Roughly 40 volunteers – adults and children alike – busily prepared Thanksgiving meal kits for 350 families in need this holiday season. Jewish Family Service of Tidewater and Nadiv, the young men’s fundraising division of United Jewish Federation of Tidewater, partnered to make the event possible.

 Volunteers as young as three years old sorted canned goods and other non-perishable items while others put the food in bags ready for families to pick up the week of Thanksgiving.

 ‘Thank you to Nadiv and all the volunteers for helping us kick off the start of our Thanksgiving bag stuffing,’ says Brooke Rush, director of development for Jewish Family Service. “We couldn’t have done it without your hard work and energy.”

 Rabbi Pinchas Zimmer of the Norfolk Kollel provided food from Charlie’s Middle Eastern and brought in Rabbi Bentzi Epstein from Dallas for a talk on the Jewish meaning of Thanksgiving.

All Nadiv members give at least $365 to UJFT’s Annual Campaign. The group is open to men ages 22 – 50 and falls under UJFT’s Men’s Division.

To be involved in Nadiv, contact Amy Zelenka, UJFT’s chief development officer, at azelenka@ujft.org.

 The group met on Tuesday, Sept. 9 and, after healthy debate, voted on the popular program that provides families with resources that connect them with Jewish culture and values.

The Nadiv kickoff event, which usually occurs in the home of a senior lay leader, had a different feel this time. Nadiv met inside Aviva, the new, multi-unit senior living community near Town Center in Virginia Beach.

Nadiv members took a tour of Aviva and ate dinner in the lounge on the top floor. During the meal, in addition to Nadiv voting to support PJ Library, Sam Molofksy, immediate past chair of Nadiv, announced that I would serve as the group’s new chair. I am excited to lead our group to even greater heights.

In my first remarks as chair, I challenged the group to push our fundraising goal from $25,000 (the amount raised in 2024-2025) to $50,000. We hope to stage another Nadiv Poker Night in the spring and encourage even greater participation from our Jewish community.

Along the way, Nadiv (which means “generosity” in Hebrew) will hold a mix of programs for networking, social action, and engaging with families. All Nadiv members give at least $365 to the United Jewish Federation of Tidewater’s Annual Campaign. The group is open to men ages 22 to 50 and falls under UJFT’s Men’s Division.

To be involved in Nadiv, contact Amy Zelenka, UJFT chief development officer, at azelenka@ujft.org.