Tuesday, Jan. 22
For years, members of Jewish communities across the Commonwealth have converged at the State Capitol in Richmond to collaborate on Virginia Jewish Advocacy Day, also known as “Date with the State.” This annual Date with the State has proven to be a powerful forum to effectively communicate with local General Assembly members about issues of importance to the Jewish community. The event is spearheaded locally by the Community Relations Council of the United Jewish Federation of Tidewater.
In preparation for this year’s Date with the State, the CRC Legislative Action Committee will host a meeting on Monday, Dec. 10 at noon at the Sandler Family Campus to select the issues that Tidewater’s delegation will present to General Assembly representatives. Among past issues have been social service programs to care for Virginians, support for the Virginia-Israel Advisory Board, and anti-bias legislation.
On Monday, Jan. 7 at 6 p.m., the Legislative Action Committee will host a briefing session for those attending the Date With the State, reviewing the issues, including presentations from the executive directors of local Jewish community-affiliated agencies that receive funding from the Commonwealth. All members of the delegation are encouraged to attend both of these meetings.
On the actual day of Date with the State, Tuesday, Jan. 22, the Tidewater delegation will travel together via bus to and from Richmond, leaving the Simon Family JCC at 8:45 am. Once at the State Capitol, lunch will take place with fellow Virginia Jewish communal lobbyists and heads of social service agencies for the state. The governor, lieutenant governor, and attorney general have been invited, and they usually attend. Following lunch, the delegations visit their respective regions’ state senators and delegates.
For more information about how to join this year’s Date with the State delegation, e-mail Robin Mancoll, director, CRC at rmancoll@ujft.org or call her at 965-6120.