SAFE IN MOORE — Things could have been disastrous for K.C. area native Aaron Elyachar, who works in Oklahoma City and lives in Moore, Okla. His mother Gloria Elyachar reports that the tornado touched down about 500 yards north of his apartment building last Monday, May 20. Thankfully he was at work at the time, so he wasn’t in the path of the tornado. His apartment wasn’t damaged either, but he wasn’t allowed to get any of his things from his apartment until late Wednesday and he still wasn’t allowed to stay there until Friday night. He works in commercial real estate and moved to Oklahoma 11 months ago. The Jewish Federation of Greater Kansas City is still accepting donations for tornado victims. Donations may be made via the website, www.jewishkansascity.org or by calling 913-327-8123. Checks may be sent to Jewish Federation of Greater Kansas City, 5801 W. 115th Street, Suite 201, Overland Park, KS 66211, Attn: Oklahoma Tornado Relief Fund.
KUDOS TO VILLAGE SHALOM — Village Shalom is featured not once but twice in a special section on “Aging” published in the May 24 issue of The Forward. Perhaps the oldest and best-known national Jewish newspaper in America, The Forward highlights Village Shalom’s long-running Torah Portion Art Therapy, led by art therapist Sherri Jacobs, and Mitzvah Garden, run by Ken Sonnenschein, as two of “America’s 7 Best Aging Programs” for Jewish seniors. The Forward dubbed Sonnenschein “a psychologist by weekday and farmer by weekend” but he is in fact a psychiatrist.
The continuing-care retirement community is the only organization to merit dual recognition in the article. Among the sponsors of the programs deemed the “seven best,” Village Shalom also is the only one located in the nation’s interior and not within the Jewish-population corridors along the East and West coasts.
The article appears in the print edition of The Forward as well as online at http://forward.com/articles/176704/americas--best-aging-programs/.
EVERYBODY LOVES A SALE — Congregation Beth Shalom is getting rid of the contents in its old building on Wornall. Executive Director Elaine Levine tells us that the public is welcome at a Wornall Open House Sale conducted by Busy Beever Sales, which begins on June 4. The congregation will try to dispose of the remaining items that it could not take to the Lamar site, including dishes of all sizes and prints, children’s desks, tables, pews, couches, odd chairs, stage lighting, stage curtains, and playground equipment. The sale ends on June 7. For more information, call Beth Shalom at 913-647-7279.
REACHING YOUR POTENTIAL — KC native, KU graduate and Harvard professor Robert S. Kaplan has recently published a second book, “What You’re Really Meant To Do: A Road Map for Reaching Your Unique Potential” (Harvard Business Review Press, 2013). Drawing on his years of experience, Kaplan proposes an integrated plan for identifying and achieving your goals. He outlines specific steps and exercises to help you understand yourself more deeply, take control of your career, and build your capabilities in a way that fits your passions and aspirations. The book discusses the critical issues you need to address in order to reimagine your future and achieve your dreams. We wrote about Kaplan in late 2011 after he published his first book, “What to Ask the Person in the Mirror: Critical Questions for Becoming a More Effective Leader and Reaching Your Potential” (Harvard Business Review Press, 2011). You can watch a short video interview with Kaplan about his book by visiting http://bigthink.com/users/robertskaplan. Kaplan, the son of Florence and the late Meyer Kaplan, is the Martin Marshall Professor of Management Practice in Business Administration and senior associate dean for external relations. He is also co-chairman of Draper Richards Kaplan Foundation, a global venture philanthropy firm, as well as chairman and a founding partner of Indaba Capital Management LLC.
