By Sharon Lewis

United Jewish Federation of Stamford, New Canaan, and Darien (UJF) and its Jewish Community Relations Council were able to distribute hundreds of “Stop the Bleed” kits to community agencies in late May. The kits were purchased through a grant UJF received from LiveSecure, an unprecedented $62 million security campaign and initiative to ensure the security and resiliency of our communities.

In addition to providing funding for these kits, LiveSecure helps our Federation afford a Regional Security Advisor to increase security training and preparedness in our community. The LiveSecure initiative was started years ago as antisemitism levels began to rise. In Pittsburgh, Poway, Monsey and Colleyville violent antisemitism rocked those communities but survivors of these attacks stated they would not have made it out alive without the security measures that their institutions implemented through LiveSecure. The Stop the Bleed kits contain bandages, tourniquets and other essential items needed in case of a bleeding emergency. Notably, Senator Gabby Giffords, who was shot at a campaign event in 2011, survived the shooting because a kit like those we distributed was available and staff members knew how to use it.

The kits were distributed in our community with the hope that they never have to be used.

Organizations who received Stop the Bleed kits from UJF included Bi-Cultural Hebrew Academy, Chabad of New Canaan, Chabad of Stamford, Congregation Agudath Sholom, Friendship Circle, Stamfords Jewish Community Center, Temple Beth El, Temple Sinai, Schoke Jewish Family Service, and Young Israel of Stamford.

Sharon Lewis is the Director of UJF's Jewish Community Relations Council (JCRC).This article appears in the July-August issue of The New Jewish Voice. To receive The New Jewish Voice delivered free to your home, sign-up today at www.ujf.org.