NCJW - GLB & WOC is excited to host a virtual panel discussion about reproductive health, rights, and justice with three well-known experts.

Dr. Michele Bratcher Goodwin, a Chancellor’s Professor at the University of California, Irvine, and founding Director of the Center for Biotechnology and Global Health Policy, will discuss the shocking, wrongful criminalization impacting women of color in all aspects of reproductive health and motherhood in the US, as described in her book Policing the Womb.

Nourbese Flint is a Policy Director/Program Manager with Black Women for Wellness (BWW), LA, will discuss Black women’s health issues, and struggles for access to care for low-income and women of color.

Shannon Olivieri Hovis, Director of NARAL Pro-Choice California, will talk about legislative priorities around reproductive justice for 2021.

February: Let's get together to share what you have read and seen related to anti-racism and how it has affected you and the groups to which you belong.

March: What is the new administration thinking about the Equal Rights Amendment? Did you know that Congress has revived the ERA? Were you actively supporting the ERA during the 1970s?

Our Section will observe HIAS Refugee Shabbat with a powerful program of speakers. Join us to hear experts on the status of the new administration's Immigration Bill and its impact on Dreamers, the undocumented, "temporary protected status" recipients, and others; the situation at the US-Mexico border and the current policies regarding refugees and asylum seekers; and opportunities for local and national advocacy.

Speakers include:

For more information, visit us at www.ncjwlongbeach.org/welcomingthestranger or email us at advocacy@ncjwlongbeach.org. Click here to download resources about actions to take to help refugees.

Then plan to attend this informative community-wide workshop on housing and homelessness co-sponsored by NCJW - GLB & WOC and the League of Women Voters Long Beach Area. Everyone is welcome!

For further information, click on www.ncjwlongbeach.org/homelessness411, email advocacy@ncjwlongbeach.org, or phone 657-235-2511.

NCJW CA has shared the link to a recent program, Crisis in California, which highlighted the hardships facing California's women and children in accessing food, housing and childcare and the general economic jeopardy facing women. We encourage you to listen and to pass it along: https://youtu.be/MbS5ZKlsOMQ.

February: Let's watch The Manchurian Candidate, either the 1962 version or the 2016 version, or both (available on Amazon Prime), and then join us to discuss. it's American neo-noir psychological political thriller about the Cold War and sleeper agents. Among other topics, let's look at how the roles of women and men have changed over the last 54 years!

March: In honor of Women's History Month, let's watch Suffragette (available on Netflex or Amazon Prime), a 2015 British historical drama about women's suffrage in the United Kingdom starring Carey Mulligan, Helena Bonham Carter, and Meryl Streep. Then we'll come together to discuss.

Commemorate the historic inauguration of "Mamala Kamala," not only the first female Vice President but the first woman of color to achieve this position!  The work we do at NCJW works toward breaking down barriers. Don't miss the opportunity to own, or gift, this beautiful one-of-a-kind "Breaking the Glass Ceiling" piece of fusion glass art jewelry and mark this historical first for women. Pins and pendants are available for $36 and $50. Purchases can be made via our local NCJW website.

Wouldn't it be fun to bake a birthday cake for a foster child?

For Goodness Cakes is a nonprofit organization that gives underprivileged youth in the foster care system the chance to have a birthday by matching volunteers to bake special cakes just for them. Its mission is to give individual youth one special moment that is about them, helping to nurture optimism and confidence at a critical age. What a wonderful and meaningful opportunity for our Section to get involved.

Here’s how it works: For Goodness Cakes receives requests from nonprofit agencies that work with at-risk youth for cake orders. After you complete an online orientation and quiz, you are accepted as part of the Sprinkle Squad, which allows you to pick a cake-making assignment according to YOUR schedule. To learn more, visit the For Goodness Cakes website at www.forgoodnesscakes.org/volunteer/. Once you have joined the Sprinkle Squad, please contact Bobbi Horowitz at 657-235-2511 or email communityservice@ncjwlongbeach.org.

Do you know a deserving Jewish college, university or trade school student?

NCJW - GLB & WOC is now accepting applications for scholarships for Jewish students with 12 undergraduate or 8 graduate credits in college, university or trade school whose permanent residence is in greater Long Beach or West Orange County. Selection is based on financial need, academic standing, Jewish involvement, personal motivation, and past achievements. You can find the application form, along with stated criteria, at www.ncjwlongbeach.org/scholarship.

The completed application, personal statement, and necessary recommendations must be received by May 1, 2021. They may be submitted online or mailed to NCJW Scholarship Committee, 6216 E. Pacific Coast Highway, #239, Long Beach, CA 90803. Awards will be announced on June 1, 2021, and are dependent on the number of qualified submissions as well as NCJW’s fundraising for this purpose.

Please consider dedicating your Tributes donations to the Linda Calderón Memorial Scholarship Fund at www.ncjwlongbeach.org/tribute. For more information, contact the chair Linda C. Fox at info@ncjwlongbeach.org or 657-235-2511.

We are looking for additional members for our Investment Committee. If you’re interested in money, have an accounting background, or like to follow the stock market, this committee is for you! We meet with Halbert Hargrove, our Investment Advisor at least twice a year. To join us, please contact Judy Leff at info@ncjwlongbeach.org or call 657-235-2511.

Thursday, March 4: Board meeting, 7 pm. RSVP for Zoom link.

Thursday, April 1: Board meeting, 7 pm. RSVP for Zoom link.

Sunday, April 25: Honoring Activism: All in the Family Over the Generations with the Manheims, part of our 75th Anniversary Year of Celebration, 1 pm. More information to follow.

Wednesday, May 26: NCJW California Virtual Lobby Day. More information to follow.

Email us at info@ncjwlongbeach.org, call (657) 235-2511, or send mail to NCJW Greater Long Beach & West Orange County, 6216 E. Pacific Coast Highway, #239, Long Beach, CA 90803. Please add this contact information to your contacts list.