Rylee Hendrikse is taking big steps these days. On May 20 she donned mortarboard and gown and walked the stage as a graduating senior at Olathe South High School. Next weekend she steps out as the “Honored Hero” in Kansas City Take Steps Walk for the Crohn’s & Colitis Foundation (CCF).
Big steps, indeed, especially considering the challenges, pain and courage those steps represent.
Some people follow straight paths in pursuit of purpose and fulfillment. Award-winning artist Lynn Rae Lowe is not one of them.
Lowe’s achievements over a lifetime reveal a joyful and enthusiastic embrace of possibilities beckoning across creative disciplines. Her latest endeavor is a series of two- and three- dimensional renderings of the Hebrew alphabet being exhibited at the Jewish Community Center on the Jewish Community Campus.
The exhibition and sale is entitled Illuminations: Aleph to Tav, referring to the “aleph-bet’s” first and last letters.
The public opening is from 4-6 p.m., Sunday, June 3.
Chef John Schmidt cooked up a storm as a semifinalist in a national “Food Fight” competition on May 23 in Buffalo, New York. He received high marks from the judges but not enough to qualify for the final round.
Schmidt, an executive chef for Morrison Community Living, runs the kitchen at Village Shalom, crafting meals for residents living at the Overland Park Continuing Care Retirement Community.
The Jewish Community Foundation recently launched is newly redesigned website, jcfkc.org. The new website features a user-friendly, streamlined design and contains comprehensive information to help donors of all ages and life stages give smarter and increase their charitable impact.
The redesigned site contains enhanced content focused on the Foundation’s mission to promote the practice of tzedakah (charity) and the pursuit of tikkun olam (repairing the world) by serving. The Foundation serves as an advocate for planned giving and the central resource for personalized charitable funds for individuals, families and organizations in the community.
When Shanny and Eric Morgenstern founded Morningstar Communications in 1997 there was no social media, the internet was an infant and smart phones were still more than a decade away.
The communications industry has transformed and so has their business. Today, Morningstar Communications is a consulting firm after evolving from a full-service strategic communications and marketing agency.
Eric Morgenstern will lead all client engagements with help from Shanny and “The Morningstar Communications Constellation,” a collection of independent communications professionals.
“It’s a privilege to help smart, successful people grow and strengthen their business as we provide presentation coaching and training, strategic communications consulting and executive counsel,” said Morgenstern, the company CEO.
Morgenstern provides clients with executive-level strategic consulting, mentoring and coaching. He is a frequent speaker and recognized thought leader. Morgenstern also facilitates strategy sessions, delivers keynotes and breakouts, moderates and emcees events.
“Eric and his team have served as an essential and effective extension of our in-house marketing team for over 15 years,” said Martin Mini, CMO and senior vice president of Kansas City Area Development Council (KCADC). “From messaging strategy to speaker coaching and change communications, Eric ensures we always maximize the impact of KCADC’s brand and the KC region’s good news.”
Morgenstern said companies and organizations tend to implement most tactical communications with internal resources while they seek executive-level strategic guidance.
“This is a tremendous opportunity for me to do what I got into this business 40 years ago to do,” said Morgenstern. “I love to help leaders clarify their message, connect with the people who matter most and change attitudes and behaviors.”
Both Morgensterns are longtime community leaders and volunteers. The couple currently serves as co-chairs of this year’s JCC Superstar fundraiser. Both are former board members and officers of the Jewish Community Center and the Jewish Federation.
Shanny Morgenstern currently serves as vice-chair for The J and is on the finance committee for the Jewish Federation.
Eric Morgenstern has served on the boards of Midwest Center for Holocaust Education (MCHE) and the Jewish Community Foundation. He currently serves as the communications chair for KC Rising and is on the board of Turn The Page KC, as well as the advisory boards for the KU Journalism School IMC Master’s program and KU J-School Generations. He previously served on the board of The KC Chamber.
The Morgensterns are longtime members of Congregation Beth Torah.
VOLUNTARY CHAPLAINS — Five local members of the clergy, including Congregation Ohev Sholom’s Rabbi Scott White, are volunteering their time to serve the Prairie Village Police Department. They will be lending an ear to officers who put themselves at risk every day. Whether it’s behind the wheel in a patrol car or responding to a disturbance, officers often deal with escalating situations and stress.
The new Chaplain Program of the Prairie Village Police Department offers resources to its officers and staff, which can benefit them in numerous ways. The main goal for the chaplains is to be a resource to the officers, staff and their family members.
