.

“People will just walk in with gifts and presents for the kids and food and all kinds of things. One year there was a present dropped off for every single child that was there. Things like that happen all the time and I think that’s really cool,” Stern said.

Many Christmas Mitzvah Project volunteers give more than their time to this project. The project is responsible for evening meals on both Christmas Eve and Christmas at both of the houses and these volunteers purchase and prepare all the food. One of those who has been doing this for 25 of the 26 years is Lynn Murray and her husband, Richard Gilman.

Murray, who is often assisted by friends in this endeavor, plans on serving Moroccan chicken on Christmas Eve. Through the years menus have included spaghetti, lasagna and baked chicken.

“If it’s been Chanukah we’ve often served brisket,” Murray said.

The Murray-Gilman family arrives on the afternoon of Christmas Eve and prepares to serve the evening meal. They stay the night and leave the next day, so other volunteers actually serve the Christmas dinner they prepare. Often it’s a honey-baked ham and turkey breast.

“Even though we don’t eat it, I think it’s a little special for Christmas and then we’ll make all the sides such as potatoes, green beans and pies,” she said.

Generally Murray said they are asked to prepare food for 40 people, plus whoever is in the volunteer group. Some years the group staying in the house is very small because the hospital tries to send as many kids home for the holiday as possible. Other years the group is quite large, but they never know exactly how many they will serve.

Murray said she and her husband, both dentists, chose to volunteer originally because they wanted to teach their two children the value of helping someone else out at a holiday that was very important to their religion.

“I compare it to Jewish people shouldn’t be working on Yom Kippur and Christian people should not work on their holiday,” Murray said.

Their children, now adults, still volunteer with the project. When the Murray-Gilmans missed it one year, the children told them it was too important to miss and they never have again. They even have two nieces from Chicago who almost always visit during that time and volunteer. One is traveling here this Christmas just to help.

The Murray-Gilman family always spends the night at RMH. Most of the time it has been uneventful.

“One year I think I was up every hour on the hour because the Elves of Christmas Present came, and other groups came to drop off gifts,” Murray said.

Murray and Gladney both said they love RMH because it is such a worthy organization.

“I love Ronald McDonald House because it brings such a relief to families whose children are in the hospital. They do such a wonderful job of creating a really nice home away from home for these families,” Murray said.

Murray praised Gladney’s dedication to the project.

“Suzanne is the organizer and she steps in if somebody at the last minute can’t be there. She and her husband (Alan Lubert) are really, really the driving force behind this. I think that’s the reason it’s gone on for so long, she’s really good,” Murray said.

When the project provides volunteers for two days — sometimes they even do three — Gladney said generally they need about 25 teams of volunteers. Some are singles, some are husbands and wives and some are complete families. When the new house is complete next year, more volunteers will be needed. Filling those slots probably won’t be a problem.

“People love it. People call me starting in June and I’m not ready to start taking names yet. I tell them I’ll call them later.”

Many, many people have done this project over and over and over. The names are just too numerous to mention. Over the years it has attracted volunteers from the entire Jewish community, not just B’nai Jehudah.

Through volunteering at RMH, Gladney said she and others have learned to give thanks for what they have.

“If you are there with your kids who are healthy, you can feel extremely grateful that you are not in their situation and you are able to help them.”

Gladney loves working with this project every year.

“I love Ronald McDonald House. I love the mission. I think that it’s a really important place for people to have who are going through this kind of crisis with their child. It’s great to have a place that can be your home away from home and where you can be around other families who are going through other situations and who understand what’s happening with you.”

The new “American Masters” documentary “Marvin Hamlisch: What He Did for Love” is the series’ Season 27 finale. It premieres at 9 p.m. Friday, Dec. 27, on the local PBS channel KCPT, with repeat broadcasts at 1 a.m. Saturday, Dec. 28; 10 p.m. Sunday, Dec. 29; and 2:30 a.m. Monday, Dec. 30. The documentary will be available on DVD Jan. 14 via PBS Distribution. Running time is 90 minutes.

With exclusive access to Marvin Hamlisch’s personal archival treasure trove, candid interviews with A-list collaborators from music, stage and screen, and complete cooperation from his family, “American Masters” takes a deeply personal look at one of the greatest artists of our time.

