JCA Campaign – week 1
Ian Sandler, Chief Executive Officer of the JCA reflects on our first week of Campaign and people who are out there making a difference in the world.
Someone signs up to Linkedin every second. At their headquarters in the Silicon Valley, a globe revolves at a rapid pace registering new members, Delhi, Johannesburg, Sydney, Paris, Houston………….click click click, link, link, link.
If only we had the same turnaround at the JCA.
However, we are in no way disheartened. This week saw the start of our 2011 Campaign and we commenced with an event for our young people with guest speaker Cliff Rosenberg who heads up the Linkedin revolution in Australia and New Zealand. With social media being on the forefront of communication mediums his message was clear – use the right platforms for the right purpose.
And I guess that’s a message that we can all take on board – for fundraising, for communication, for life.
With many new faces in the room – whether it was to hear Cliff or whether it was to support our organisation we also had the honour of listening to a young man called Nick Volpe speak on behalf of the Big Brother Big Sister Program run by JewishCare. Nick is a softly spoken person who by his own admission didn’t realise that putting in a few hours every fortnight could make such a huge difference to the life of another human being. In my opinion, it’s people like Nick that are the change they want to see in the world and who, actually land up bringing about those changes.
You don’t have to go very far to experience negativity relating to being Jewish and what Jewish organisations have to offer – often it’s not all that cool to identify but über cool to criticise with vitriol. However, when confronted with a personal story about a program that influences the lives of children like Big Brother, Big Sister, facing a bit of criticism by a fringe minority seems exactly that, minor.
There’s the old adage that you catch more flies with honey………along with the empty vessel making the most noise…………
But reverting to all things sweet, there was no sweeter victory than that of Oscar winner Emile Sherman who spoke at a JCA event last night. Another event where young adults in our community came to support an organisation that supports our community and to donate to support programs and organisations that strive to keep our community strong. Emile and his family have a long association with our community as well as with animal rights organisation Voiceless. This is another example of ordinary people believing in something and working towards a goal, to make a difference.
At the end of the day, I think as people we strive to create that link between that which we believe in and the action required for a positive outcome. It’s my feeling that there are enough young (and not so young) people out there in our community, and the world that will see us nurture a better future.
Are you doing something to make a difference about a cause you are passionate about?
