If you are interested in tutoring under-privileged children in a free after-school program, check the volunteer posting for more details.

We invite you to honour the courageous winners of Ve’ahavta’s 8^th Annual Creative Writing Contest

Our winning contestants share their poignant and often gut-wrenching stories of life on the streets and in shelters.

This year Rt Hon Tony Blair, Belinda Stronich, Steve Paikin, and our 2005 contest winner Theresa Schrader joined our
team of dedicated judges to choose a winner amongst the heroes of the streets.

Please join us at the Ve’ahavta Coffee House: “Voices from the Street”
Sunday, June 7 at 5:00 PM - 7:00 PM
Congregation Habonim
5 Glen Park Avenue (Glencairn/Bathurst)
Everyone invited. Free admission. No RSVP required.

Thank you to the following top prize donors:

• 1st Prize Kernels Popcorn
• 2nd Prize Camp Manitou
• 3rd Prize Beth David B’nai Israel Beth Am

We would also like to thank the following individuals and organizations for their generous contributions: Canadian Jewish Congress, Sarah Heller, Aufgang Travel, Karen Rosenberg and Pearl Godfrey, Canadian Jewish News, Steve Paikin, Wally Teska, Jeff Beber, Mayer Rosenzweig, Vivian Jeanette Kaplan, Amy McDougald, Avrum Jacobson, Ve’ahavta.

“No one is as deaf as the man who will not listen.” - Jewish Proverb

We are proud to announce a new initiative to help poor children, both in Toronto and in developing countries, get the most out of available educational opportunities and develop healthy lifestyles.

To find out more, read about International Kinder Kits and Local Kinder Kits.

Ve’ahavta is sending a large container of medicine, clothing, and educational supplies to Zimbabwe in mid-May. We need your help bringing the supplies from our office at Yonge and Eglinton to the container in Mississauga.

If you are available to help on Tuesday May 12  from 9 AM to 1 PM, please email rebecca@veahavta.org or call (416) 964-7698 ext 15 for more details.

A concert of youth musicians promoting harmony among people, performed by the Renanim Youth Singers and featuring the Swansea Youth Drum Squad.

Join us on Tuesday, May 12, 2009 at 7:30PM

York Woods Library Theatre (1785 Finch Avenue W.)

$15.00/adults

$10.00/students and seniors

For tickets and information, call (416) 398-0289

See the event flyer for full details.

Ve’ahavta is once again holding our Creative  Writing Contest for the Homeless. This is a very beautiful program. We ask people living on or near the street to write a literary piece — be it a biography, critique, poetry — which they submit to be judged by some very high profile judges in the writing industry.

Would like to donate one of the awards for the contest? Every year we give out cash prizes to the winners. The top prize of $1,000 is sponsored by Kernel’s Popcorn. We are also delighted that Ryerson contributes a free course as part of the top prize. Please consider donating an award which will go directly to the winners. You will receive a receipt for the donation. Your options are:

1. $750 - 2nd Prize
2. $540 - 3rd prize
3. $360 - as many as possible
4. $180 - as many as possible
5. $100 - as many as possible
6. Products - If you would like to donate a product that you believe would benefit a winner, please make a suggestion. Some examples are a laptop, a collection of classic novels, a coupon to purchase reading glasses, or a writing class bursary.

Once again this is a beautiful program and offers an opportunity for many people living on or near the street to express their creativity and experiences. This is very much in sync with the Jewish approach to tikun olam (repairing the world), as Judaism speaks about the development of the heart and soul as a way of making our world a better place.

We’ve added a  Frequently Asked Questions section to the web site.

Feel free to contact us  if you have more questions about this important issue.

We are currently working on our 8th annual Creative Writing Contest for the homeless. For more information about the contest and to download the talented contributions of last year’s winners, see the Creative Writing Contest section of the web site.

Ve’ahavta has established a crisis response fund in an effort to purchase much needed emergency medical equipment for the Soroka University Medical Center, now on the front lines of the ongoing crisis in Israel.  Your receipted donation to this fund will help patients of the Soroka Medical Center to recover from the conflict. For more information, see the Ve’ahavta web site.

While we are working to ease the crisis in Israel, we are not forgetting our other programs. We are also currently recruiting volunteers for our Social Services program in Argentina and are hiring a coordinator for the Creative Writing Contest for the homeless.

Ve’ahavta would like to wish everyone a happy Hanukkah and a joyful holiday season.

While we are enjoying this time with family and friends, let us not forget those less fortunate than ourselves. We are already gearing up for this year’s Second Seder and we need your help. We currently have volunteer opportunities on the Passover Seder Event Committee. Keep an eye on the web site for other voluteer opportunites closer to the date.