Like many things this year, L’Chaim! took on a different form for 2020. Hosted by Women’s Philanthropy of the Jewish Federation of St. Louis, the L’Chaim! Event on October 27th moved to an online format for the first time and welcomed 925 women—hundreds more attendees than usual thanks to the ability to tune in from home.
What an incredible night!! Thank you to the 950 women who joined us for our 6th annual and first virtual L’Chaim!! Mazel…
Posted by Women’s Philanthropy – Jewish Federation of St. Louis on Wednesday, October 28, 2020
“The Roots of Our Community”
This year’s theme represented both heartache and hope as it marked the yahrzeit of those murdered at the Tree of Life synagogue. It also speaks to the vital connections among our friends, neighbors and supporters and all that they do to enrich Jewish life in St. Louis. The evening was full of community celebration as attendees learned about Federation’s many programs and contributed to the 2020 Annual Campaign, the lifeblood for our work. Because of the generosity of event attendees, we are planting the seeds for success in the year to come.
Rooting For Our Kids
As part of L’Chaim! 2020, we also asked the community to participate in a service project for local students—and you delivered. We were able to collect critical school supplies that will help children learn and stay healthy this school year, like pencils, notebooks, hand sanitizer and masks. Thank you to everyone who contributed!
Special Guest: Bari Weiss
A L’Chaim! event is never complete without a glass of wine (BYOB this year!) and a special guest speaker. We were thrilled to welcome Bari Weiss to the virtual stage this year. She previously worked as a writer and editor for The New York Times and published her book How to Fight Anti-Semitism to much acclaim last year. Bari, who was also bat mitzvahed at Tree of Life, spoke about topics including antisemitism and media bias. But her talk was not without uplifting moments, saying,
“You can’t be a Jew without being an optimist. We are the most unlikely story in human history!”
Each guest received a gift bag with Bari’s book, so be sure to ask attendees to borrow their copy if you haven’t read it yet.
Thank you again to everyone who joined us online, to our many sponsors and to our L’Chaim! Event Co-Chairs: Abby Goldstein, Sherry Shuman and Shana Singer. Despite all of the challenges we’ve faced in 2020, the evening was a joyful reminder of the resiliency and laughter we share as a community.