One hundred and a few years strong, Hadassah’s mission continues to stay relevant to our more than 300,000 members and supporters with fresh programming and even a fresh new look! We have undergone the transformative process of rebranding one of American Jewry’s most iconic institutions; flip the page to check out our new logo, and share our pride in modernizing this most beloved of Zionist organizations.

Tag Along: A True Story
Last summer, I went on an incredible trip to Israel. I got a totally different perspective on the conflict between Israel and Gaza and of what Israel deals with that most other countries will never have to worry about.

The initial reason for my visit was to take part in a youth group. But after arriving in Israel, the youth group canceled its trip. I was in Israel with no itinerary.

While I was in Israel, my mother was in Las Vegas at the Hadassah National Convention, where she spoke with former National President Marlene Post about my cancelled trip. Post, current National President Marcie Natan and a few others were leaving on a solidarity mission to Israel, which was suffering from heavy rocket fire from Gaza during Operation Protective Edge. They invited me, a Hadassah Associate, to join them. Three days later, I met up with Natan, Post and fellow Associates Burton Krull, Josh Davidson and Louis Numkin at Ben-Gurion Airport. The next two and a half days changed my life.

We went to the Meir Shefaya Youth Village in Zikhron Ya’akov, which was housing families from the south whose homes were under the barrage of rocket fire. In Beersheba, we met with city officials and planted trees for soldiers who had fallen in the operation. In Sderot, we visited a building where kids could play, safe from rockets. We met senior Israeli leaders including President Reuven Rivlin; the Israel Defense Forces Surgeon General, Brigadier General Yitzhak Kreiss; Israel Air Forces Brigadier General (ret.) Relik Shaffir; and award-winning Israeli-Arab journalist Khaled Abu Toameh. General Shaffir showed us Iron Dome batteries and discussed how Israel limits civilian casualties on both sides. The most emotional part of the trip was going to the Mount Herzl cemetery in Jerusalem, seeing the newly dug graves of soldiers killed over the past three weeks.

So, I stand with Israel, not because I’m Jewish but because I believe that Israel is doing the right thing in defending its people, trying to limit civilian casualties and specifically targeting terrorist sites. There is so much anti-Israel propaganda that most people can’t tell what’s true and what isn’t. So go see it for yourself and then make a decision. But whatever you do, don’t be quiet. If you do nothing, the bad guys win. —Noah Goldman

Noah Goldman, 18, is a senior at East Mecklenburg High School in Charlotte, North Carolina.


Meet the Veep: Laurie Werner
Deep in the heart of Texas, Fort Worth to be exact, something wonderful has happened. Like her grandmother, Ella Brachman; mother, Madlyn Barnett; and her sister, Rhoda Bernstein, Laurie Werner followed the example set by the women she loved and respected, becoming president of the Fort Worth, Texas, chapter of Hadassah.

When Werner attended region conferences and national conventions, she met smart women dedicated to the same goals she was working toward. As she went from chapter president to region president, she learned about the research and patient care at Hadassah Medical Or­­gan­ization, and the research being done at the Hadassah Aca­demic Col­lege, and her commitment grew. “My passion for Ha­­das­sah was slow growing, and then it took on a life of its own,” Werner said.

Hadassah’s American Affairs Advocacy programs excited her; she loved being part of the national Day on the Hill program and the state initiative Date with the State. At one point, she and the women in her community worked with a local congressman, across party lines, to get the Genetic In­­formation Nondiscrimination Act out of committee. The bill became federal law in 2008.

There are two values that Werner’s 96-year-old father, Louis Barnett, instilled in his children: Give back, not just with material things, but of yourself. The other value is family first. With both M.B.A. and C.P.A. graduate degrees, Wer­ner brings those values and her tremendous skills to the Hadas­sah Executive Com­mittee. She is also chair of the National Annual Plan Com­mittee.