Composer, conductor, genius, mensch, Hamlisch (June 2, 1944 to Aug. 6, 2012) earned four Grammys, four Emmys, three Oscars, three Golden Globes, a Tony Award, and a Pulitzer Prize before his untimely death, making him one of only two PEGOT winners ever.

Hit after hit — “The Way We Were,” “Nobody Does It Better” and scores for “The Sting,” “Sophie’s Choice” and the Broadway juggernaut “A Chorus Line” — made him the go-to composer and performer for film, Broadway, every U.S. president since Ronald Reagan and concert halls worldwide.

In the first film biography about Hamlisch, award-winning filmmaker and four-time Tony Award-winning Broadway producer Dori Berinstein presents a deeply personal, insider portrait of one of the greatest artists of our time. Candid new interviews include wife Terre Blair Hamlisch, Barbra Streisand, Steven Soderbergh, Carly Simon, Quincy Jones, Christopher Walken, Sir Tim Rice, Joe Torre Allen, John Lithgow, Lucie Arnaz, Ann-Margret, Sir Howard Stringer, Kelli O’Hara, Brian D’Arcy James, Idina Menzel, Melissa Manchester, songwriter Carole Bayer Sager, and many others.

“Marvin Hamlisch was a consummate artist: gifted, creative, and personable. His music is part of the essential soundtrack to so many of our lives,” said Susan Lacy, creator and executive producer of “American Masters.”

“Marvin’s astounding musical genius was certainly breathtaking, but it was his irrepressible joy for life and his unending generosity that constantly had me in awe. What a tremendous honor and challenge to capture the magic of this singular sensation,” said Berinstein, who was friends with Hamlisch and collaborated with him on a new Broadway musical before his death. She is working to finish the musical, which will feature his final score.

A musical prodigy accepted to Juilliard at age 6, Hamlisch defied classical expectations to create his own music, dedicating his talents to musical theater and pop music composition. By age 31, he achieved unprecedented success and honors with a string of smash hits, and then his streak ended.

Faced with overwhelming pressure and sky-high expectations to repeat his hits, Hamlisch fell into a self-described “period of suffocating despair,” before rebounding to find true love worthy of a Broadway musical and renewed passion for creation.

“Marvin Hamlisch: What He Did for Love” reveals the events that led to both his staggering success and, ultimately, his even greater humanity: his creative process, struggles, inner turmoil and breakthroughs.

GRANDPARENTS CIRCLE — Jewish grandparents whose grandchildren are being raised in intermarried households can play a big role in shaping the Jewish identities of their grandchildren. If you’re such a grandparent, you are not in this alone.

To talk it out with your peers, and to address the challenges and opportunities of being a Jewish grandparent of children being raised in interfaith families, join the free Grandparents Circle email listserve at www.GrandparentsCircle.org. The Grandparents Circle welcome your voice in the conversation!

MORE SIGNATURES NEEDED — It has come to my attention that the Cohen family of Houston is facing a battle none of us should have to go through. Their 6-year-old son Refael Elish is battling aggressive brain cancer. Having recently received the devastating news from their doctors that “there is nothing more we can do for him,” the Cohens are turning to a last resort — Antineoplaston Therapy at the Burzyinski Clinic. However, the FDA pulled their approval for this treatment in 2012 pending further clinical trials. We are told that the FDA is nearing approval to resume this treatment, but Refael Elisha does not have time to wait.

The FDA has the power to approve a “compassionate use exemption” so Refael Elisha can undergo this therapy to try and save his life. One way to support Refael Elisha is by signing the petition asking the FDA to grant this exemption so he can continue to fight for his life. For more information visit https://petitions.whitehouse.gov/petition/authorize-fda-grant-compassionate-use-exemption-refael-elisha-cohen-antineoplaston-therapy/BVSP1ZkW.

On the eve of the eighth night of Chanukah, Chabad of Kansas hosted the first ever Chanukah Celebration at the Kansas State Capitol. Gov. Sam Brownback, Secretary of Labor Lana Gordon, who is originally from the Kansas City area and still has family here, and other elected officials attended.

Those attending the celebration included a broad representation of members of the Jewish communities across the state of Kansas, including the greater Kansas City area, Lawrence, Topeka, Wichita and other areas across Kansas. Two busses — one from Overland Park and another from Lawrence — transported people to Topeka from the Chabad House Center and students from KU Chabad.

