Grantee Highlight: Nini Czopp

Supporting the Holocaust Survivor Community

Since 2002,  Israel-based Nini Czopp has provided services to the Jewish older adult community. The Association originally aided Dutch-Israeli Holocaust survivors. It soon after began supporting a broader segment of Holocaust survivors, including their families and partners as well as second-generation survivors. The charity received three grants from the Sephardic Foundation on Aging (SFOA) — totaling $139,000 — which helped it expand its mental health care, financial assistance, and legal support services.

Bringing Social Work Support to Homebound Seniors

In 2018, SFOA provided a $54,000 grant to Nini Czopp, which the organization used to continue its social work program for Holocaust survivors and their partners. The donation helped the Association not only hire more staff but also vet highly qualified social workers and volunteers, who then provide for seniors’ emotional, physical and functional well-being. Social workers also help beneficiaries navigate administrative paperwork, referring them for additional financial or legal counsel whenever required.

Responding to Pandemic-Related Food Insecurity

Other than the COVID-related health risks, the most urgent need Nini Czopp had to address was food insecurity. At the time, local food delivery services were not very reliable and even the meals that did arrive to seniors were not delivered in the most efficient manner.

Thanks to the $20,000 emergency grant from SFOA, the Association was able to run a meal-on-wheels program to support food insecure seniors. These food deliveries also allowed Nini Czopp to help some of their beneficiaries suffering from isolation, many of whom had lost their caregivers during the pandemic.

Alleviating Senior Solitude 

SFOA’s 2021 grant helped Nini Czopp address the other big challenge seniors faced during and after the pandemic: isolation. The Association used the $65,000 it received from SFOA to increase the number of visits social workers were making. Moreover, the organization also offered family counseling sessions aimed at strengthening family bonds.

Finally, the charity was able to set up workshops several times per month that allowed seniors and their caregivers to access support groups as well as meet peers. Part of the donation also went to developing activity kits in collaboration with occupational therapists. These included activities like photography or cooking classes aimed at alleviating solitude and boredom.

SFOA’s Grants “Helped Us Intensify Our Programs”

Without SFOA’s contributions, Nini Czopp would have struggled to ramp up its services. The Association had 13 social workers across the region and successfully increased home visits to meet the needs of its beneficiaries. “The grants helped us intensify our programs,” said Nini Czopp Chairperson Paulinka Kreisberg-Wesenthal. Thanks to support from the Foundation, the charity was successful in “continuing and expanding its mission-related work” aimed at supporting the elderly Jewish community cope with the challenges of old age.