URJ - Grinspoon Award

Contact: Donald=20 Cohen-Cutler
212.650.4213

URJ = Camps=E2=80=99 North=20 American Camping Committee honors the Grinspoon = Foundation=20
Harold Grinspoon to be presented with inaugural=20 Presidential Award at NAC Retreat

NEW = YORK=E2=80=94Harold=20 Grinspoon received the Union for Reform Judaism = Presidential=20 Award for his contributions to Jewish camping and URJ = Camps=20 during the North American Camping Committee (NAC) = Annual=20 Retreat on March 8, 2008.

=E2=80=9CThe work of=20 Harold Grinspoon has been a blessing to Reform Judaism = and the=20 Jewish people,=E2=80=9D said Rabbi Daniel Freelander, = vice president=20 of the Union for Reform Judaism. =E2=80=9CHis = creativity and=20 extraordinary generosity have made it possible to = enrich and=20 expand the camping experiences that we offer our youth = and to=20 assure a new generation of committed leaders for our = Movement=20 and the North American Jewish community. He is an = inspiring=20 example of Jewish leadership at its best.=E2=80=9D =

=E2=80=9CThe entire=20 camping system contains our most precious resource, = our=20 children, who are the future of the Reform = Movement,=E2=80=9D said=20 Gail Littman of Temple Adat Shalom in Poway, CA and = chair of=20 NAC. =E2=80=9CHarold Grinspoon=E2=80=99s foresight and = generosity strengthens=20 our future and safeguards our heritage; he has = literally=20 changed the way we look at philanthropy. I = can=E2=80=99t think of=20 anyone more deserving of the Presidential = Award.=E2=80=9D

The = Harold=20 Grinspoon Foundation=E2=80=99s mission is to enhance = the vibrancy of=20 Jewish life in Western Massachusetts and beyond = through=20 education and experiences that impart the knowledge = and values=20 of the Jewish heritage and the joys of being Jewish. = Notably=20 the Grinspoon Foundation has provided Development = Mentors to=20 ten of the 12 directors of URJ Camps and has created = matching=20 grant programs such as =E2=80=9CMeet Your = Match,=E2=80=9D =E2=80=9CCreate Your Match=E2=80=9D=20 and most recently =E2=80=9CRaise Your Match.=E2=80=9D = These programs have=20 generated more than $9 million in funds for the URJ = Camps.=20

The = Foundation=20 has also launched a legacy giving program and invested = in=20 online alumni and development tools for the URJ Camp = system.=20 Grinspoon also leads a biennial conference for = directors and=20 development lay leaders on the latest best practices = in camp=20 fundraising.

Harold = Grinspoon=20 established his foundation in 1993 and continues to = play an=20 active role as its chairman. He also serves on the = board of=20 the birthright israel Foundation, and he and his wife, = Diane=20 Troderman, are founding partners in the Partnership = for=20 Excellence in Jewish Education. They also serve = together on=20 the board of governors of Hillel: The Foundation for = Jewish=20 Campus Life and are trustees of the Washington = Institute.=20

The NAC = is the=20 governing body of the URJ Camping system, comprised of = professionals and lay leaders from all 12 camps, the = Union=E2=80=99s=20 Board of Trustees and senior North American staff = members.=20

For = over fifty=20 years, URJ Camps have provided engaging and creative = Jewish=20 educational experiences that strive to create a = knowledgeable=20 and Jewishly literate community in the future. = Thousands of=20 Reform Jewish youngsters experience Jewish living for=20 themselves through the URJ Camps across North America. = Nearly=20 80 percent of Reform rabbis and cantors are products = of the=20 URJ Camps. For more information please visit www.urjcamps.org.

The Union for Reform Judaism is the central body of = Reform=20 Judaism in North America, uniting 1.5 million Reform = Jews in=20 more than 900 synagogues. Union services include = camps, music=20 and book publishing, outreach to unaffiliated and = intermarried=20 Jews, educational programs, and the Religious Action = Center of=20 Reform Judaism in Washington, D.C. strategy