Metro Briefs February 12
Living & Learning, a service of Squirrel Hill Psychological Services, will hold a program on interfaith family dynamics on Monday, Feb. 17 from 7 to 9 p.m. at Temple David in Monroeville, located at 4415 Northern Pike. Wendy Levin-Shaw, LCSW, a psychotherapist at Squirrel Hill Psychological Services, will work with attendees to explore the unique challenges and issues that interfaith families may encounter and discuss strategies for dealing with these obstacles when they arise.
Living & Learning programs are discussion-based and led by the professional staff of Squirrel Hill Psychological Services. They typically focus on issues related to aging, family dynamics and interfaith relationship challenges.
Programs are free and open to the public. Contact 412-372-1200 or kayl@templedavid.org for more information.
Squirrel Hill AARP Chapter 3354 will hold its next meeting on Wednesday, Feb. 18 at 1 p.m. at New Light Congregation at 1700 Beechwood Blvd. at Forbes Ave. Following the business meeting, Frank Capri will sing, with imitations of Dean Martin, Elvis Presley and Frank Sinatra among others. Refreshments will be served.
The community is invited to attend. Contact Frieda Safyan at 412-521-2804 for more information.
Pittsburgh and surrounding area interfaith communities are invited to attend the Feb. 19 conference, “Language of Change 2015” at Rodef Shalom Congregation from 8:45 a.m. to 3 p.m. The conference is open to anyone working in a faith-based organization such as church, temple, camp, school or health center.
Standing Firm, a local organization that helps companies decrease risk and increases workspace safety, will be featured.
The conference will provide an opportunity to examine the domestic violence movement among people of different faiths and backgrounds and to use the primary prevention models to eradicate domestic violence. These models go beyond the provision of services such as social outreach, including emergency shelter, food and protection.
There is a charge to attend. Lunch and continental breakfast are included; a full breakfast is included for clergy.
Jewish Women International Pitts-burgh, Rodef Shalom Congregation, the Jewish Women’s Foundation, Standing Firm and the Pennsylvania Coalition Against Domestic Violence are sponsoring the conference.
Contact 412-780-2330, 412-363-1013 or rrsuf@aol.com for more information.
The Zionist Organization of America-Pittsburgh Section is offering up to three $1,000 scholarships for travel/study in Israel this summer.
Jewish students who are permanent residents of Allegheny, Armstrong, Beaver, Butler, Fayette, Washington and Westmoreland counties and who will be high school juniors or seniors in the fall of 2015 are eligible to apply.
Completed applications are due by Saturday, Feb. 28. All required accompanying documentation must be included with the application. Applications received after the deadline date will not be considered.
The ZOA Israel Scholarship Program was founded in 1962 as an investment in the children of our region. According to the ZOA, these trips reinforce the students’ commitment to Judaism and appreciation of Israel to Jewish life.
Contact Stuart Pavilack, executive director ZOA Pittsburgh Chapter, at stuart.pavilack@zoa.org or 412-665-4630 for more information.
Almost two decades ago, the Jewish Healthcare Foundation formed the Pittsburgh Regional Health Initiative and developed the Perfecting Patient Care methodology to demonstrate how health care teams on the front line of care could use industrial process improvement principles to increase patient care quality and safety.
The Fine Award for Teamwork Excellence in Health Care, an award to recognize frontline health care teams that dedicate time and attention to perfecting patient care, was established in 2008 with the collaboration of Milt and Sheila Fine of the Fine Foundation and Karen Wolk Feinstein, president and CEO of JHF and PRHI.
Now going into its eighth year, more than $500,000 in award money has been distributed to health care teams and providers in the Greater Pittsburgh area who have elevated the level of care in a number of areas, such as end of life, pain management, medication errors, reducing readmissions, integrating behavioral health and reducing wait times.
Each year, a call for applications goes out, and a panel of selected national and local experts reviews applications and selects winners.
Visit jhf.org for more information.
Jewish young adults, ages 24 to 39, are eligible for scholarships to participate in an overseas study experience in Germany from Aug. 2 to Aug. 14. Germany Close Up – American Jews Meet Modern Germany is sponsored by Classrooms Without Borders, a nonprofit organization providing immersive educational experiences and programs and working in affiliation with the Jewish Federation of Greater Pittsburgh.
