Charleston Board Member Selected to Lead Southeastern Jewish Federations’ Consortium Program To Build Living Bridges with People of Israel

Ava Kleinman from Charleston, South Carolina, has been chosen to lead the Southeast Consortium Partnership 2Gether Program as the incoming Volunteer Chair.

Partnership2Gether is a platform created by the Jewish Agency for Israel to forge people-to-people connections between Israelis and Diaspora Jews.  Communities all over the United States, Canada and some in South America have created real connections with Israeli communities through meaningful Partnership programs and projects.  The programs cater to individuals, families and communities across different ages and varied interests.

The Southeastern Consortium works directly with partners in the Hadera-Eiron region of Israel. Hadera is located about 25 miles north of Tel Aviv. In Charleston recent programs have included pen pal programs between teachers and schools, an athlete program in which members of our community ran the Jerusalem marathon, a teen summer exchange program in which our teens traveled to Israel over the summer to volunteer and stay with host families, and a young leadership program which Charleston’s Jewish Federation incubated through Ava’s leadership.

The Partnership Programs are led by three distinct groups of people - Volunteers, community Executive Directors and Federation Staff in the Communities.  At the heart of all the programs are our volunteers.  Each Partnership has a Volunteer Chair in the US and one in Israel.

According to US Consortium Coordinator Jill Abel, “We are so thrilled that Ava has accepted this position and we are excited to work with her on meaningful Partnership programs and projects.  Ava comes to us with a wealth of knowledge and ideas from her Federation work in New Jersey and in Charleston.”

Judi Corsaro, CEO, and Rebecca Engel, Director of Strategic Initiatives of Charleston Jewish Federation shared that Ava has taken their Israel engagement programs to new levels since she arrived in Charleston in 2014. Ava will assume the role of Chair at the conclusion of the March Steering Committee in Charleston.