On July 16, Jewish Family and Vocational Services Executive Director Jeff Lampl announced that the organization has been awarded a $150,000 grant, beginning January 2008 over a period of two years, to establish The Edith & Martin B. Stein Center for Senior Adults. The Center is envisioned as a state-of-the-art senior daycare center that will address the specific needs of seniors with emotional, physical, and/or cognitive deficits. The Center will operate five days a week and have the capacity to serve several hundred seniors with an anticipated average of 70seniors a day. It will be within the JFVS campus at 200 Metroplex Dr., Suite 200, Edison.

The Union County Torah Center announced the expansion of its volunteer-based program, Caring Connections. This service, which began on a small scale in 2004, fills the need for hospital/nursing home visitations and home visits for local families with special needs children. The expanded home visitation program provides opportunities for Jewish children with special needs to share meaningful time in the company of a teenage volunteer-- and offers respite for their families. If you know of a family who would benefit from weekly volunteer visits, or if you know of a teenager who would like to volunteer, please contact the Union County Torah Center at (908) 789-5252 or e-mail info@torahcenter.org.

On Monday, July 16, women from the community gathered at the home of Mrs. Dina Kanelsky (see photo at right) of Bris Avrohom of Old Bridge for an Israel Art workshop, where they designed home blessing plaques to hang on the wall. Later, they enjoyed food for the soul and discussed the month of Av.

Congregation B'nai Tikvah, North Brunswick, is happy to announce the induction of a new Rabbi, Rabbi Robert Wolkoff. He comes to North Brunswick from Congregation Agudath Achim in Savannah, Georgia, where he has been the spiritual leader since 1995. He is the current president of the Southeast Region Rabbinical Assembly and a member of the Executive Council of the Rabbinical Assembly. He is a past president of the Greater Carolinas Association of Rabbis.

The United Synagogue of Conservative Judaism has awarded Temple Sholom in Bridgewater's Hebrew High School its Solomon Schechter Gold Award for excellence in Jewish teenage education. The award will be presented to its co-directors, Rabbi Ron Isaacs and Dr. Leora Isaacs, at the forthcoming biennial convention in Florida this fall. This is the third time that Temple Sholom's Hebrew High School has been honored with the Solomon Schechter Gold Award.

Dr. Keren Isaacs Lebeau will begin her new position at the Northeast Regional Epilepsy Group at Overlook Hospital, Summit. A clinical neuro-psychologist, Dr. Isaacs is the daughter of Rabbi Ron and Leora Issacs.

Zach Isaacs, son of Rabbi Ron and Leora Issacs, was recently promoted to the position of activation manager/buyer supervisor at MediaVest, NYC. For the past two and a half years at that company, he has worked on the Masterfoods/Mars account.