While T.O.P. is not in the business of soliciting distributions for individual organizations or programs, it is within our scope to list differing organizations that are worthy charitable causes – just food for thought if you will. If you have a Jewish cause that is close to your heart and would like to see it listed here, please call Stuart Berger at the Jewish Federation of Pinellas/Pasco Counties at (727) 530-3223.

Thank You For Living Generously

Annual Campaign of the Jewish Federation
of Pinellas / Pasco Counties - www.jewishpinellas.org
Certainly the most bang for your buck, giving to the annual campaign helps Jews and Jewish organizations both locally and abroad. Local beneficiaries include Gulf Coast Jewish Family Services, Golda Meir / Kent Jewish Center, Menorah Manor, Philip Benjamin Tower, the JCC of South Pinellas, the Jewish Press, and the Florida Holocaust Museum.

UJC programs – www.ujc.org
including Operation Promise, Israel Education Fund and the Overseas Endowments Program, which offers you an opportunity to make personally meaningful and project-driven gifts from your philanthropic fund. Other important projects include the Fund for Victims of Terror, a fund that supplements the needs of victims of terror attacks and the recent war with Lebanon, and Birthright Israel, a program that offers Jewish youth between the ages of 18 – 26 the gift of a ten day Israel experience.

Alzheimers Respite Program
a joint program of Menorah Manor and the Golda Meir / Kent Jewish Center. This worthwhile program is designed to give those caring for loved one’s with Alzheimers disease a short break and use of the center’s facilities once a week.

Pinellas County Young Leadership Fund
helps provide money for Young Leadership programs with an eye on cultivating future volunteers and philanthropists. Most recently, this fund helped send young leaders on Tel Aviv One early in 2006. This important fund is nearly depleted.

Hazon Yeshaya - www.hazonyeshaya.org
Israel’s leading humanitarian organization. Israel’s latest Poverty Report makes it clear: poverty in Israel is increasing. 24% of the population and one in three Israeli children are now classified as being poor. Hazon Yeshaya currently provides 200,000 hot meals a day to Israeli’s neediest citizens and is currently expanding the support services it provides to include day care centers, dental clinics, vocational training and B’nai Mitzvah ceremonies for children whose parents cannot afford them.

B’nai Tzedek
the youth philanthropy program of T.O.P Jewish Foundation. A B’nai Mitzvah donates $250 of their gift money to T.O.P, who then matches the gift with $250 to create a philanthropic fund in the child’s name. Each spring, the B’nai Tzedek youth meet for a fun group event which culminates in a discussion of worthy causes they can allocate their 5% yearly distribution to. Due to the success of this important program (Pinellas now has 19 B’nai Tzedek funds!), T.O.P. finds itself running low on matching funds.