SODASTREAM CELEBRATES ISRAEL AT 70 — SodaStream is celebrating Israel’s 70th anniversary with three limited-edition 1-litre carbonating bottles. The bottles feature two Israeli prime ministers and the founder of Zionism. The special three-bottle kit contains:
Golda Meir — The first and only female prime minister of Israel
David Ben Gurion — Israel’s first prime minister
Binyamin Ze’ev Herzl — Formed the Zionist Organization and is known as the father of the State of Israel
THE IMPOSSIBLE BURGER IS NOW KOSHER (JTA) — Those who keep kosher and have been craving a cheeseburger should rejoice — the Impossible Burger, a meatless patty that has made waves for how similar it tastes to real beef, is now certified kosher and pareve.
The Orthodox Union, the United States’ largest kosher certification agency, has given the burgers its stamp of approval, its producer Impossible Foods announced May 22.
The kicker: since the burgers are made without animal products, they can be eaten with either milk or meat — including cheese — without violating Jewish law.
Impossible burgers are different from traditional veggie burgers because they are made directly from proteins and other ingredients including wheat protein, potato protein and coconut oil. The key ingredient, according to the company, is a protein called heme that gives the burgers their meaty taste and texture. They are known for “bleeding” just like a normal burger — and tasting awfully close to one as well.
The product has been a resounding success, and its parent company has raised hundreds of millions of dollars of investments.
“Getting kosher certification is an important milestone,” said Patrick O. Brown, Impossible Foods CEO and founder. “We want the Impossible Burger to be ubiquitous, and that means it must be affordable and accessible to everyone — including people who have food restrictions for religious reasons.”
Impossible Burgers are also in the process of receiving halal certification, which should come through later this year, according to the company.
The Lewis and Shirley White Theatre at The Jewish Community Center of Greater Kansas City has announced its 2018-2019 season of arts and cultural offerings.
The 14th season at The White Theatre, produced by The J’s Arts + Culture Department, includes a variety of genres including well-known Broadway musicals, a Tony-Award-winning play, world-renowned artists in both music and dance and The J’s Artist-in-Residence, the Kinnor Philharmonic.
Jerry Temple, 72, of Dallas and Dr. Marvin Goldstein, 84, of Kansas City are first cousins. Like cousins everywhere, they occasionally see each other at family weddings and funerals.
But, unlike most, these cousins have a unique and special bond dating back to the Vietnam War. They connected last month in Dr. Goldstein’s Kansas City home but not as part of a typical family gathering. This was their time.
HE WON AN EMMY — CBS’ “The Talk” recently won the coveted Outstanding Entertainment Talk Show Emmy at the 45th annual Daytime Emmys. As the show’s social media producer, Jordy Altman attended the Emmys and got to walk on stage with all the other on-air talent and producers to accept the award. While it was strictly a fun evening for most, Altman had to fit some work in as well, sharing content of the event — and the big win — on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram. Sometime soon he will receive an Emmy statue for his work but didn’t get to take one home that night. Always a jokester, he said, “Once it arrives you know I’ll be wearing it around my neck.” Altman grew up a member of Congregation Beth Torah and is the son of Julie and Ron Altman.
CHARITY NAVIGATOR GIVES JFS 4-STAR RATING — For the fifth consecutive year, Jewish Family Services has earned a 4-Star Rating from Charity Navigator. Only 9 percent of the charities evaluated have sustained at least five consecutive 4-star evaluations, placing JFS in a small category of organizations consistently performing to exceptional standards.
Charity Navigator bases its ratings on financial health and commitment to accountability and transparency. Receiving four stars indicates JFS adheres to good governance and fiscal practices. In its monthly newsletter JFS announced, “We are proud of this designation and will continue to demonstrate sound management and accountability in fulfilling the JFS mission. Thank you for trusting us with your donations, volunteer time and support!”
KU A TOP 10 COLLEGE FOR JEWISH STUDENTS — The University of Kansas was listed as the ninth best school for Jewish students in The Algemeiner’s 2nd Annual List of the Most Friendly North American Campuses for Jewish Students. This is what it has to say about KU:
“The University of Kansas does not have many professors who openly support BDS, nor major anti-Semitic incidents or active anti-Zionist groups on campus. Jewish life, on the other hand, is thriving: the school has some 1,500 Jewish students, and an active Chabad, AEPi, and Zeta Beta Tau. The Hillel hosts Happy Hour Shabbats and partners with Birthright to send nearly 40 Jewish students to Israel each year. There are also multiple options for faculty-led and student-initiated study abroad programs in Israel. KU opened a kosher kitchen at a campus dining hall in February, while the basketball stadium even has its own “Kosher Korner” for observant Jayhawks. (Photo credit: Wikipedia.)
