For some of us, during the past 18 months, it’s been hard to find a quiet moment in a world of constant distractions; just a quiet moment to reflect. For others, it’s been the opposite—an isolated world, filled with far too many quiet moments for reflection.

In either case, it’s likely we’ve all asked ourselves the same basic questions at some point: When will normal life return and, when it does, what will it look like? And, at the core, “Where do I fit in?”

This summer, we travelled to Memphis to visit our daughter. There were long hugs of reunion after far too long a separation. Looking around at the airport, that scene was being replicated everywhere—so many, many families and friends reunited. Slowly, but surely, the miracle of vaccines and our own resolve to work together as a community, for our common good, will bring us out of this plague.

As Jews, the idea of plagues isn’t new: It took 10 of them to start us on our journey from slavery to redemption. As we begin the new year on our Jewish calendar journey, the question of “where do I fit in?” resonates that much louder. As the co-chairs of our annual community United Jewish Appeal (UJA) campaign, Darryl and I want to share some thoughts on how we can all answer that core question. As is usual, when we are asked a question, we answer with a question: “What have we all learned from this pandemic?”.

For us, watching the outpouring of kindness and caring from our community that has been needed, and is still very much needed, has taught us that even in the darkest of times—when we are literally masking our faces from one another—we care for each other. Surely, that is the answer to pretty much all our questions. We care for each other. We each ‘fit in’ by appreciating how important each of us is to one another. Bottom line: We are here for good!

And, as it relates to our annual community campaign, we dig deep to help. In the past year, through the generous donations made by the members of our community, 26 local, national, and international beneficiaries were sustained. The adaptations needed to ensure that we could continue programs and services in order to meet the needs of our community—some of which we’d never faced before—are a testament to the ingenuity and dedication of so many in our community.

In the past year, through our UJA campaign, we have helped to feed the hungry, educate our children and strengthen the bonds of community in dozens of ways. And we will do the same in the coming year; we will continue to care for each other. We are here for good!

As we embark on this new year, and the start of our annual community UJA campaign, we thank you for your continued generosity, for your continued ingenuity, and for your continued caring and kindness as, together, we work together to renew, reinvigorate, and re-inspire ourselves and our community. We are here for good! 

From our families to yours, very best wishes for a happy, healthy, sweet, and peaceful New Year.

Howie Sniderman and Darryl Antel

Edmonton UJA Campaign Co-Chairs