Part Of

United Jewish Welfare Fund fonds

Annual Campaign series

Level

Series

Fonds

67

Series

17

Material Format

multiple media

Date

1938-2008

Physical Description

2.18 m of textual records and other materials

Admin History/Bio

Superseding the Federation of Jewish Philanthropies, the first Annual Campaign of the new United Jewish Welfare Fund took place in 1938. It combined the appeals of 37 organizations into one, eliminating much of the inefficiency and competition of the previous twenty years. Money raised was for agencies and causes new and traditional, local and overseas. Recipients included; the Jewish Immigrant Aid Services, Canadian Jewish Congress, the United Jewish Relief Agencies, the Joint Distribution Committee, and Palestine. In 1938, Campaign could be completed within a mere two weeks and raised $161,000. This figure rose to $348,000 in 1942 and surpassed one million dollars in 1951. When the State of Israel was established in 1948, Campaign was combined with the CJC and the United Palestine appeals into a new, combined campaign and re-named The United Jewish Appeal (UJA).

With different local and world challenges and crises over time, annual campaigns have had a variety of foci: for example, the plight of Displaced Persons in Europe after the Second World War; the 1957 Rescue Campaign for refugees in Russia, Europe and North Africa; the first Emergency Campaign in 1967 in response to the Six Days’ War; and Operation Exodus 1990-1991, which raised funds to aid Soviet Jews.

Early Campaign leadership was provided by lay people. Chairmen of the Campaign Cabinet included Samuel Godfrey, Ben Sadowski, Samuel J. Granatstein, Bernard Vise, Morris S. Till, and Samuel J. Zacks. A small administration committee carried out daily operations, but the bulk of the fundraising work was performed by the Service Council, a group of volunteers who planned, canvassed and evaluated each campaign, as well as organizing educational programs and public meetings. A Women’s Service Council and a Young Peoples’ Service Council also played key fundraising roles.

Canvassing was conducted by volunteers from each professional or trade Division, such as doctors, lawyers, retail sales, etc. The volunteers were responsible for canvassing the members of their own group. A special Women’s Campaign had its own chair, sub-committees and programming. Divisions were further added to reflect the amounts of donations, Top Gifts, and Major Gifts for example. By the 1980s, the Service Councils had given way to professional Campaign Associates employed by UJWF. With further changes to UJWF/UJA Federation’s structure, Campaign first fell under the Financial Resource Development Department, then Integrated Development, and, in 2009, the Centre for Philanthropy. It is now supported by the Donor Relations Management, Donor Research, and Missions/VIP departments which cater to the diverse interests of individual donors.

Through the 1940s and 1950s, face-to-face canvassing was the norm, with donor’s names and gifts published in the UJWF annual report. By the 1960s, an expanding community and a need for efficiency increased the use of the telephone, with regular telethons involving hundreds of volunteers. In 1970, a regular springtime Walk with Israel was included within the rest of Campaign events. In the 21st Century, the internet is used to solicit donations, publicize campaign news and events, and register volunteers for telethons and events like the Walk.

Scope and Content

Series consists of two sub-series, Walk with Israel (sub-series 17-1) and General Campaign Records (sub-series 17-2).

Notes

Physical description note: Includes photographs, videocassettes, posters, DVDs, artfacts and books.

Source

Archival Descriptions

Part Of

United Jewish Welfare Fund fonds

Annual Campaign series

Walk with Israel sub-series

Level

Sub-series

Fonds

67

Series

17-1

Material Format

multiple media

Date

[197-?]-2008

Physical Description

1.8 m of textual records and other material

Admin History/Bio

UJA Federation’s Walk with Israel was first held in May 1970, when it was called the UJA Walkathon. The first walk was organized quickly with no advance publicity, yet it still raised $55,000. In the early years, funds raised in the walk went into UJA’s Israel Special Fund. Since then, the money has supported particular projects in Israel that often involve children, since children are the main fundraisers in the event. The Walk with Israel has grown into the largest event in the Toronto Jewish community, with over twenty thousand people participating as volunteers or walkers and funds raised reaching as high as $400,000. The event has had several name changes since 1970: Walk for Israel (1978–1993); Community March for Israel (1994–1996); Israel Funwalk (1998–2002); and the current name, Walk with Israel.

