By MYRON LOVE For much of the Jewish community\u2019s early history in Winnipeg, it was men who were acknowledged as our community leaders \u2013 as was common in society in general \u2013 while the work of scores of women working diligently behind the scenes was largely overlooked.\u00a0 While women\u2019s organizations such as ORT, Hadassah, National Council of Jewish Women and many others raised money to help the needy in our community and Israel, noted Marsha Cowan, it was usually men who made the decisions.
On Tuesday, March 17, \u00a0the Jewish Heritage Centre of Western Canada hosted a panel discussion: \u201cLet Her Works Praise: Panel on the role of Women in Jewish Communal Life\u201d (which was pretty well attended considering the wintry conditions) \u2013 \u00a0seeking to show our community\u2019s appreciation for the work of countless women over the years behind the scenes,\u00a0 as well as the growing number of women now working side by side with men in leadership roles.\u00a0 \u00a0
Marsha Cowan \u2013 one of the three panelists, has straddled both worlds \u2013 as a leader in National Council of Jewish Women, and later as the first woman to serve as CEO of the Jewish Foundation of Manitoba.
Cowan began her presentation by reminiscing about her time at Peretz School and the old YMHA.\u00a0 Her first vehicle of choice as a volunteer was with the National Council of Jewish Women (NCJW).\u00a0 The latter\u2019s major project was the Golden Age Club \u2013 Canada\u2019s original drop-in centre for (largely) Jewish seniors.\u00a0 For years, the club operated out of a building near Salter and Selkirk in what used to be the heavily Jewish North End.
\u201cAfter 40 years,\u201d she recalled, \u201cwe realized that we needed a new building.\u201d
The site for the newly renamed Gwen Secter Creative Living Centre was a former tire store at Smithfield and Main.\u00a0 Cowan chaired the successful campaign to raise the funds for the transformation of the building into the Gwen Secter Centre.
Cowan subsequently served as Vice-President of the National Council of Jewish Women. She also served as President of Jewish Child and Family Service;, Vice-President of the Women\u2019s Division, Combined Jewish Appeal; and, most recently, as the first woman to be President and CEO \u00a0of The Jewish Foundation of Manitoba.
\u201c\u201cI remember walking into my first board meeting at the Foundation and finding myself one of only two women among 18 men,\u201d she recalled.\u00a0 \u201cBut it was never a problem for me working in male-oriented organizations and institutions.\u201d\u00a0
One of the first things that she did as a board \u00a0member though, was to push to establish the Foundation\u2019s Women\u2019s Endowment Fund in order to give women an opportunity to make philanthropic decisions involving\u00a0 the distribution of funding.
The fund, she noted, started with $20,000 contributed by about 150 women. Today, 32 years later, the Women\u2019s Endowment Fund has a capital base of $2.4 million and distributes more than $100,000 a year to women\u2019s charities.\u00a0
In her presentation, Susan Turner began by recalling growing up in a traditional home in the North End, her early schooling, Shabbats spent with her father, Leible Hershfield, at the Rosh Pina Synagogue, and going to the YMHA, where Leible was the Athletic Director. The family moved south in 1958 so that her maternal grandfather, Lazar Tuberman, who lived with them, could be closer to the Shaarey Zedek Synagogue, where he was the shames. In her teen years and then at university, Turner sang in the synagogue choir.
A lifelong professional visual artist in printmaking and in video, Turner has worked in a number of positions \u2013 by turn as a school librarian, an editor, a graphic designer, an art instructor, a lecturer at the School of Art, a researcher and curator in the area of multiculturalism, an exhibits curator and designer, a gourmet pastry chef for restaurants, and as a volunteer in the arts community. \u00a0
She noted that it was her mother, Babe, who got her involved working on projects in the Jewish community.\u00a0\u201cFor many years Babe was Executive Director of the Jewish Historical Society.\u00a0In the late 1970s, she recruited my husband Myron and me to be on the Programming and the Archives committees, and we remained active in one form or another for close to 40 years.\u201d
\u201cFrom 1999 to 2004,\u201d Turner said, \u00a0\u201cI was the Coordinator of Volunteers at the Sharon Home, where I learned so much about ageing, dementia, and respectful elder-care.\u201d
In 2005, at the behest of Stan Carbone, JHC Programs and Exhibitions Director, she began working as curator and exhibitions designer at the Jewish Heritage Centre. Some of the major exhibits she worked on\u00a0 were \u201cThe Jewish Wedding\u201d, \u201cManitoba Synagogues\u201d, \u201cJews in Manitoba\u2019s Garment Industry\u201d, and \u201cChief Justice Samuel Freedman.\u201d
\u00a0In addition to her work with the JHC, Turner noted that she and Myron\u00a0volunteered through Jewish Child and Family Service with newcomers from Argentina and with Yazidi refugees. \u201cHowever much Myron and I were able to assist them, our own lives were enriched by the experience,\u201d she added.
