Established by the late Russell Berrie, funded by the Russell Berrie Foundation, and hosted and managed by Ramapo College of New Jersey, the awards honor New Jersey residents whose outstanding community service and heroic acts have made a substantial impact on the lives of others.
Eleven outstanding changemakers will be honored at the 27th Anniversary Award Ceremony on Friday, May 5, 2023, 11:30am at Ramapo College of New Jersey.
Russell Berrie Foundation CEO Idana Goldberg writes, “In this time, when life in America and in Israel is so polarized and opportunities to engage in cross-dialogue so rare, we must push to build bridges that strengthen and reinforce connections across different beliefs and cultures. This is where The Russell Berrie Foundation is leaning in, both here in our home community and in Israel.”
Her latest letter to the field presents findings from the Jewish Federation of Northern New Jersey's community-wide study, which shows that people’s connection to Jewish life across the region is both strong and resilient and, at the same time, fragmented and tenuous. Goldberg points to the degree to which Jews in Northern New Jersey, and more broadly, live in their own denominational bubbles – feeling a strong shared sense of identity with others within their own denomination but otherwise claiming little in common with Jews of other denominations – as a particular concern.
Overall, we hope the Russell Berrie Foundation’s work together with the Federation and its local partners – powered by the data we’ve gathered and will continue to gather – will make our community an even stronger, better connected, and more dynamic center of Jewish life and culture.
Our CEO, Dr. Idana Goldberg reflects on heeding the Shofar’s call this Rosh Hashanah. She writes ”With its distinctive bleats and cadences building to the crescendo of the tekiah gedolah, it is the ultimate wakeup call: a call to reflection and a call to action.”
Congratulations to Fr. Ryan Muldoon, 2018-19 Russell Berrie Fellow at the John Paul II Center for Interreligious Dialogue at the Angelicum in Rome, for winning the first John Paul II Prize for Catholic-Jewish Studies! Watch Fr. Ryan speak about what inspired him to write his Licentiate thesis on the theological role that the Land of Israel plays in contemporary Jewish-Catholic Dialogue. The Prize is co-sponsored by the John Paul II Center and Institute for Ecumenical Studies at the Angelicum in collaboration with the Pontifical Council to Promote Christian Unity.
The Russell Berrie Foundation is excited to be partnering with the Jewish Federation of Northern New Jersey in a new initiative to understand the changing nature of the Jewish community in Northern New Jersey and plan for its future.
The Russell Berrie Foundation is pleased to announce the appointment of Dr. Idana Goldberg as our new CEO. Goldberg, who previously served as Chief Program Officer, succeeds founding CEO Ruth Salzman, whose term concluded in December 2021. “After an extensive national search, we are delighted to have selected Idana Goldberg to lead us into the second half of our Foundation’s journey,” said Angelica Berrie, President of RBF. “Over the last four years, Idana has been instrumental in shaping program strategy, leading our team in the execution of our strategic priorities to maximize our impact. At this critical juncture of the Foundation’s growth, Idana is the right leader to take us into the future.”
After 13 years leading The Russell Berrie Foundation, Ruth Salzman is stepping down. “During my time as CEO, RBF has approved 875 grants totaling more than $200 million,” Ruth writes. “In every case, the grantees have appreciated the support and warmly expressed their thanks. Now it’s my turn to flip the camera and reflect on the tremendous sense of gratitude I feel for all that I’ve experienced over these past years.” In her parting Letter From Our CEO, Ruth shares how, by asking the right questions, funders can make their grantees’ work (and their own) as innovative and effective as possible.