The Walk with Israel is one of the programs mounted by the Annual Campaign department of UJA Federation. It is planned by a Cabinet Committee, with one or two laypeople as chairs, and numerous sub-committees. The main UJA staff undertaking the planning and execution is the walk coordinator. Each year, sub-committees are formed for recruitment, logistics, marketing, and public relations, the festival, food, entertainment, etc. The walk also involves many outside entities: companies approached for prizes, donations or sponsorship; entertainment groups; the Toronto police force, which provides traffic control, marshalling and a parade permit; city government, for park use permits and outdoor signage; community groups mounting displays; costumed character rental companies; and manufacturers of the T-shirts, hats and buttons produced each year for walk participants.

In addition to being a major fundraiser, the walk fashioned itself initially as a fitness challenge to children and athletes, with a route as long as thirty-one kilometres in 1976. Over the years, this length has been reduced significantly, with the event evolving into a more manageable and family-oriented event. In the last decade, with periods of tension overseas, it has been framed as a demonstration of solidarity with Israel. Alongside the main event, alternative fundraisers such as a large raffle, dance-a-thon, aerob-a-thon and learn-a-thon for Eitz Chaim day schools, have been held in some years to encourage more people to contribute. Incentives for those who collect sponsors have grown over the years, from free T-shirts to a succession of prizes depending on the amount of funds raised. The grand prize draw for many years was two El Al airline tickets to Israel.

The location of the walk has moved from the Bathurst Street "corridor" of the Jewish community to a downtown route that for some years went through the historic Jewish neighbourhood of Kensington Market and, more recently, begins and ends at Coronation Park by the lakeshore and winds around the downtown streets. There is now also a kick-off party at the walk’s starting point. Since 1984, the walk has culminated in a big festival, featuring rides, petting zoos, a barbecue, musical entertainment, clowns, and other attractions. This was usually held in a park or the BJCC parking lot. When the walk route moved downtown, the festival shifted to Ontario Place, and, more recently, it has taken place on the CNE grounds by the lakeshore. Since 2007, the festival has been sponsored by RioCan, and "yogen fruz" became a major sponsor of the walk in 2008. Other walk sponsors have included Roots Canada (supplier of T-shirts), Shopper’s Drug Mart, Henry’s Camera Centre, Canada Trust, National Bank Financial Group, and the Canadian Zionist Federation.

Scope and Content

Sub-series contains records that document the planning and coordination of the Walk for Israel each year, as well as photographs and other records from the day itself and post-walk evaluation and wrap-up activities. The records include meeting notices, agendas and minutes, information sheets, lists, schedules, sitemaps, correspondence, school presentations, permits, press releases, design work, invoices, flyers, and photographs. Materials distibuted to participants include walker passports that had to be verified at each checkpoint, sponsor books, collection envelopes, tickets, and other ephemera.

Most of the records have been arranged by year, broken down by function, in the following order: walk oversight (the Walk Committee and chairs); recruitment of participants; volunteers; logistics such as route and police/security coverage; publicity and public relations, design of memorabilia (e.g., hats); sponsorship and prizes; financial management; the walk event itself; the festival; related fundraisers, particularly the Eitz Chaim Day Schools Learnathon; and post-event evaluation. The festival records document the planning of food, entertainment, displays, amusements, and volunteers, and include photographs taken on the day of the event.

Sub-series 17-1 also includes individual files containing photographs from ranges of years. These were added to this series after the major portion of the "Walk" records had already been processed.

Notes

Physical description note: Includes ca. 4513 photographs (1948 negatives, 431 jpgs), 8 videocassettes, 4 optical discs (videos), 12 posters, 13 T-shirts, 4 buttons, 2 shoelaces, 1 jacket and several hats.

Reproduction restriction note: Though there is no textual evidence indicating ownership of copyright, it is believed that all rights to the Graphic Artists negatives in this sub-series were transferred to UJA Federation (Communications department), since they were the ultimate possessors of the negatives. Copyright for photographs by Stephen Epstein remains in his possession. Other UJA staff photographs by Eve Marks are the physical and intellectual property of UJA Federation.

Repro Restriction

Copyright may not be held by the Ontario Jewish Archives. It is the responsibility of the researcher to obtain permission prior to use.

Source

Archival Descriptions