The deadline to apply is April 1.
This travel experience was developed to enrich trans-Atlantic dialogue and enable emerging young leaders to experience modern Germany. A government scholarship (a part of the ERP Special Assets of the German Ministry for Economics and Technology) covers more than two-thirds of the cost.
Germany Close Up exposes participants to modern Germany as well as issues related to the nation’s efforts to deal with the memory of the Holocaust and the Nazi horror up to this very day.
The program features visits to historical and Jewish sites such as a former concentration camp, the Memorial to the Murdered Jews of Europe and the Jewish Museum in Berlin; an exploration of Berlin’s multicultural life and tours of other major cities; a focus on German-American relations and German-Israeli relations; meetings with German opinion-makers from the academic and political spheres, grassroots movements and the Jewish community; and an opportunity to meet German contemporaries.
Participants pay $990, plus a $350 registration fee, which covers airfare and expenses for 11 days.
Visit classroomswithoutborders.org or contact Melissa Haviv at melissa@classroomswithoutborders.org or 412-610-9294 prior to the application deadline.
The Third Annual Shaare Torah Chili Cook-Off will be held Saturday, March 14. Chili makers, tasters and eaters are invited to participate. Bring chili recipes — meat, chicken, vegetarian, hot or mild.
The Chili Cook-Off will be a Shabbat lunch that includes cornbread, dessert, salads, sides and fixings. Vegetarian options will be available.
The charge is $15 for adults, $8 for children (3 to 12 years) and $48 for families; children 2 and under are free.
Cooks pay a $5 entry fee plus the chance to be the winner. The first-place winner’s name will be inscribed on a plaque to be prominently displayed in Shaare Torah.
Cooks must sign up by Friday, Feb. 27. Contact Arielle Avishai at afeitelson@gmail.com for cooking details.
Contact Linda in the Shaare Torah office at 412-421-8855 or shaaretora@aol.com to make a reservation and arrange payment by Monday, March 2.
“More Than Just Learning” hosts Shirley and Morris Shratter interview Pittsburgh teachers Norman Brown, Irv Krasnapoler and Susan Monroe about “Views and Opinions” on PCTV. The program airs every Thursday in February at 2 p.m. on Comcast 21 and Verizon 47.
Jewish Vegetarians of North America, Repair the World-Pittsburgh, the East End Food Co-op and the Schwartz Living Market are collaborating to present “Environmentalism Starts on Your Plate” Wednesday, Feb. 18 at 6:30 p.m.
The program, at Repair the World’s Workshop in East Liberty, will feature a discussion led by JVNA executive director Jeffrey Cohan, followed by a variety of food-focused activities.
Cohan, a Forest Hills resident, will share information about the environmental ramifications of food choices, describing how diets contribute to climate change and habitat destruction, and he will offer recommendations for eating in a greener way. Cohan will also present a clip from the documentary “Cowspiracy.”
Other activities will include a recipe and cookbook exchange, a food trivia quiz and the sampling of high-protein plant foods.
Repair the World-Pittsburgh, which is providing the venue, is located at 6022 Broad St. in East Liberty. The program is free, but RSVPs are requested. To RSVP, call the East End Food Co-op at 412-242-3598.
The Jerusalem Quartet is featured in Chamber Music Pittsburgh’s concert on Monday, Feb. 16 at 7:30 p.m. in the Carnegie Music Hall in Oakland. The performance includes Haydn’s String Quartet in G minor, Op. 74, No. 3 “Rider,” Schulhoff’s Five Pieces for String Quartet and Schumann’s String Quartet in A major, Op. 41, No. 3.
There will be a lobby recital in the Grand Foyer of Carnegie Music Hall from 7 p.m. to 7:20 p.m.
Tickets are $39 to $46, and student rush tickets are available for $15 with valid student ID one hour prior to the concert. Braille and large print programs will be provided.
Carnegie Music Hall is an accessible venue. Call 412-624-4129 or visit chambermusicpittsburgh.org for more information and tickets.
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