President's Message

Welcome! Na'amat Ottawa is a growing, vibrant organization boasting five active chapters from singles to seniors. Our flagship fundraiser is our Ottawa Jewish Telephone Directory, which will soon be publishing its 58th edition. The directory is an important reference in many Ottawa Jewish homes and businesses and raises the visibility of Na'amat in the city. Na'amat Ottawa takes part in School Supplies for Kids, preparing backpacks for children who have been forced to flee abusive situations, leaving everything behind. Other projects this year include the Mother's Day Tea, honouring our mothers and grandmothers; the sale of Kosher wines and liqueurs for Passover; a fundraiser auction, raising money for the Swing Into Action campaign; and a children's concert featuring Jen Gould. We are holding our second annual Women's Day event, with a presentation on our military women in Afghanistan.

Our Chapters

Chana Senesh: This dynamic group of seniors, many of whom are snowbirds, meet from spring to fall, and have fascinating meetings and fun get-togethers.

Aviva: Our Baby Boomers' group, whose main fundraiser is the annual Passover wine sale.

Otzma: A dynamic group of women ranging from twenties to early forties. Our most active fundraising group, their projects in recent years have included children's concerts, auctions, and their annual Mother's Day Tea.

Tikvah: A growing group of young professional mothers, now with more than thirty active members. Fundraising has become their focus, with a very successful Tikvah Extravaganza last Chanukah, featuring a dreidel tournament, silent auction and spelling bee.  This year's fundraiser is a children's concert.

Events Calendar:

City Highlights:

Otzma Post Pesach Pizza Party Wednesday, April 30; 7:00pm Venue: Private Home Tired of all that Matza meal? Indulge with friends for a relaxing night of pizza and surprise games. Entrance fee: $3.00 (to cover cost of pizza.) Contact naamat_otzma@hotmail.com to get the venue address and to R.S.V.P.

4th Annual Mother's Day Tea Sunday May 11, 2008 Market Place opens at 1:00 pm Dessert Reception 2:00-4:00 pm The Best Western Victoria Park Suites O'Connor Salon 377 O'Connor Street Come and enjoy a berrylicious afternoon. Norene Gilletz will demonstrate scrumptious berry recipes and teach us tricks of the trade in the kitchen. Bring your moms, grandmas, daughters, sisters, aunts and friends and let's celebrate Mother's Day together! Couvert: $25.00 ticket only; $54.00 ticket and cookbook. Additional cookbooks can be purchased for $35.00 each. Funds raised at this event will go toward building a new room at the world renowned Na'amat Canada Glickman Centre for Family Violence Prevention. RSVP by April 25th, 2008 to: Sharon Reichstein at sreichstein@rogers.com or Lisa Leith at ldleith@hotmail.com.

Mother's Day Tribute Cards Thinking about what to get those special women in your life for Mother's Day? Why not let Na'amat take care of it for you? Send a TRIBUTE CARD to your mother and other special women in your life. Your tribute(s) will appear in the Mother's Day Tea Program Book (listed by category of $18 Pearl, $36 Ruby, and $54 Diamond) All honourees will receive a beautiful, personalized Mother's Day Card informing them of this honour sent out by Na'amat. Click here to purchase your Mother's Day Tribute Cards!

Kilimanjaro Charity Climb In January 2009, Na'amat Ottawa member, Judy Field, and her husband Murray will be climbing Mount Kilimanjaro, Africa's highest mountain in Tanzania, whose elevation is an impressive 19,335.6 feet (5,895 meters). Their challenge is immense but trivial compared with the every day struggles of women and children in Israel. Having taken this to heart, Judy has decided to dedicate this challenge towards the gathering of funds for Na'amat Canada Glickman Centre for Family Violence Prevention. Judy's goal is to climb Mount Kilimanjaro and raise $19,335.60 to help support victims of abuse. That is one dollar for every foot of the mountain's altitude. Field says, “if doing this can help families in Israel have a better life, it will only increase my sense of fulfillment and accomplishment.” Please consider purchasing a portion of the trail towards the summit of Mount Kilimanjaro, at a cost of $1.00 per foot. Purchases of 500 feet and more will receive a certificate, in recognition of their donation. Donate to the Kilimanjaro Charity Climb!