Werner and her husband of 38 years, Lon, are generous Guardians in Hadassah. Their sons, Jeffrey and Jason, and Jason’s wife, Jessica, surprised their family by joining the Circle of Founders in honor of grandparents Madlyn and Louis Barnett. In April 2014, the birth of Mia Rose Wer­ner to Jason and Jessica added the fifth generation to Wer­­­­­ner’s amazing Hadassah family. —Sandra King

 

Step by Step
After our successful walking initiative at Hadassah’s National Convention last summer in Las Vegas, we are excited to announce the six-month walking challenge, Every Step Counts: Hadassah’s Walking Program, as a new component of Every Beat Counts. Every Step Counts will run from Passover (April 3) to Sukkot (September 27), two of Judaism’s pilgrimage holidays. With the goal of empowering women to engage in lifelong healthy habits and lifestyle changes, Every Step Counts’ participants will encourage each other to achieve their goals as walkers’ progress is charted on a map simulating a route from Hadassah’s office in New York to the Hadassah Medical Organization in Jerusalem.

Research has shown that walking even 10 minutes a day is beneficial for heart health. Experts say 82 percent of heart disease is preventable. Every Step Counts is the perfect opportunity for Hadassah members, families and communities to embrace this healthy habit and counter heart disease.

Over 95 chapters have held Every Beat Counts events with almost 7,000 people learning life-saving information, most notably how women’s heart disease symptoms differ from men’s. Key cardiologists, including top HMO physicians, have praised the program as easy to use, comprehensive and essential for helping women take control of their health. To learn more about Every Step Counts, email health@hadassah.org.

 

Meet the New Face of Hadassah
Hadassah will be moving its national headquarters to lower Manhattan in January. And with its new location comes a revitalized brand.

“This emblem ties in all the parts of this wonderful organization,” explains Marcie Natan, Hadassah national president. “We have so many distinctive and important programs—from the Hadassah Medical Organization, to Hadassah International, to our numerous regional and local units. This ‘H’ unifies us.” The new logo is both an H and a Hebrew letter hey, in the blue of Israel’s flag together with red to evoke the American flag.

“It is an H with strength,” says Natan. “It is intentional. It speaks to who we are.” The new logo will be present on all Hadassah materials—from stationery to social media such as Facebook and Twitter—and on the revamped website.

According to Janice Weinman, Hadassah’s CEO, Hadassah’s rebranding has two separate but equally important aspects. “The logo combines in one image our American mission and loyalty to Israel,” she explains. “A new tagline—the power of women who do—emphasizes that we are an action-oriented community. We have 330,000 active participants sharing opportunities and engagement and creating a future of Jewish women worldwide.”

Branding has become increasingly important in the 21st century as a form of shorthand to help us immediately identify companies and organizations—and what they represent to us—in our busy lives. A consistent and reliable brand, whether it’s a major business firm, a restaurant chain or a nonprofit group, earns the recognition, trust and loyalty of its supporters.

“It’s how we, as people, operate,” explains Weinman. “At Hadassah, our logo and tagline are how we project our mission, our vision and our activities to the rest of the world.”

Along with the new brand comes a new energy and a fresh vibe.

“This is an exciting transition for Hadassah right now,” says Natan. “We are moving forward. We are unifying our image while conveying our strength. And we are presenting ourselves, coherently, to the world.”

The new branding comes as a result of extensive research conducted both within Hadassah and across the general American Jewish community throughout the country. The studies showed consistency with the 2013 Pew Research Study on the American Jewish community: Women don’t only want to be philanthropic; they want to be involved and engaged. American Jewish women are a community defined by their values, their Jewish identity, their support of Israel and their actions.

And Hadassah embodies those values and those actions. It is a community of women who make things happen. It is the power of women who do.

Hadassah Magazine Is a Winner!
We are proud to announce that Hadassah Magazine has won 12 Rockower Awards this year, more than any other magazine or newspaper and more than all other magazines combined. The Rockowers are determined annually by the American Jewish Press Association; the prizes were formally handed out in November, at the AJPA’s annual conference in National Harbor, Maryland, this year held in conjunction with the General Assembly, organized by the Jewish Federations of North America. We took home nine first-place and three second-place awards, in both editorial and art categories.

Hadassah Magazine is also the winner of three awards from the annual Graphic Design USA Awards, in the category of overall publication design.