This event was sponsored by Chabad Lubavitch of Kansas and was among the many different Chanukah programs Chabad offered in the region, promoting holiday awareness and reaching thousands during this eight day holiday.

The event began as Rabbi Zalman Tiechtel, the director of Chabad at KU, spoke about the significance of this occasion, as the Kansas governor joins a select group of governors from across the United States who have lit Chanukah menorahs at their respective state capitol buildings. He mentioned that the role of the governor is like the shamash on the menorah, being a public servant, one who serves others and dedicates his life to improving the lives of the citizens of Kansas. Rabbi Tiechtel also alluded to the recent quadruple homicide in the capital city and encouraged people to “put aside some of the darkness” that has occurred here and elsewhere.

“Let’s put aside some of the challenges we’ve been experiencing in the world at large, and let’s pledge together to do our part to light up the world starting with these eight candles here tonight,” he said.

Gordon then introduced the governor, remarking how although this is the fifth year Chabad brought the joy of Chanukah to the State Capitol, it is the first time this event was taking place in the Capitol building itself. She reflected on how beautiful it was to meet so many different people of all walks of life who have joined together to celebrate this special holiday at the Capitol this year.

Addressing the crowd, Gov. Brownback welcomed the Jewish people, saying they are a wonderful group and unfortunately persecuted in many places. He told the audience that in Kansas “you’re not going to struggle” as the state believes in the motto, “In God We Trust.” He praised the Jewish people for carrying their monotheistic faith since it was handed to them by Abraham.

“I want you to feel welcome in Kansas,” Brownback said. “I consider it a great honor to have all of you here at the capitol.”

Rabbi Mendy Wineberg of Chabad House Center of KC shared a holiday message about the importance of recognizing that each one of us has the power to be a lamplighter by increasing in acts of goodness and kindness to make this world a better place. Rabbi Wineberg then presented the governor with a Chanukah gift on behalf of all the Jewish communities across the state — a signed book on Jewish wisdom and a framed picture of the governor lighting the Menorah at a previous Chanukah celebration.

Cantor Joseph Kagan of Miami — accompanied by violinist Avery Parkhust, a KU freshman and 2013 Hyman Brand Hebrew Academy graduate — led the crowd in singing the menorah blessings. Gov. Brownback kindled the shamash and eight people representing various Jewish communities from across Kansas each lit one candle.

Among the lamplighters during this celebration was special guest Lt. Col. Moran Omer of the Israel Defense Forces, who lit a candle along with his young son. Army specialist Eliezer Goldblatt of 1st Infantry division in Fort Riley also lit a candle. Various rabbis and lay leaders from across the state participated in the kindling of the remaining candles.

The event concluded with live Chanukah music as all enjoyed hot latkes with sufganiot, chocolate gelt, dreidels and Chanukah treats.

The event received major news coverage, from the Associated Press to many local affiliate channels in Topeka.

“Having the celebration of this important holiday at the state capitol is a great boost of Jewish pride for the Jews of Kansas” remarked Rabbi Mendy Wineberg of Chabad of KC. “Unlike other Jewish holidays that are celebrated in the home or synagogue, an important aspect of Chanukah is to spread the light and share the miracle by having large public menorah lightings.”

The Chanukah at the Capitol event was sponsored by Miles and Paula Schnaer of Crown Automotive in Lawrence, Liberty Fruit company and Jay Marjorie Robinow.

John and Mary, a Jewish couple in their mid-50s, recently moved to Kansas City. John has extreme back pain and can barely walk. While he’s in the process of applying for disability, he’s been told it takes a very long time to receive benefits — up to 18 months. They live in a very bad neighborhood with his wife managing the property in exchange for rent. As manager, she has to be there all the time and can’t leave to look for another job. John is unable to work due to his condition, leaving the couple without any income. However, thanks to the Chesed Fund of the Jewish Federation of Greater Kansas City, John and Mary are able to maintain their utilities, receive food and get assistance for John’s wheelchair, providing him with some mobility. If it weren’t for the help of the Chesed Fund, John and Mary would be homeless.

John and Mary are among dozens of people in our community who have been helped by this remarkable fund. The Chesed Fund was established by the Jewish Federation of Greater Kansas City in 2007 due to an increasing need by people who faced chronic financial challenges. The fund helps Jewish residents living in the five counties of Greater Kansas City whose situation is unlikely to change or will not improve with one-time emergency assistance. The Chesed Fund helps senior émigrés living on a fixed income, as well as individuals who have lost their jobs and cannot find another position. It provides assistance for people facing catastrophic medical challenges that prevent them from working and those with mental health challenges who will never be able to hold a permanent job.

