Giving

“Tonight we’ve heard from a small Jew, a medium-sized Jew, and now we’re about to hear from the world’s biggest Jew,” comedian Ray Romano cracked to an auditorium full of Hollywood bigwigs.

Noble goals are not always enough to sustain a nonprofit, and ideas lose momentum when the realities of money and practicality come into play. The road to a failed nonprofit is paved with good intentions, to paraphrase the axiom.

Jason Ramin is eagerly waiting to be matched to a Little Brother by Jewish Big Brothers Big Sisters of Los Angeles. The 24-year-old marketing consultant and Beverly Hills resident envisions taking his Little Brother to Magic Mountain, to the movie theater or just hanging out, providing him with a positive male role model.

I think I may have hit a new low. It felt as if I was channeling my parents as I heard myself complaining about how I miss the “good old days” — when people actually wrote me letters and cards, rather than texting me on my cell or sending online evites to parties and events. Call me old fashioned, but there’s something nice about opening up a letter and reading a handwritten note from a friend. Nowadays, the only thing that fills my mailbox are bills and a host of requests for donations from organizations in need of help.

Pamela Saeks thought her daughter Karly, who has Asperger’s syndrome, would never be able to go on Birthright Israel, the program that offers Diaspora Jews free trips to Israel.

At the General Assembly of The Jewish Federations of North America earlier this month, Jerry Silverman was the main story, given that this was his first such meeting since he took over as CEO of the umbrella organization last September.