In 1964, thousands took the streets of Riverside Drive for an impromptu walk to celebrate the young state of Israel and began a tradition that continues to this day. This past Sunday, June 3rd, was no exception. As the sun shone high over the borough of Manhattan, tens of thousands of marchers prepared themselves to walk in the 48th annual Israel Day Parade. Over the decades, the parade has grown dramatically adding many more bands and floats. This year, Jewish Communal Fund, a first-time lead sponsor, debuted their beautiful float.
Beginning around noon the JCF float began riding up Fifth Avenue with an excited group of JCF staffers, donors, and friends waving to the crowds while rocking out to the music of the Jewish rock band Blue Fringe. Parade goers were excited to receive a snack of jellybeans from members of the JCF team and information about our ongoing Israel Parade contest. You can still enter to win a $100 grant to the charity of choice, as well as other great prizes including a $50 gift card to JackRabbit Sports; a $50 gift card to the restaurant of your choice, or a $25 gift card to Starbucks. To enter, click the following link:https://www.facebook.com/jewishcommunalfund/app_403359706360567.
JCF had a great Sunday celebrating Israel and our 40th anniversary of helping donors make their giving easy and efficient. Check out more photos of JCF at the parade on JCF’s Facebook page.
You can also watch the broadcast of the parade at http://celebrateisraelny.org/brdcst.html. Starting about 34 minutes into the broadcast, you can watch a great interview with Karen Adler, the Chair of JCF’s Executive Committee. Karen talks about how JCF has evolved over the years and all of the innovations that set JCF apart from other donor advised funds, including our Lifecycle Funds and NextGen Funds.
-post contributed by Sam Rawlison, JCF CLIP Intern