Tuesday, Feb. 2, 7 am–4 pm
Issue selection meeting: Thursday, Jan. 7, noon
Insiders’ Briefing for attendees: Thursday, Jan. 28, 6:30 pm
For years, members of Jewish communities from across the Commonwealth have gone to the State Capitol in Richmond to collaborate on Virginia Jewish Advocacy Day, also known as “Date with the State.” This annual event has proven to be a powerful forum to effectively communicate with General Assembly members about issues of importance to the Jewish community.
In preparation for this year’s Date with the State, the Community Relations Council’s Legislative Action Committee will host a meeting on Thursday, Jan. 7 at the Reba and Sam Sandler Family Campus in Virginia Beach to discuss potential issues that the delegation will present to the General Assembly representatives. Past issues have included social service programs to care for Virginians, support for local agencies including Jewish Family Service and Beth Sholom Village, the Virginia-Israel Advisory Board, combating bias legislation, and more.
On Thursday, Jan. 28, also at the Sandler Family Campus, the Legislative Action Committee will host an Insiders’ Briefing session, essential for those attending the Date With the State to review the issues with presentations from experts to arm the citizen lobbyists with talking points for the meetings with legislators. All members of the delegation are strongly encouraged to attend both of these meetings.
On the day of the Date with the State, Feb. 2, the Tidewater delegation will travel by bus to and from Richmond, leaving the Simon Family JCC at a new, earlier time, 7 am. Immediately upon arrival in Richmond, the Tidewater delegation will divide into teams to visit the regions’ State Senators and Delegates. Following the appointments with legislators, the delegation will convene for lunch with other Virginia Jewish communal lobbyists. The Governor, Lieutenant Governor and Attorney General have been invited to join the group, and they usually attend and address the issues important to this community. Following lunch, the group will board the bus and expect to return to Tidewater by 4 pm.
Cost is $36, which includes a kosher lunch and helps defray the cost of transportation. Checks made out to the United Jewish Federation of Tidewater (mail to UJFT 5000 Corporate Woods Drive, Virginia Beach, VA 23462, ATT: CRC DWTS) will reserve a space.
For more information, e-mail Gaby Grune, program associate, Community Relations Council of UJFT at ggrune@ujft.org or call 965-6107. To RSVP (required) by Jan. 28, visit www.JewishVa.org/CRCDateWiththeState or email crc@ujft.org.