December-January 2022/2023

In this issue...

Recording Secretary?

Long Beach Homeless Memorial Service

HugPack Packing Event

Kindergarten Festival

Annual Book Review: The Story of Jane

4th Thursday Movie Night

Caring Corner Is Back

Save the Date!

Many helping hands are needed, so join us in giving a "hug" to vulnerable children entering the foster care system!

Individually wrapped snacks and drinks are provided, and doing good will feel so great! All vaccinated volunteers, please RSVP to communityservice@ncjwlongbeach.org or call (657) 235-2511.

It's time again to help these young students entering TK/Kindergarten next fall and their parents receive important district information, participate in readiness workshops, and learn about resources from a variety of community agencies. NCJW volunteers arrive at 8:30 am and most finish by 11 am.

You’ll be glad you helped with this mitzvah for young children from typically underserved areas of Long Beach. 

10 NCJW vaccinated volunteers needed!

For more information or to volunteer, please email communityservice@ncjwlongbeach.org or call (657) 235-2511.

We are excited to announce that our annual book review will feature Laura Kaplan, who wrote the powerful book The Story of Jane and is herself one of the Janes! As always, this event is cosponsored by Sharon-Carmel Hadassah.

The Story of Jane recounts the evolution of the Abortion Counseling Service, code name Jane, the underground group of heroic women that provided low-cost abortion services in Chicago in the years before the procedure was legalized. Organized in 1969 and active until the opening of legal abortion clinics nationwide in 1973, Jane initially counseled women and referred them to abortion providers who set prices and conditions. As Jane grew, so did the group’s capacity to protect its clients. Eventually, determined to reclaim women’s reproductive power in any way they were able, many members of Jane learned to perform abortions themselves.

​

Watch at home or gather with friends as we did for “The Janes” documentary. The book is available at most bookstores and at Amazon. It was reissued this week, but only the cover is different. We encourage you to read the book before attending the event, and feel free to submit questions ahead of time to programs@ncjwlongbeach.org.

​

There is no charge, but none of the important work of NCJW - GLB & WOC is possible without your continued support. We’d like to suggest a minimum $18 donation to our General Fund or Abortion Access and Reproductive Rights Fund at www.ncjwlongbeach.org/donate. Anything you give will contribute to our advocacy work and many community service projects. You can register below.

​

If you’d like to find a friend’s home at which to watch the presentation, hear our discussion, and socialize, please email Sharon Brannon, VP of programs, at programs@ncjwlongbeach.org. For further information, please contact Sharon via programs@ncjwlongbeach.org or (657) 235-2511.

Glass Onion: A Knives Out Mystery

Tech billionaire Miles Bron invites his friends for a getaway on his private Greek island. When someone turns up dead, Detective Benoit Blanc is put on the case. This is an expertly crafted screenplay that delivers a real old-school, entertaining and intelligent mystery.

It's a return to the whodunit genre where logical storytelling is used, and they do not pull out implausible twists suddenly in order to deliver a surprise. All the clues are there if you pay attention to the precise framing of the cinematographer and the hysterical dialogue. Even if you do get a lot of them, there are still enough Easter eggs to keep you on your toes. This will also play well on a repeat viewing. Daniel Craig is even better as Detective Benoit Blanc in this entry. He gets to have a bit more fun.

The cinematography is quite well done, especially for a murder mystery. Along with the costume design, the two marry perfectly in helping the viewers understand what type of character each actor is portraying. Thanks in part to the location, they manage to go bigger than the first Knives Out movie. Despite the humor, you still manage to get some emotional depth to all the characters. Making them very well-rounded and getting your buy-in to discover who the killer is.

We recommend watching the first Knives Out before watching the new one; comparing them would be fun. Glass Onion will be available on Netflix on December 23.

Jeanne Halliday is waiting for your calls and emails! We strongly encourage you to let Jeanne know about such things as illnesses, deaths, simchas, honors, etc., in our community.

You can look up Jeanne's phone number or email in the Membership Directory, or you can call us at (657) 235-2511 or email us at info@ncjwlongbeach.org to request a card to be mailed.

Thursday, January 5: Board Meeting, 7 pm, Zoom. RSVP here.

Thursday, February 2: Board Meeting, 7 pm, Zoom. RSVP here.

Saturday, February 4: Kindergarten Festival, virtual. Details coming.

Friday, February 17–Saturday, February 18: Repro Shabbat. Details coming.

Saturday, February 25: Kindergarten Festival, Burcham Elementary, 8:30 am. Details coming.

HOW TO REACH US

Email us at info@ncjwlongbeach.org, call (657) 235-2511, or send mail to NCJW Greater Long Beach & West Orange County, 3801 E. Willow St., Long Beach, CA 90815. Please add this contact information to your contacts list.