The Chesed Fund was established with a $50,000 grant from the Menorah Legacy Foundation, which continues to fund the assistance program. Since that time, the Chesed Fund has received support from funds at the Jewish Community Foundation of Greater Kansas City, the Jewish Federation, private foundations and individual contributors. The fund is administered by the Jewish Federation, in partnership with Jewish Family Services, which works directly with clients.

Now the Chesed Fund needs YOUR help. Demand for financial assistance is up; in its first year 11 people received assistance totaling just over $7,100. This year, through October, $158,514 was distributed helping 117 individuals/families.

“The Jewish Federation has identified safety net services as its highest priority,” said Shari Stimetz, Jewish Federation assistant executive director. “I can think of no higher purpose we have than to help those in need. By contributing to the Chesed Fund, you are assisting the most vulnerable in our community with dignity.”

To donate directly to the Chesed Fund, contact Stimetz at 913-327-8102, or , or donate online at www.jewishkansascity.org.

Jonathan Edelman is one of two Clark University students who is focusing his camera lens on faces around campus for a new project, Humans of Clark (HoC). Along with friend Nainika Grover of Brookline, Mass., the two sophomores are sharing snapshots of students and other members of the Clark community, along with quotes from spontaneous conversations, on a Facebook page that aims to “portray the characters and personalities of Clark University.”

Humans of Clark was inspired by Brandon Stanton’s popular photo series, Humans of New York (HoNY), which shares stories of strangers living in New York City with nearly 1 million followers on Facebook and Tumblr. The images are accompanied by brief captions or a few poignant words or sentences about the subject.

HoC founders Grover and Edelman discovered a mutual affinity for HoNY and decided to apply the formula on the Clark campus, believing their project had the potential to bring the campus closer together as a community.

“We wanted to adapt this here because we wanted the community to be able to know the various faces and stories of Clark,” wrote Grover. “A lot of the time we only recognize students by face, but we never know their stories.”

In an article sophomore Tessa Isis-Bahoosh wrote for The Scarlet (the student newspaper), she attributed HoC’s success to a combination of “the willingness of the community, the nature of social media, and the genuine interest with which the photographers approach their potential subjects.”

Edelman, a graduate of Hyman Brand Hebrew Academy, a member of Congregation Beth Shalom and the son of Alan and Debbie Sosland-Edelman, agreed, saying he found Clarkies to be approachable and comfortable sharing their stories.

“I’ve come up to people who I’ve never met before or sometimes even never seen before on campus and not only do I ask to photograph them, which I think is a really personal thing, then I ask them all these personal questions. I’m really enjoying the fact that they are so comfortable opening up to me just because I’m another Clark student. That means a lot to me,” Edelman said.

Edelman said the questions he and Grover ask are very personal.

“I usually start by asking them if they have a favorite memory from childhood. We always ask something that’s outside the Clark environment, something that we normally wouldn’t know about a person,” said Edelman, who is majoring in communications with a concentration in Holocaust and genocide studies.

“If a person is shy and doesn’t just start talking, I may ask what is the happiest moment of your life or what was the scariest moment or your life or what’s one piece of advice you’d give to your middle school self. These are just questions to get people going,” he continued. “Then people start opening up and get really comfortable answering questions.”

Since Sept. 8, Edelman and Grover have published more than 80 photographs of various members of the Clark community along with a personal reflection about his/her profession, personal goal, proudest moment or friend. Clark Political Science professor Ora Szekely’s photo is accompanied by a comment about the compassion she experienced while in Jordan during the 9/11 attacks; a more recent, lighthearted entry features a student who writes about wearing her St. Louis Cardinals’ jersey in Red Sox Nation. Stories that accompany HoC photographs range from whimsical to sentimental and profound (a student who survived cancer expressed the feeling of being “born again” after being released from the hospital).

As an example, one student answered the question “What would you tell your middle school self?” by saying, “Make sure you like yourself … cause if you don’t like yourself, you don’t have anything.”

One thing you won’t find on the HoC Facebook page, or on the website when it gets up and running, is a photo and profile of Edelman.

