Accession Number

2014-10-1

Material Format

multiple media

Physical Description

10 cm textual records

ca. 70 photographs: b&w and col. ; 10 cm x 15 cm or smaller

1 scrapbook

Date

1963-2013

Scope and Content

Accession consists of records documenting the activities of "Council '63", a branch of the Toronto Section of the National Council of Jewish Women of Canada (NCJWC). Types of records include a photograph album, a scrapbook, correspondence, souvenirs, meeting minutes, membership lists, program materials and budgets.

Administrative History

The "Council '63" Branch of the Toronto Section of the National Council of Jewish Women of Canada (NCJWC) was formed in 1963. Currently consisting of 20 members, the group was initially spearheaded by Barbara Norwich (d. 2011), and they met regularly in homes in the Cedarvale area. The group primarily did volunteer work, although it later evolved into a study group and book club.

Subjects

Women

Nonprofit organizations

Name Access

National Council of Jewish Women (Toronto, Ont.)

Source

Archival Accessions

Accession Number

2015-8-7

Material Format

multiple media

Physical Description

ca. 70 cm of textual records and other material

Date

1928-2013

Scope and Content

Accession consists of material documenting the activities of Ben Zion Shapiro and his family. The bulk of the records document the Shapiro family's involvement in Young Judaea. The Young Judaea material includes: yearbooks, photographs, correspondence, meeting minutes, event programmes, song books, newsletters, and two Camp Biluim flags made by Bunny Shapiro. One flag contains Camp Biluim's crest (1951) and the other one was created for Camp Biluim's colour war and contains the text "We will try and we will succeed Camp Biluim" (1954?). Also included is a VHS tape containing a copy of the Toronto Zionist Council's video about Camp Shalom (1991?). Of note are minute books maintained by Roy Shapiro for the Toronto Young Judaea Administrative Board (1928-1934) and for the Leadership Club (1940-1948).

Accession also contains material relating to Roy and Ben Zion's involvement with the following organizations: the Coordinated Services to the Jewish Elderly (Circle of Care), B'nai Israel Beth David Congregation, Beth Tzedec's Mispacha Program, Beth Tzedec's Israel Action Program, Congregation Beth Haminyan, and Holy Blossom Temple's Department for Jewish Living. These records include, minutes, correspondence, newsletters and publications, evaluation reports and other reports. Also included is a demographic report entitied "Rapid Growth and Transformation: Demographic Challenges Facing the Jewish Community of Greater Toronto" (1995), material from a conference at the University of Toronto on the university's partnership with Israel, CHAT alumni directories, and a CHAT book entitled, "Voices: Jewish Teens of the 90's". Of note are buttons, photographs, reports and correspondence documenting Bunny and Ben Zion's trip to the Soviet Union on behalf of the CJC's Committee for Soviet Jewry.

Finally accession includes material documenting family activities of the Shapiro and Sherman family. Included is a transcript of Bessie Sherman telling her life story (1978), haggadot, PowerPoint presentations created by Ben Zion for his grandchildren and for a family reunion outlining the family history of his family and Bunny's family. There is also a video of Ben Zion presenting his PowerPoint at the Michalski / Cohen family reunion. Also included are family films and videos containing footage of Bunny and Ben Zion's wedding and honeymoon, Camp Biluim, Young Judaea events, Bunny on Machon, family wedding anniversaries and birthday parties, trips to Israel, the United States, and Europe as well as footage of the Cousin's Club. Also included is a VHS tape containing a recorded segment from CityPulse News featuring the family's Pesach festivities in 1995.

Photo identification: Back row, left to right: Ray Markus, Michelle Landsberg, Menachem ?, Frank Narrol. Front row, left to right: Gilda Mitchell, Bunny Shapiro, BenZion Shapiro, Malka Rabinowitz.

