We thank all of our contributors for their enthusiastic response.

If you would like to support Avodah mail your tax-deductible contribution to:
Avodah, c/o HUC-JIR, 1 West Fourth Street, New York, NY 10012

You can also go to PayPal.com and send a donation to Avodah at avodahdance@gmail.com.

THANK YOU!

SUPPORTERS:

Avodah is pleased to have received generous grants from:

• J. Walton Bissell Foundation

• Bodenwein Public Benevolent Fund

• The Chester W. Kitchings Foundation of New London, CT for a grant of $5,000 for the continuation and expansion of our program at York Correctional Institution in 2003 - 2004 and 2007 - 2008!

• Marshall Reynolds Foundation and The Episcopal Church of Saints Andrew and Matthew, received with support of Pacem in Terris a community-based peace education organization - funding for the residency and ongoing classes at Delores Baylor Correctional Institution.

• George A. and Grace L. Long Foundation funds the residency at York Correctional Institution through generous grants.

• The Best Buy Children's Foundation(BBCF) has awarded the Avodah Dance Ensemble a grant of $10,000 to continue presenting workshops in schools close to Ground Zero. The award is part of a $1 million commitment from the BBCF to support the specific needs of youth programs in the New York Tri-State area.

• Nathan Cummings Foundation given in support of "The Forgiveness Project"

The Avodah Dance Ensemble was awarded a grant of $25,000 from The Nathan Cummings Foundation in 2001 to support "The Forgiveness Project," a community-based initiative that explores forgiveness through dance and sacred texts. As part of the grant Avodah will be creating a dance work on the theme of forgiveness from a variety of perspectives: forgiveness of self; forgiveness between individuals; forgiveness between God and self; and forgiveness between communities.

The project is under the artistic direction of JoAnne Tucker, Avodah's founder. Tucker will be the choreographer and long time Avodah associate, Newman Taylor Baker, will compose music for the performance piece.

• The Irving Caesar Lifetime Trust
The late songwriter and lyricist Irving Caesar (1895- 1996) was perhaps best known for his lyrics to "Tea for Two," "Swanee" and the show "No, No Nanette," a smiling and substantial legacy. We are honored to have received an additional legacy a $10,000 grant from the Designating Committee of the Irving Caesar Lifetime Trust in support of our dance/music educational project based on our works "Let My People Go" and "Make a Change." The grant enabled us to conduct a series of six workshops at each of two New York City public high schools, culminating in the students' joining the company in a performance at their school. The workshops drew upon "Let My People Go," including attention to the relationship between words and rhythm/music in formats ranging from chanting to oral history/poetry to sermon to songs of protest. The students wrote their own lyrics related to social action and improvise related movement that will be incorporated in their performance as part of "Make a Change."

Knowing of Irving Caesar's fond attachment to New York's Lower East Side and the Henry Street Settlement, we hope he would find it fitting that both "Let My People Go" and "Make a Change" were co-choreographed by Avodah's director JoAnne Tucker and Louis Johnson, director of the dance program at the Henry Street Settlement, and further, that one of the participating schools is Murry Bergtraum High School on the Lower East Side. We collaborated with our student lyricists there and at the High School of Environmental Studies on Manhattan's West Side.

• The Jaqua Foundation has honored us with a $10,000 grant for Holocaust education programs in New Jersey public high schools. Avodah worked with a consultant recommended by the State of New Jersey Commission on Holocaust Education who is designing pre- and post-curriculum materials to accompany our residencies. Three schools were selected by the Commission for the first residencies, which took place between March 20 and April 14, 2000. Included in the grant was a performance at The Daughters of Israel Geriatric Center.

• The Harkness Foundation for Dance - We are most grateful for the steadfast support the Harkness Foundation for Dance has provided for our dance and education programming. Harkness also granted Avodah Dance Ensemble a space grant for rehearsal space for 2007-08. We thank the Foundation for including Avodah once again among its grant recipients.

• The Gloria and Sidney Danziger Foundation - with thanks to Jamie Kreitman and Rabbi Benjamin Kretiman for their special efforts.

• Laura Jane Musser Foundation - grant of $5,000 to support cross-cultural activities for youth in New York City living below 14th Street.

We thank all of our contributors for their enthusiastic response. If you would like to support Avodah mail your tax-deductible contribution to: Avodah, c/o HUC-JIR, 1 West Fourth Street, New York, NY 10012. Thank you.