“When people ask to take pictures of me I always say I prefer to stay behind the camera. I really don’t like being photographed,” he said. “But I think I am comfortable enough with the Clark community that I would be willing to talk about something like that if someone else was doing the project and stopped and asked me.”

In a little more than three months, the HoC page has garnered more than 1,550 likes, and it is believed that the page has been viewed in more than 20 countries and shared by people around the world in 18 languages. Edelman hopes the project will continue for quite a long time.

“We’re never going to run out of students, we get 500 or 600 new students each year. My hope is that I’ll continue working on it through the rest of my years at Clark.”

“Nainika and I talked about how we hope to pass it down to someone else when we graduate,” he added. “We recently got a grant to set up a website for those who don’t have Facebook and we have the domain name for three years. The only reason we only have the name for three years is because it’s up to whoever runs Humans of Clark next to decide what to do with it.”

Jewish Chronicle editor Barbara Bayer and Clark student Dan Deutsch contributed to this story, which was originally published on the Clark University news blog.

After suffering a stroke, undergoing surgery and spending nearly a month in a Nebraska rehabilitation facility, 16-year-old Blake Ephraim returned home Friday, Dec. 6. Excited to see the friends and the community who prayed for her, raised money for medical bills and provided support for her family, Blake and her mother, Lisa Wilcox, planned to visit her school and her religious community.

First, Blake surprised her Olathe South high school cheerleading squad during their last practice before competition. Also on the schedule was a visit to Congregation Beth Torah.

When Blake walked into the Beth Torah sanctuary Sunday morning during family worship, the congregation stopped with prayers and stood to welcome Blake with the joyous singing of Shalom Aleichem (peace be upon you). Smiling ear-to-ear, Blake and her mother sat in the fourth row. Throughout the service, friends migrated to be close to the teenager.

Following worship, Blake stayed to visit for several hours. Seen throughout the building, everyone was wearing blue #TeamBlake/BEStrong (BE for Blake Ephraim) bracelets. Blake’s friends, from all backgrounds, joined together to sell the bracelets in order to raise money to help with medical bills.

Rabbi Rebecca Reice, who sat with Blake in the ulam (lobby) said: “She spoke slowly, and she has an arduous journey ahead of her. But it was an amazing reunion.”

While at Beth Torah, Blake’s older brother, Alex came in from Lawrence, where he is a student at KU, to surprise his sister.

The congregation sponsored several activities in response to requests from the family for support. For two weeks, every hour of every day, members took turns praying for a refuah shlema, a full and complete recovery. Members signed up to provide meals for the family; a member who owns a cleaning company volunteered to clean their house during the holiday season; rabbis visited the family often and many volunteers supported Blake’s sixth-grade sister Chloe.

The family hopes that Blake will return to school in January following surgery to replace the section of her skull that was removed during her immediate recovery from the stroke. Blake will continue outpatient therapy at a local hospital.

To follow Blake’s road to recovery, join Caring Bridge at http://www.caringbridge.org/visit/blakeephraim.

GO BENNY! — Early this soccer season, just before Jewish Heritage Day, The Chronicle featured Sporting Kansas City’s midfielder Benny Feilhaber. Last weekend, on the coldest day ever recorded for an MLS championship game, the team captured the MLS Cup. Team officials tell us Feilhaber contributed three goals and six assists in MLS competition during his first season with Sporting Kansas City in 2013. He also scored the team’s Goal of the Year in August and during the playoffs he converted a penalty kick in the MLS Cup shootout and provided the series-winning assists in both the Eastern Conference Semifinals and Eastern Conference Championship. Mazel tov to Feilhaber and his Sporting KC teammates on bringing the MLS championship back to Kansas City for the first time since 2000!

COLLOSSAL COMPUTER CRASH — Technology is wonderful but when things don’t work right, it can create havoc. My computer and I came to a parting of the ways last week and I am currently trying to re-create my advanced calendar of events and story ideas. You might call it my Chronicle bible and any help you can give me to build it back up will be greatly appreciated. If you think you sent me a story idea or an event that is happening in the next few months or even any time in 2014, please email me or call me again with all the pertinent details including times, dates and contact information. You can contact me at 913-951-8425 or .

