2008 Year End Briefing
December 31, 2008 - As 2008 draws to a close and global economies face unprecedented economic downturns, we at Tikva are more committed than ever to succeeding in our mission of bringing hope, love and stability to the forgotten Jewish orphans of Ukraine. With an eye towards environmental and fiscal responsibility, we have chosen to send our year-end briefing in electronic form and hope you will take the time to read the attached newsletter and remember Tikva's children in this season of light and joy.
Please click here to read our Winter 2008 Newsletter.
May your families usher in 2009 with health, prosperity and joy!
The TIKVA Trustees and Staff
Newsletter Archive
Our Newsletters highlight key events and important milestones in the development of Tikva and provide insight into the lives and experiences of our children. Please take the time to click on the links below and learn more about how and why we endeavour to fulfill our vital mission.
2007 Year End Briefing
Summer 2007 Newsletter
2006 Mid-Year Briefing
Tikva in the News
The Jewish Week 4/03/2009 - Rescuing Jewish Children from Odessa's Streets
Great Neck Record 5/25/2007 - Tikva: Hope Springs Eternal for Odessa's Jewish Children
Jerusalem Post 4/23/2007 - Keeping hope afloat
Tikva Children's Home on The Early Show
Misha Loves to Sing Released to Rave Reviews
Sept 2, 2004 - An ongoing need to find new and creative strategies to raise additional funds to support Tikva's mission, coupled with a Board mandate to tell the story of Odessa's children, has produced Misha Loves to Sing, written by Tikva staff Emily Lehrman and Rosanna Roizin and based on the real-life transformation of a boy who finds his voice (and his sister) when he arrives at Tikva Children's Home.
This Rosh Hashanah, Tikva sent the illustrated 36-page hard-cover book as a special "thank-you" to its donors. To date, the book has raised $33,000, 100% of which goes to support children's programs in Odessa. While Tikva is still searching for a publisher in order to reprint the book for wider distribution (thereby increasing world-wide awareness of our important cause), we have nonetheless received numerous fan letters from readers in the Tikva family.
"I read [Misha Loves to Sing] to my kids this afternoon and all of us were moved by it," wrote Brad Rose, Tikva supporter and attorney for Pryor Cashman. "My kids even wanted me to read the Tikva informational page at the end of the book as well as the letter [that accompanied the book]. My 12-year-old became so moved," continued Mr. Cashman, "that she vowed to approach her Hebrew school's director to see if she could organize some form of fundraiser for the Tikva Homes. My wife volunteered to pack up 15 crates of children's clothes to send off to Odessa, and I pledged to kick in additional funds, personally and through my firm, to support your efforts year in and year out. You guys are first rate. Thanks."
The story of Misha is beautifully illustrated and tenderly relates the story of a young boy's abandonment and final redemption as a result of Tikva's love and care. Although a composite character, Misha nevertheless combines the common threads of abandonment, poverty, and hopelessness that are the lot of Odessa's children and which Tikva works tirelessly to remedy.
In a letter from Andrew Stamelman, Tikva Trustee and attorney for Riker Danzig: "I'm at a loss for words.... The book is terrific! The story of Misha and Vika is truly the story of the Tikva Children's Home. The details of each child's experience differ, but the message and story is the same, and this story is simply conveyed in the children's book. I can't tell you how much I enjoyed reading the book to [my five-year-old daughter] at bed-time the last two nights. She knows that I have been to the Ukraine twice, and appreciates how nice it is that her Daddy spends some time helping others less fortunate, and was so excited to hear this story about the place that I have been talking about. Thank you and congratulations on a fabulous job!"
Finally, "The subtitle of this book is very right, a book of hope," wrote Dr. Vladimir Kvint, Tikva supporter and Professor of Economics at American University. "Despite my not very young age I read it through and found that it is very thoughtful and gives children an understanding of how it is important to be happy despite all difficulties in life. It is interesting that the story is very real and at the same time very sentimental. I would recommend this book to any child in the world, not only to immigrants, to gain a better understanding of the destitution of others."
Note: A few copies of the book are still available by request, limited to one book per person, per request. Suggested donation is $100. Please contact the Tikva office at 917.262.1818 or at info@tikvaodessa.org if you would like to receive a copy or if you have any publishing contacts that may be of use. Thank you!
Emily Lehrman Joins Tikva's New York Staff
 Emily J. Lehrman has been named Director of Strategic Development & Operations in the New York office of Tikva Children's Home. She will oversee Tikva's US-based publicity, fundraising and volunteer recruitment functions.
Lehrman brings over eight years of experience in the non-profit sector. Most recently, Lehrman served as senior associate at the consulting firm Holt, Wexler & Farnam in New Haven, CT, and worked at Choate Rosemary Hall in Wallingford, CT. Lehrman served four years in the External Relations Department of Civic Education Project, a Soros-funded organization that leads reform efforts and counters "brain drain" in university social science departments of post-communist countries in Eastern Europe and Eurasia.
"We are thrilled Emily is joining Tikva," says Seth Gerszberg, president of Tikva's Board of Trustees. "Emily's expertise in Eastern European affairs and the non-profit sector will take this organization to the next level. Emily's leadership will allow Tikva to reach hundreds more children in the Odessa region, who desperately need dedicated and compassionate people like herself."
Lehrman received a master's degree in 1996 in Slavic Languages and Literatures from Yale University. In 1995 Lehrman graduated with honors from the University of Notre Dame where she majored in both Liberal Studies and Eastern European Studies.
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