Algemeiner left out KU’s Jewish sorority, Sigma Delta Tau, and the fact the university has a Jewish studies program and recently established a major in Jewish studies. The top colleges in Algemeiner’s top 40 are, in order: Touro College; Tulane University; Yeshiva University; Queens College, City University of New York; Emory University; Baruch College, City University of New York; Brandeis University; Binghamton University, State University of New York; Kansas and Johns Hopkins University.
To see the entire list, visit algemeiner.com.
Mohammed Al Samawi arrived in the United States almost three years ago.
But the journey it took to get from his native Yemen to San Francisco is the stuff movies are made of — which is good for him, since his memoir, “The Fox Hunt,” has already been acquired for a motion picture.
Al Samawi will be sharing his story while making a visit to Kansas City. Al Samawi will be speaking at 7 p.m. on Tuesday, May 29, in the Lewis & Shirley White Theatre at the Jewish Community Campus. His appearance is sponsored by the Jewish Community Relations Bureau|American-Jewish Committee. The presentation is free and open to the public.
Growing up Muslim in Yemen’s capital of Sana’a, Al Samawi shifted from believing Jews and Christians were his enemy to kindling an interest in interfaith work, and then receiving terrifying death threats online and by phone. He fled from his home to Aden, which would become the heart of a sectional civil war. By using social media, Al Samari found his way out of the country with just the clothes on his back.
Al Samawi was reluctant to share his story when he first came to the United States.
“I wanted to live another life where I don’t think anything about it, so my biggest dream was working with Starbucks and I thought to myself, ‘This is the life I want to have,’” he said. “But the more I was telling the story, the more people were inspired and the more people were affected.”
Writing “The Fox Hunt” provided an outlet for Al Samawi to explore his feelings. He had been having trouble sleeping and had a fear of beards because they reminded him of the men who could have killed him. Writing the book, Al Samawi said, was good “therapy.”
Al Samawi’s interest in interfaith work started when he was 23 and received a Bible from a teacher from England he met, who swapped it for a Quran.
“When I was first reading the Bible, I was trying to find mistakes,” Al Samawi said. “I was trying to find things I can say, ‘Aha! My book, Quran, is much better than this book.’ That was the first thing I was looking for. But then I discovered something else.”
His interfaith passion is also strongly tied with social media. Facebook came to Al Samawi’s aid when he most needed it. Indeed, Facebook connections literally saved his life.
“When I first tried to use Facebook, I was trying to reach Jews, to ask questions about why do you hate us and why do you want to kill us,” Al Samari said.
“Facebook was the first window for me that I can see the other world, I can hear the other world,” he said. “And also on the other hand, Facebook is the window that opened the faith activities I was doing. I was doing faith activities online and then from Facebook also I asked people to help me out.”
Al Samari went to interfaith summits and conferences — including AJC’s Muslim Jewish Conference in Bosnia — and made connections online from those events. Those connections aided him as he sought help while trapped in his apartment in war-torn Aden.
For Al Samari, the key to everything he’s been through is having faith all will work out in the end.
Al Samari has not returned to Yemen since he escaped, but works with organizations like nonprofit The Yemen Peace Project to educate others about the country’s ongoing and worsening war.
He hopes his story will inspire others to learn about those who are different from them and find common ground.
“Unfortunately, we live in a small circle where we only learn stereotypes,” said Al Samawi. He wants others to realize how similar Islam and Judaism are when the spotlight is removed from stereotypes and negative media attention. “I’m trying to focus now on the positive and how we can come together.”
His story serves as a reminder of the importance of helping others, said Marcia Bronstein, regional director of AJC Philadelphia/Southern New Jersey.
“When we see individuals as human beings and we look at all the things we have in common, we can see ourselves in all those people,” Bronstein said. “The struggle in Yemen is not unlike the struggle so many of our forefathers had in Europe, just trying to get out, or in the Holocaust, just trying to find safe passage. And it’s through the help and kindness of strangers who extend a hand that all of us are lifted up, and that’s what Mohammed’s story reminds us of.”
(This article originally appeared in the Jewish Exponent and is reprinted by permission.)