LOOKING FOR Y2I ALUMNI — The Lappin Foundation is planning to engage a professional study to quantify the impact of its Youth to Israel Adventure (Y2I) on Jewish identity. The success of Y2I is of great interest to Jewish communities across the country, and in particular to philanthropists who are interested in funding the teen Israel experience.

The foundation needs to contact at least 75 percent of Y2I, also known as LGI) alumni from 1971-2007. If you know anyone who is a Y2I alum, email the names and email addresses of them to Foundation Director Deborah Coltin at or call 978-740-4410. If you know which year they participated, that would be helpful as well.

The foundation also needs names and emails of alumni of Israel teen trips who received a subsidy from the Foundation (1971-2007) for any teen Israel experience — including USY, NFTY, Young Judaea and others. These individuals will be included in the study as well.

KU CHABAD IN THE NEWS — KU Chabad has been in the news a lot lately. Rabbi Zalman Tiechtel reported that just since the beginning of Chanukah the organization has been in the news five times. The most recent is a story in the University Daily Kansan, where it reports that Mrs. E’s cafeteria is now serving kosher meals to 50 to 100 people every Monday night according to Mark Maranell, general manager of the dining center in the newly constructed “KYou Zone.” Read more at: http://kansan.com/news/2013/12/09/ku-chabad-mrs-es-work-together-to-provide-students-with-kosher-food-options/#sthash.C9kLV8zD.dpuf.

NEW BOOK — I don’t know how we missed it last spring when K.C. area native Robert S. Kaplan published his latest book, “What You’re Really Meant to Do: A Roadmap for Defining and Achieving Your Own Success.” Kaplan is a professor of management practice at Harvard Business School and author of the popular book “What to Ask the Person in the Mirror: Critical Questions for Becoming a More Effective Leader and Reaching Your Potential” (2011). In his new book, Kaplan provides a much-needed road map for redefining success and reaching your own unique potential. Analogous to his guidance on leadership, this quest also requires a process, a high level of motivation, and a lot of hard work. In the book, Kaplan proposes a tough discipline of specific steps and exercises to help you take control of your career, understand yourself far more deeply, and build your capabilities in a way that fits your passions and aspirations. In “Reaching Your Potential,” he draws on hundreds of real-life experiences in helping people achieve their aspirations and rethink their approach to career and life development. Look for it at major bookstores and online.

Over the past several years Jewish Family Services has established several programs to help older adults in the Jewish community maintain their independence. Now JFS is changing the scope, focus and name of the Jewish Senior Network — a program established by the Jewish Federation in 2001 which assists Jewish older adults and those with disabilities to live with dignity and autonomy in their own homes and communities — to better serve the needs of seniors in the community.

JSN, which has been run by JFS for the past several years and serves approximately 350 individuals, will now be called Care Management. Its main mission will continue to be to help older adults live in their own homes with as much independence as possible. Professional care managers, who will be social workers trained in working with senior adults, will help Care Management clients navigate the challenges of aging by providing connections to support and resources. Another goal of the revised program is to reduce admission to more acute levels of care including hospitals, assisted living facilities and skilled nursing facilities.

“Care Management will now be a core part of all those other services. In a lot of ways it’s a thread to help connect you from one program to another,” said Don Goldman, JFS executive director and CEO.

“Maybe you’re in one program such as JET Express or Help@Home and you think you need another as well. Or you are in one of our other programs and you’re having trouble thriving. Now we have a program to help you figure out if there is a program inside or outside JFS that you need to access.”

“If it turns out home is not the right answer for them, we help them with the transition as well,” Goldman continued.

As early as the end of this week, current JSN participants will receive a letter explaining the name change and alterations in services. Two of the most noticeable changes will be an increased number of care managers and a change in the way financial subsidies are doled out.

In January of this year, JFS piloted a new program by the same name. The pilot was led by Laura Gilman, who holds a master’s degree in social work and worked in both hospice and hospital settings before joining JFS.

“The pilot program, funded by the Gould Charitable Foundation, was for older adults outside the Jewish community who were struggling to navigate the challenges of aging,” Goldman said.

“The trial really was both to expand our services beyond the Jewish community in that area and also to investigate a modern, up-to-date outcome-based program because the JSN program was developed 13-14 years ago and needed some updating,” Goldman continued.

Goldman said the two programs — the trial program for the general community and the program for the Jewish community — will be merged and use the same staff. However they continue to be funded separately. The Jewish program will be funded by Jewish Heritage Foundation, Jewish Federation of Greater Kansas City, Menorah Legacy Foundation and Jewish Community Foundation.

