Sponsor the 2026 Heschel Vision Awards!
Every year the Heschel Vision Awards brings together JUFJ’s community from across our region to connect, celebrate our collective accomplishments, and honor inspiring leaders in our movement. Joyful connection and inspiration help sustain us through times of struggle like these.
This year’s celebration will be on Sunday, October 18 at 5:00 PM at the Samuel Riggs IV Alumni Center at the University of Maryland College Park. Join us as we honor local leaders who follow in the footsteps of Rabbi Abraham Joshua Heschel z”l (1907-1972) and beloved JUFJ leader Elissa Froman z”l (1983-2013) by fusing deep moral commitments with their activism.
2026 Honorees
for her labor justice work for domestic workers and early childhood educators in DC.
for shifting the consciousness of the Baltimore Jewish community and moving them to work for change.
for organizing and cultivating JUFJ volunteers to advance justice in Montgomery County.
for advancing the rights of Black people and defending democracy in Maryland and across the country.
Additional Event Details
Location: Samuel Riggs IV Alumni Center at the University of Maryland, College Park (7801 Alumni Dr, College Park, MD 20742) and on Zoom.
Food: Light vegetarian, dairy, and parve refreshments, all kosher style. Vegan and gluten-free options. Hechshered food available upon request.
Dress: Business casual
Accessibility: The program will have live Spanish interpretation. The Zoom program will be captioned. The venue is ADA compliant. For additional accommodations, share your needs below.
Sponsorship Benefits
Sponsorships and ticket sales power JUFJ’s organizing to advance economic, racial, and social justice in DC, Maryland, and Virginia. They are also an opportunity to celebrate our honorees.
Sponsorship levels begin at $180 and all include 1 or more tickets to the 2026 Heschel Vision Awards, acknowledgement on the JUFJ website, and recognition in the program book. Sponsorship levels at the Supporter level ($360) or higher include ad space in the program book. This is a great opportunity to celebrate the honorees, highlight your business or organization, or share a personal message of support for JUFJ’s organizing — reaching every guest at the event.
You can use the form below to pay via credit card, direct debit from your bank account, Google Pay, Apply Pay (on iOS devices), Venmo, or Paypal. If you would prefer to pay by check, do not fill out the form; instead mail a check made out to Jews United for Justice to 2027 Massachusetts Ave NW, Washington, DC, 20036 and email Sarah to let her know your guest names, sponsor listing, accommodation requests, and any other relevant information.
Thank you to our Sponsors
Updated July 30, 2026
Supporter
Barbara Kraft and Peter Winkler
Erin Palmer and Eric Atilano
Helen and Marty Blank
Lisa and Don Akchin
Believer
Fabrangen
Harriet Rubinson
About the Heschel Vision Awards
In 1998, a small group of longtime activists and younger community organizers founded JUFJ after being inspired to action at a class on the teachings of Rabbi Abraham Joshua Heschel z”l. Rabbi Heschel saw the teachings of the Prophets as a call for social action in our time, and he was a prominent leader in the civil rights and antiwar movements of the 1960s.
Many of the hallmarks of JUFJ’s work — commitment to multicultural and interfaith coalitions, and concern for the most vulnerable in our society — are founded on Heschel’s teachings and the movements he helped lead.
For many of us the march from Selma to
Montgomery was both protest and prayer…
Even without words, our march was worship.
I felt my legs were praying.
— Rabbi Abraham Joshua Heschel, 1965
About the Elissa Froman Heschel Vision Award
In 2010, we honored Elissa Froman z”l, a civil rights activist and JUFJ leader, with a Heschel Vision Award. Elissa embodied not only the best of Rabbi Heschel’s teachings, but also the core of JUFJ: building relationships and (sacred) community, and then working collectively to make change. Elissa passed away, far too early, in 2013. We honor her memory, and her passion and commitment to community and justice.
“And what does the Creator require of you but to do justice, love kindness and walk humbly with your G-d.” — Micah 6:8
“With humor and humility, Elissa did more to heal our fractured world in her short life than most can hope to do in a lifetime. She will forever be missed, but always remembered as our social justice hero.” — Remembrance of Elissa Froman by Joanna Blotner, 2013
Previous Heschel Honorees
Abigail, Emma, and Zoe Levine
Adat Shalom Reconstructionist Congregation
Ana María Archila
Ann Hoffman
Rabbi Arthur Waskow (z”l)
The Bainum Family Foundation
Barbara Kraft
Ben & Beth Wikler
Betsy Krieger & Karen Kreisberg
Rabbi Bob Saks
Bruce and Susie Turnbull
Claire Landers
David (z”l) & Carla (z”l) Cohen
David Fishback
David Krakow
Rabbi David Shneyer
The DC Initiative on Racial Equity and its Coordinating Committee, accepted by co-facilitators Alicia Wilson and Dushaw Hockett
Eli & Kavitha Kasargod-Staub
Elissa Froman (z”l)
Councilmember Elissa Silverman
England Family Foundation
Evan Serpick
George Derek Musgrove
Gustavo Torres
Heather Booth
Ilyse Hogue
Isabel “Liz” Dunst
Representative Jamie Raskin
Councilmember Janeese Lewis George
Jerry Levine & Sarah Pokempner
Jessica Champagne & Max Toth
Senator Jill P. Carter
Jo Shifrin
Joanna Blotner
Joanna Silver
Joe Sandler
Joelle Novey
Jonathan Stern (z”l) & Karen Paul
Joslyn Williams
Attorney General Karl A. Racine
Kesh Ladduwahetty
Laura Menyuk
Margie Klein
Governor Martin O’Malley
Mary Ann Stein (z”l)
Michelle Engelmann
Nicole Berner
Nikki Cole
Public Justice Center
Roberta “Bert” Ritvo
Roxie Herbekian & Ken Zinn
Rubie Coles
Ruth Messinger
Ruti Kadish
Sam Rosen Jewler
SEIU 32BJ
Shelley Moskowitz
Simon Greer
Tara Huffman
Tikkun Olam Women’s Foundation
Toni Holness
Tracie Guy-Decker
UFCW Local 400’s Political & Community Affairs Team, represented by Dyana Forester and Kim Mitchell
We Are CASA
