Passover Cuba food drive attracts record number of donors

By Raquel Kaplan Goldberg --
Success may be hard to define but it is not always hard to measure. This year, the Maot Chittin fund for Pesach in Cuba, the massive effort by UJA Federation and Canadian Jewish Congress Charities Committee-Ontario’s (CJC Charities) to supply Cuban Jewry with Passover food, was met with unprecedented levels of involvement within the Toronto Jewish community. This year the number of donors grew by more than 300 per cent and the amount raised by more than 160 per cent over last year.

“The partnership between CJC Charities and UJA Federation can help to ensure a real Pesach for Cuban Jewry as long as such assistance is required by our brothers and sisters,” says Steven Shulman, Ontario Director and National General Counsel for CJC Charities.

“This kind of increase is amazing,” says Shimmy Wenner, assistant campaign director and Maot Chittin point person at UJA Federation of Greater Toronto. “We made a larger effort to publicize this longstanding program and the community responded.”

For over four decades, the Pesach in Cuba Maot Chittin program was operated by CJC and subsequently, CJC Charities. In 2006 however, UJA Federation of Greater Toronto joined the project and brought a wealth of experience in online fundraising to the table. Turning directly to the community for financial support, the partnership has resulted in lay contributions that, after only two years, cover the entire cost of the close to $40,000 annual project.

Kosher-for-Passover food is not available in Cuba, a significant obstacle for a holiday so fundamentally defined by its prescribed and proscribed foods. In a very real sense, Cuba’s 1,500 Jews depend on Ontario’s annual donation of wine, matzah, matzah meal, gefilte fish, horseradish, tea, cooking oil, and consommé to be able to celebrate Passover.

“Once again, thanks to UJA Federation of Greater Toronto and Canadian Jewish Congress Charities Committee-Ontario and Toronto Jewry it was possible for us to celebrate Pesach according to our tradition,” writes Adela Dworin, president of the Casa de la Comunidad Hebrea de Cuba, in a thank-you letter. “Our community feels great affection towards the Jews of Toronto for these efforts.”