Beefing up the program

Richard Odiam, LCSW, LSCSW, JFS director of clinical services, said the old JSN was more of a crisis management service because it was so large relative to the amount of staff assigned to it. Since 2007 JSN grew from approximately 150 clients to more than 350 clients now.

While the number of participants grew, the staffing for the program did not. Clients were receiving assistance, but their care was not being efficiently managed. For example, Goldman explained that in most cases a care manager was not able to figure out if the money being spent by JSN on a client was being spent on things the client actually needed to live independently.

“So the type of support that Laura has been able to give to those in the pilot program is much more ongoing and effective. She’s visiting them often, checking in with them, getting them resources and following up to make sure the resources are being taken advantage of. On the JSN side, we haven’t had staffing to do that and that’s what we want to do now,” Goldman said.

Implementing the change

Odiam said the next year will be a transition year for Care Management. Right now there are only 1.5 full-time equivalent staff members assigned to the program, meaning the care manager to patient ratio is about 1 to 200.

“Our reach has been broad but not very deep. We are looking at changing that with a deeper and more strategic engagement with the clients that we work with,” Odiam explained.

JFS plans to hire three additional care workers, two at the beginning of the year and one toward the end of 2014 or early 2015. That should make the case load more manageable with one care manager for every 50 clients.

“The intention is for care managers to be much more actively engaged with clients and be able to do more comprehensive assessments and develop more strategic plans to help them with the support and resources needed to live at home for as long as possible,” Odiam said.

Throughout 2014, care managers will meet with every one of its JSN clients to better assess their situation and transition them into the new Care Management program.

“We’re going to start with the most complex situations first,” Odiam said.

“We think these people can really use the support we haven’t been able to provide and we want to evaluate to see if they are in the right situation and how we can help,” Goldman added

Odiam explained that a care worker will complete a psychosocial and financial assessment of the client, and then initiate a service plan based on the client’s goals. He estimates services will be provided for three to six months to make sure supports are in place and goals planned together are achieved.

“Then we will taper off our services,” he said.

The pilot program using this model has been well accepted. Odiam reports that clients have reported the care management services have helped them navigate the complicated Medicaid system, reduce worry over their health and increase their ability to manage healthcare needs.

Reduced reliance on subsidies

A big change in the program will be how JFS provides financial assistance to Care Management clients. Up until now clients have been reimbursed for a portion of eligible medical expenses.

“This has grown a lot and become very expensive. It’s also a really passive system in the sense that it’s not something that’s planned together with a care manager around addressing specific needs,” Odiam said.

“We will still have financial assistance available through the program but now we will be much more individualized and targeted to leverage a particular outcome for a client,” he continued.

Explaining further, Odiam said that money can be given for something like shoe orthotics or a large ticket item such as a chair stair life that can help a client continue to live in a two-story home.

Care managers will also know where to find other subsidies, such as public entitlements or community resources, for clients.

“For example we will help someone get Medicaid services, which is not easy to navigate even for our care managers and just make sure they get all the forms and all the information they need and know what to do to re-up and stay active,” he explained.

JFS is also planning to add a volunteer component to the program.

“The role of volunteers will be critical. One area in which they can be helpful is that it can be really difficult for case managers to back out of a client’s life because often clients are really isolated and lonely. Having the option to have a friendly visitor engage with the client frees the case manager up to focus their efforts on another client,” Odiam said.

Goldman added that a trained friendly visitor volunteer still provides JFS with someone who can keep an eye out on the client if other needs arise, at which time the care manager will step back in to re-assess the situation.

“It they are a Help@Home member or a JET Express member, we also have a link to them. We try to create multiple ways to reach out and have links to clients that don’t need intensive support from our care managers,” Goldman said.

Right now Care Management is a completely free program. Plans call for that to change down the road as well, most likely sometime in late 2014 or early 2015.

“There are people who have means and as we raise the level of service we will move this to the same model of our other services, which means the services will be provided on a sliding scale. That means the people who do have means will get the same great service and they will help support the program,” Goldman said.

Goldman said the JSN program with 350 clients is larger than another program of its kind “that we know of” in the Kansas City community.

“It’s an area where the Jewish community is ahead of the curve,” Goldman said.