Administrative History

Ben Zion Shapiro was born in Toronto in 1931 to Roy Shapiro and Beck Shapiro (née Cohen). He has a younger brother, Morden "Mort" Shapiro (b. 1940). His father worked as an office manager at Rotstein Furniture and Maple Leaf Cleaners, and his mother worked as a legal secretary until marriage. Roy was active in a number of organizations including: Young Judaea, Sons of Jacob Society, Toronto Camera Club, a founding member of Beth David Synagogue, Coordinated Services to the Jewish Elderly (Circle of Care) and president of the Association of Jewish Seniors. Beck was active in Young Judaea and Pioneer Women (president of the Golda Meir Club).

Ben Zion received a master of social work degree from the University of Toronto and attended the Jewish Agency Institute for Youth Leaders from Abroad in Jerusalem (1951-1952). He has worked for a number of organizations throughout his career, including: Young Judaea (he was director of both Camp Shalom [1962-1969] and Camp Biluim [1954-1956]), B'nai Brith Youth Organization, University Settlement, St. Christopher's House and director of the Novomeysky Centre in Jerusalem (1957-1961). He was also professor and associate dean of social work at the University of Toronto and three times visiting professor at the Hebrew University in Jerusalem.

Ben married Bunny "Bernice" Shaprio in 1955. Bunny was born in 1934 in Noranda, Quebec to Irving Sherman and Bessie (née Consky). Bunny attended public school in Noranda, Noranda High School and Forest Hill Collegiate in Toronto, University of Toronto (BA), the Ontario Institute for Studies in Education (M.Ed. in special education), and the Jewish Agency Institute for Jewish Leaders from Abroad (1952-1953).

Bunny graduated from the first Camp Biluim Institute for leadership training in 1951 and worked with Ben Zion at Camp Shalom as Camp Mother in 1962 and from 1964-1969. She also worked at Camp Biluim from 1955-1956. In 1983, Bunny and Ben Zion went to the Soviet Union to visit refuseniks on behalf of the Soviet Jewry Committee of the Canadian Jewish Congress, Ontario Region.

Bunny and Ben have two children: Ayala and Ilan. Since Ben Zion's retirement in 1996, he and Bunny have been living in Jerusalem for half of each year. In 2015, they moved full-time to Jerusalem.

Use Conditions

Copyright is held by the Ontario Jewish Archives. Please contact the Archives to obtain permission prior to use.

Descriptive Notes

Physical description note: includes ca. 300 photographs (256 tiff), 2 PowerPoint presentations, 1 textual record (doc), 4 buttons, 2 flags, 5 VHS tapes, and 18 film reels (8 mm).

Subjects

Camps

Youth

Zionism

Name Access

Shapiro, Ben Zion, 1931-

Source

Archival Accessions

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Accession Number

2015-12-7

Material Format

multiple media

Physical Description

ca. 10 cm of textual records and other material

Date

1986, 1991-2015

Scope and Content

Accession consists of material documenting the personal and professional activities of Janice Benatar. Personal records include a family tree, speeches Janice delivered at the Lipa Lippers Toastmaster's Group meetings, a Sephardic cookbook, immigration papers, and a Sharon School Reunion invitation for alumni living in Toronto. Also included are photographs of Janice with her family, performing in a ballet production with the Academy of Ballet and Jazz, with her newborn son, at her son's bar mitzvah at Chabad Flamingo, and with the keys to her first home in Thornhill. Also identified in photographs are: Elan Levitan, Viviane Benatar, Michael Benatar, Claudia Benatar, Rachel Pasternak, and Samuel Pasternak.

Also included are speeches, invitations, event programs, and video recordings of Book Of Life events as well as a bookmark that was designed by artist Enya Keshet for Book of Life honourees. Finally, accession also includes Professional Advisory Committee meeting minutes (2009-2015) and breakfast seminar presentations (2014-2015).

Use Conditions

Copyright is held by the Ontario Jewish Archives. Please contact the Archives to obtain permission prior to use.

Descriptive Notes

Physical description note: includes 7 photographs, 4 DVDs, 200 KB of textual records, and 1 bookmark.

