Dionisio Cucuta, Jr., who responded to the devastating food insecurity brought on by the pandemic by creating a robust volunteer-based food distribution program, is the top winner of this year’s Russ Berrie Making a Difference Award. Please join us at a virtual ceremony on May 7 at 11:30 a.m. to honor Cucuta and 23 other remarkable individuals, who went above and beyond to help others overcome 2020’s challenges. We will also mark the 25th anniversary of the Award, which the late entrepreneur Russell Berrie created to honor New Jersey’s unsung heroes and, in telling their stories, inspire others to step up in similar ways. Winners receive well-deserved public recognition and cash prizes of up to $50,000.

READ ABOUT THE 2021 HONOREES

The Russell Berrie Foundation is proud to partner with the Lippman Kanfer Foundation for Living Torah, the Jim Joseph Foundation and the Charles and Lynn Schusterman Family Philanthropies to support Collecting These Times: an effort to chronicle how American Jews have experienced the pandemic. Collecting These Times’ interactive website connects Jewish and other institutions nationwide that are gathering materials that speak to life during the pandemic. The site makes it easy for people to contribute images, videos, oral histories and other materials to relevant collecting projects, and for researchers to explore the pandemic’s impact on a diverse array of American Jewish communities. “Collecting these stories now, as we are living through it, helps inform our future,” Angelica Berrie tells The Jewish Standard. “It’s a way to help communities of the future think about their own resilience.”

READ THE JEWISH STANDARD ARTICLE

“As daunting a burden as the COVID-19 pandemic is by itself, it also magnifies racial inequality and other societal fissures,” Angelica Berrie writes in a Star-Ledger guest column. “Challenging times like these can be softened by extraordinary individuals who see a need and step up.” Five years before his death, she writes, “my husband Russell Berrie created a way to salute New Jersey’s unsung heroes—everyday people who, over the course of a lifetime, or in the flash of a moment, made their neighborhood, community, state or society as a whole a better, safer, healthier place.” Nominations for the 2021 Russ Berrie Making a Difference Award are open until Feb. 12.

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Do you know an unsung hero from New Jersey who responded to the challenges of the past year by finding ways to make a difference in others’ lives? Nominations are now open for the 2021 Russ Berrie Making a Difference Award, which honors those who break down barriers, correct injustices and otherwise make New Jersey a better place to live, work and raise a family. Founded by Russ Berrie in 1997, the award includes well-deserved public recognition as well as cash prizes of $50,000, $25,000 and $7,500 for up to ten extraordinary individuals. The deadline for nominations is February 12.

NOMINATE AN UNSUNG HERO

Even as Yiddish the proverb “Man plans, God laughs” has resonated, 2020 also drove home the profound importance of thoughtful planning, conducted with a view toward the future and in close collaboration with partners on the ground, writes our CEO, Ruth Salzman. “As humans seeking to make a difference in the world, all we can do is plan,” she writes. “When we invest in initiatives that combine good planning with pragmatic and effective execution capability, our grantees are positioned to pivot with agility when the world shifts beneath our feet.”

READ THE FULL LETTER HERE

The Russell Berrie Foundation mourns the loss of our dear friend and trustee, Yossi Bachar. The first Israeli to join the Foundation's board, Yossi brought a wealth of experience leading several of Israel's most prominent institutions. As Director General of Israel's Ministry of Finance, he initiated the comprehensive reform of the Israeli capital markets that became known as the "Bachar Reform." Yossi served under three finance ministers—Netanyahu, and later Olmert and Hirchson—before becoming Chairman of Israel Discount Bank. “A man of values, Yossi earned the respect and affection of people who were fortunate enough to have experienced his warmth,” writes Angelica Berrie.

READ ANGELICA BERRIE’S FULL STATEMENT

“Sometimes the most rewarding aspect of philanthropy isn’t making grants, but making connections between our grantees—then watching how the sparks of innovation start to fly in new directions,” CEO Ruth Salzman writes in a Letter From Our CEO. “Our team takes great pleasure in our mission of identifying and supporting exceptional organizations doing groundbreaking work. When these organizations find creative opportunities to partner, their impact becomes transformative.”

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Since March, The Russell Berrie Foundation has given more than $5.2 million in emergency COVID-19 grants to organizations responding to urgent medical, economic, societal and educational needs in their communities. In this video, seven of our outstanding Israeli grantees describe how they rose to the challenge. They include changemakers like Ogen, which gives loans to non-profits, small businesses and others underserved by traditional commercial lenders, and The Azrieli Faculty of Medicine at Bar-Ilan University, which developed innovative ways for medical student volunteers to support much-needed health care delivery in the diverse communities of their region.

WATCH THE VIDEO

Israel’s Sheba Medical Center, a world leader in medical science and biotech, is partnering with Holy Name Medical Center, in Teaneck, N.J., on its latest healthcare innovation effort: the Accelerate, Redesign and Collaborate program, or ARC. It’s the latest development in a decade-long partnership that began after Angelica Berrie introduced the two RBF grantees. “Our role was to do a shidduch”—make a match—“between Holy Name and Sheba,” Berrie tells The Jewish Standard.

READ ABOUT THE PARTNERSHIP IN THE JEWISH STANDARD