Ottawa Jewish Telephone Directory The 57th edition of the Ottawa Jewish Telephone Directory is on sale for $22.00 per book! The annual directory includes local residential listings, and a Handy Reference Guide complete with a calendar of Jewish holidays, and a listing of organizations, synagogues and schools in the community. It is also an excellent vehicle for local advertisers. A special section of greeting ads is included for individuals in the communnity - an excellent way to recognize a relative's birthday, anniversay or send a special message. The 2008 directory is now being compiled and will be available in May 2008. To get your copy of the 2008 Ottawa Jewish Telephone Directory or to place an ad for the next publication, contact Judy Field at ojteldirectory@yahoo.ca or at the Na'amat Ottawa office: 613-722-2932. If you have any updates or changes to your Ottawa Jewish Telephone Directory listing, please fill them in using our online form.

Are you on Facebook? Look for the Na'amat Members Group on the Facebook website at www.facebook.com. Meet members from across Canada, see event photos, videos, and more!

Canadian Women in Action: Changing Lives in Afghanistan Na'amat Ottawa's International Women's Day program took place on March 6. Three representatives from the Canadian Armed Forces spoke passionately about their experiences in Afghanistan and about the dangers faced daily by the men and women serving our country there. They expressed to a captivated audience their fundamental belief, that the empowerment of women, globally, is becoming a medium for positive social change. Master Corporal (MCpl) Alanna Gilmore recently returned from a tour of duty in Afghanistan. She shared photos from her experiences as a medic for a group of soldiers, stationed in a remote part of the country. Sergeant (Sgt) Roxanne Clowe, a military photographer, spoke about her experiences overseas. Not only has she captured the war on camera as part of her duties, but she also gathers intelligence as part of her work. She spoke of the transformation that she has seen in Afghanistan during her several tours of duty in that country.   These female soldiers are living proof that, with courage and determination and by using our individual skills, we all can play a significant part in helping to make this world a better place.

Mazel Tov Martini Madness! Otzma's Martini Madness January Fundraiser auction was a smashing success! The event raised double the proceeds from last year's January Fundraiser. Sharon Reichstein, Lisa Leith, Elianna Saidenberg, Shari Cogan, Karen Taylor, Nicole Ginsberg, and Nicole Rosenberg worked exceptionally hard to achieve this goal. Thanks to this wonderful event, the Gilo Daycare Centre in Jerusalem will be the lucky recipient of a new play ground. In fact, enough money was raised that the Otzma chapter now has a Perpetual Scholarship Fund in their name and they will be able to send one lucky Israeli woman to University each year on a scholarship. Mazle tov to these accomplished Otzma members and thank you, on behalf of the women and children you have helped.

Mabel's Labels Tikvah Chapter has a new fundraiser in partnership with Mabel's Labels. Mabel's Labels are Canadian-made coloured labels that can be personalized with names, nicknames, initials, or whatever you choose! They're a perfect way for parents and kids to identify family belongings. Kosher labels, bag tags, allergy stickers, and iron-ons are also available. Best of all, when you order Mabel's Labels through www.naamat.mabel.ca, the company donates 20% to Na'amat Canada Ottawa!

School Supplies for Kids 2007 For the ninth consecutive year, volunteers from Na'amat Ottawa gathered to assemble 220 school bags stuffed with every supply needed to start the school year. Over the past few months volunteers had been busy applying for grants, buying supplies, coordinating the production line and organizing deliveries of the annual School Supplies for Kids project, part of a nation-wide initiative through Na'amat Canada. The program aims to equip children who are being cared for in regional domestic violence shelters with school supplies, to ensure that children in local shelters have the tools they need to start the school year off on the right foot. Orly Aaron's house turned into a factory and production line on Monday, August 20, 2007 as volunteers stuffed the backpacks. The supplies were divided into three age appropriate bags. Children in kindergarten received markers and crayons whereas children in Grade 7+ received calculators and geometry sets in addition to many other grade appropriate items. This project is spearheaded by the Otzma Chapter of Na'amat Ottawa. The project has grown from providing 15 basic bags to a project allowing 220 children to receive a multitude of supplies in beautiful school bags! Click here for more information about School Supplies for Kids.

Na'amat Ottawa Achshav