Turner also showed images of her current art as well as a poetic video she produced using voice, music, image, and Yiddish about the final days of her mother Babe\u2019s life.
\u00a0
Leah Craven, the third member of the panel, is representative of a younger generation of women who have assumed leadership roles in our community.\u00a0 A lawyer by training, she currently serves as President of the National Council of Jewish Women of Canada, Winnipeg Section. She is also a Board member of the Jewish Foundation of Manitoba \u2013 serving on their Governance and Grants Committees. She has previously been actively involved with Shalom Square, Gray Academy of Jewish Education, Congregation Etz Chayim, and Canadian Friends of the Hebrew University.
\u201cI was raised in a traditional Jewish home where volunteering was simply part of life,\u201d she recalled.\u00a0 \u201cMy (late) father, Mel Craven, was deeply involved in community work, and my mother, Reva, continues to volunteer actively. In our home, contributing wasn\u2019t an \u2018extra.\u2019 It was just\u2026 part of being Jewish.
\u201cAs the granddaughter of Holocaust survivors, I grew up with a strong awareness of how vital community support systems are,\u201d she continued. \u201cI understood early that people struggle \u2014 and that communal care matters. I also understood I was fortunate, and that being able to give comes with responsibility.\u201d
Craven recounted her first independent volunteer experience. While still in elementary school (Ramah), her father asked if she would teach basic Hebrew to a colleague\u2019s church youth group.
\u201cI took it very seriously,\u201d she said.\u00a0 I made a Hebrew alphabet chart with transliterations and created name cards in Hebrew letters for each participant.\u00a0 It was my first time in a church and it was a welcoming experience, genuinely enjoyable. Looking back, I learned an early lesson. I stepped forward because someone asked me. Someone opened a door and trusted me.\u201d
\u00a0That pattern, Craven noted, has occurred repeatedly throughout her life.
In her university years, she was active in Jewish student organizations, Craven said.\u00a0 She was involved in advocacy for Soviet Jewry and spoke out against antisemitism.
\u201cAt university, I learned that community life isn\u2019t only programming and events,\u201d she observed. \u00a0\u201cIt\u2019s visibility, engagement, and standing up when it matters.\u201d
As a working mother, she has continued to show up for our community \u2013 volunteering over the years at Folklorama (Shalom Square) and synagogue.\u00a0\u00a0 \u201cHelping to set up, clean up and greeting people (at shul) may not be glamorous, but it is foundational,\u201d she noted. \u201cCommunity is sustained by everyday acts of showing up.\u201d
Craveb pointed out that formal barriers for women have changed over generations. \u201cMany women are now invited to leadership tables,\u201d she noted. \u00a0\u201cWe are asked to chair, lead, speak and make decisions. That progress is real and important.
\u201cAt the same time, many women still carry the day\u2011to\u2011day responsibility for home and family,\u201d Craven added. \u201cAs well, single mothers and women without job flexibility often face additional challenges in participating in volunteer roles.\u201d
\u00a0
Craven said the biggest challenge for women volunteering in community is \u201ccapacity\u201d. \u201cIn my experience that looks different at each stage of life\u201d, she observed.\u00a0 \u201cAs a student, I had to balance community involvement with academics.\u00a0 As a young professional, there weere early career demands. As a parent, I sought involvement that fits naturally into family life \u2013 such as children\u2019s programming at synagogue or volunteering at school.\u201d
\u00a0It was during that time \u2013 when her kids were babies \u2013 that Craven joined National Council. \u00a0\u201cI welcomed the opportunity to be part of a Jewish women\u2019s organization dedicated to service, education,and social action,\u201d she said.
Crave also noted the help her own children have given her. She would bring them to meetings and on deliveries.\u00a0 When they were a little older, they helped sorting ribbons and wrapping paper, stuffing envelopes and assembling mishloach manot.
\u201cThese small tasks mattered,\u201d Craven said. \u00a0\u201cIt allowed me to stay engaged and my children learned that community involvement isn\u2019t separate from daily life,\u201d she added. \u201cIt\u2019s part of how we live \u2014 for me, it\u2019s part of being Jewish.\u201d
The balance between work, family and community is never fully resolved, Craven observed. \u201cInvolvement looks different at different times,\u201d she noted. \u00a0\u201cSometimes it\u2019s leading. It can be making a phone call, delivering a meal, sitting beside somebody and saying \u2013 there is a place for you here \u2013 or just showing up.
\u201cIt often just begins because someone asks, invites or makes room.\u201d
\u00a0In conclusion, Craven expressed gratitude to \u201d the women who paved the way\u201d and to \u201ca community that values women\u2019s leadership\u201d.<\/p>\n
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