Subjects

Immigrants--Canada

Nonprofit organizations

Philanthropy and fundraising

Women

Name Access

Jewish Foundation of Greater Toronto

Source

Archival Accessions

Part Of

Jewish Family and Child fonds

Level

Fonds

Fonds

79

Material Format

multiple media

Date

1933-2011

Physical Description

ca. 4.8 m of texutal records and other material

Admin History/Bio

Jewish Family & Child was established in 1943 from the amalgamation of a variety of different social agencies formed as early as 1868. These included the Ladies Benevolent Fund, the Free Burial Society, Jewish Family Welfare Bureau, Jewish Children’s Bureau, Big Brothers and Big Sisters, and the Ladies Maternal Aid Society. Much of its funding and support after its inception came from the United Jewish Welfare Fund.

The first executive director of the agency was Dora Wilensky. She was a trained social worker who served for twenty-eight years, until her untimely death from cancer in 1959. Jerome Diamond took over in 1960 and Gordon Wolfe succeeded him in 1981. Ron Levin briefly replaced Wolfe after his retirement in 2003, and was succeeded in 2006 by Dr. Richard Cummings who then retired in 2015. As of 2017, Brian Prousky is the organization’s current executive director.

During the early years, fees were established, but the agency never refused to assist clients because of their inability to pay. JF&CS became one of the first agencies to rely on trained social workers. It was also the first social agency in Canada to become unionized.

Over the years the agency’s role has changed and it has expanded significantly, in terms of its staff and services. After the Second World War it played a pivotal role supporting the Holocaust orphans who came to Canada as refugees, particularly in the area of locating foster parents for these children. By 1957, the agency hired its first counsellor and became a member of the United Community Fund of Greater Toronto. The year 1968 marked the start of JF&CS’ new program involving the use of a mobile treatment centre to reach out to Jewish street kids and in 1974 they established the Jerome D. Diamond Adolescent Centre.

In 1981, JF&CS was mandated by the Province of Ontario as a Jewish children’s aid society responsible for the care and protection of all Jewish youth in the GTA. In 1983 they established the Just-A-Second Shop at 3101 Bathurst Street, which took in used goods from the community to pass on to needy families. Two years later they established the Henry G. Goodman Home for developmentally challenged children on Wilmington Avenue. The following year marked the opening of the Elm Ridge Group Living Residence for elderly people. In 1988, they opened a special shelter for abused women and children, and in 1994, they introduced their Homework Club for kids.

The current mission of Jewish Family & Child is to support the healthy development of individuals, children, families, and communities through prevention, protection, counselling, education, and advocacy services, within the context of Jewish values. Their services include counselling, rehabilitation and support, foster care, family services, and community services. These services are offered in a host of different languages including Hebrew, Yiddish, Russian, French, and English.

JF&CS is an independent organization that receives its funding from a variety of different sources such as UJA Federation of Greater Toronto, United Way Toronto and York Region, the Government of Ontario, and individual donations.

As of 2017, JF&CS has nearly 130 staff providing more than thirty community services with a budget of almost $20 million. Their main office is located in the Lipa Green Centre for Community Services at 4600 Bathurst Street. They also maintain offices and run services out of their downtown branch at 35 Madison Avenue, their York Region branch inside UJA’s 1 Open Door at the Lebovic JCC, and their Jerome D. Diamond Adolescent Centre in midtown Toronto.

Name Access

Jewish Family and Child

Wilensky, Dora, 1902-1959

Wolfe, Gordon

Diamond, Jerome D.

Subjects

Charities

Children

Families

Nonprofit organizations

Access Restriction

Closed. Researchers must receive permission from the OJA Director and head of Jewish Family and Child prior to accessing the records.

Related Material

See also: Jewish Child Welfare Association fonds (fonds 86); Jewish Family Welfare Bureau fonds (fonds 87); Federation of Jewish Philanthropies of Toronto fonds (fonds 66); and, United Jewish Welfare Fund fonds (fonds 67).

Creator

Jewish Family and Child (Toronto, Ont.)

Accession Number

2004-5-101

2004-1-8

2002-10-38

2006-6-7 (Shelf 03-6,Orphan index cards)

2009-12-9

2010-4-1 (Shelf 34-1)

2010-10-5

2015-8/11

2015-9/1

Source

Archival Descriptions