“Jewish Wisdom and Wellness: A Week of Learning”
Sunday, April 26, 2015 to Sunday, May 3, 2015
Sponsored by the Kalsman Institute on Judaism and Health and Cedars-Sinai
CALL FOR PROGRAMS
OVERVIEW
The Kalsman Institute on Judaism & Health and Cedars-Sinai are excited to announce the 2015
Jewish Wisdom and Wellness: A Week of Learning. Following the success of our first 2013 Week of
Learning, this event will return starting on Sunday, April 26, 2015. This program is a communitywide series of events, lectures, workshops, and experiential classes hosted by community
organizations and synagogues throughout Los Angeles and Southern California. The week will open
and conclude with special events hosted by the Kalsman Institute and Cedars-Sinai.
As part of the week's core mission to increase community engagement and collaboration around
Judaism and health, the Kalsman Institute and Cedars-Sinai invite congregations and organizations
to develop programming to be a part of the Week of Learning, and to benefit from joint marketing
and programmatic support that will reach over 75,000 people. The selected programs will be
awarded micro-grants ranging from $100 to $1,000 to help meet program and planning needs.
Multi-organization collaborative programs may receive larger awards.
The Week of Learning is intentionally interdisciplinary, and programs will be offered across the
streams of Jewish life. It focuses on the theme of Judaism, health, and healing to raise a dialogue,
engage our communities and deepen relationships with one another. We invite programs that will
mine Jewish tradition to focus on improving health and well-being in the Jewish community. We
encourage use of rich Jewish texts and rituals to address illness and wellness, and the exploration of
how Jewish resiliency and the practice of medicine inform Jewish living. As you develop your
proposals, draw on Judaism’s distinctively multifaceted influences in religion, spirituality, culture,
and peoplehood.
CALL FOR PROGRAMS DESCRIPTION
Your organization, synagogue or collaborative is invited to submit a program to be included in the
Week of Learning. As mentioned above, programs will be awarded micro-grants ranging from
$100 to $1,000 to help meet program and planning needs. Programs that do not receive grants may
still qualify to have their programs promoted as a part of the Week of Learning to the broader
community easily reaching over 75,000 people.
Through the Jewish Wisdom and Wellness theme, we encourage you to develop or continue
programs that will attract a wide array of community members who are interested in the intersection
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of Judaism and health. This includes the lay community; healthcare professionals including
physicians, nurses, social workers, therapists, and other allied healthcare practitioners; Jewish
nonprofit professionals, educators, and artists; and spiritual care providers, such as rabbis, cantors,
and chaplains. We hope to see programs that will attract parents, youth, seniors, those who are
caretakers, those struggling with issues and conditions who want to know what Judaism has to say
about them and their lives, and more.
Potential Tracks for the Week of Learning include:
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Spirituality and Healing
Health and Wellness
Illness and End of Life Care
BioEthics and Judaism
Ability and Disability - It comes to us all
Sample Program ideas to consider:
a. Jewish solutions to our healthcare system's ailments
b. Jewish values on health, the environment and sustainability
c. What is Jewish meditation?
d. Healthy and ethical food: A challenging proposition?
e. After Mishebeirach: Addressing Chronic Health conditions
f. Jewish Genetic diseases - Do I need to worry?
g. What is Jewish Bodywork?
h. Mussar paths to healthier living
i. Developing a Chevra Kadisha
j. Coping with the loss of a child
k. Art and the heart: Healing through…
l. Saving a life; parental acceptance of Gay kids
m. Caregiving
n. Healing drum circles
o. Addiction and treatment: I didn't know that Jews…
These ideas are just a sample and you are only limited by your own imagination. We
look forward to your submissions.
GUIDELINES FOR SUBMITTING PROGRAM PROPOSALS
In this second effort for the Week of Learning, while valuable, we are not looking for a program on
how to deal with an aging family member for example that does not also have some Jewish
connection and content as we have described above.
Priority will also be given to those proposals that include how the particular event fits into the larger
overall plan of the organization and how there will be sustainability of this thread of programming,
or if this is a new thread of interest and how you see it continuing in the future.
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General Guidelines and Eligibility Requirements
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Grants will be given out in amounts ranging from $100-$1,000.
Applicants must be classified as 501(c)(3) tax-exempt organizations or partnered with one. If
you do not have a tax exempt status, we have some ability to try to pair you with a partner who
does.
Lead agencies may submit more than one program idea but will be awarded only one grant for
solo submissions. The exception to this would be if there is a collaborative proposal bringing
together multiple organizations proposing multiple events.
Organizations that do not receive grants may still qualify to have their programs cross-promoted
as a part of the Week of Learning
Proposal Format and Requirements
Write a brief description of your proposal. Please limit the submission to 1-2 pages, in 12 point font,
double-spaced.
Please include the following information:
1. Organization: Name, description, address and website link suitable for program use.
2. Contact Information: Contact person (name and title), address, telephone number, and e-mail
address.
3. Program Name and Description: Include a several paragraph program description that
includes the integration of Judaism into the theme of the program. Please include format,
targeted attendees, location, date, and how the micro-grant would help offset costs.
4. Short program description – A short one to two sentence description summarizing the
program that could be used in a program brochure.
5. Evaluation: Share how you will evaluate or measure impact and outcomes of the program.
6. Sustainability: Include a description for sustaining Judaism and health work beyond the Week
of Learning. If you participated in the first Week of Learning, share the impact of your program
and how its theme/idea has been carried through to the present.
Any submissions without all of these aspects will not be considered. Submissions with the
strongest potential impact, influence, and outreach will be prioritized. The Kalsman Institute and
Cedars-Sinai both have an expectation that partner organizations will exhibit professionalism and
proficiency in programming, and strive to be responsive to the needs of speakers, educators, and
attendees.
It is not required that programs be new – previous program ideas may be repeated and strengthened.
Programs should not be designed as fundraising or development events.
Organizations and communities that are successfully awarded micro-grants or are invited to
participate will also sign a contract agreeing to certain marketing and promotional commitments as
well as participation in Week of Learning preparation meetings and phone calls.
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SUBMISSION DEADLINE AND PROCESS TIMELINE
DEADLINE EXTENSION - All submissions must be received by October 20, 2014.
Please submit your proposals electronically to jewishwisdomandwellness@huc.edu.
Programs will be scheduled between Sunday, April 26 and Sunday, May 3, 2015.
For more information and to submit questions prior to the submission deadline, please contact
jewishwisdomandwellness@huc.edu.
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