- Oorah (organization)
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Oorah, or sometimes Oorah Kiruv Rechokim, Hebrew for "awaken and bring in those who are far," (a reference to educating non-observant Jews) is an incorporated Orthodox Jewish kiruv (outreach) organization founded in 1980 "with the goal of awakening Jewish children and their families to their heritage."[1] It is a United States based 501(C)3 non-profit organization[2] whose stated mission is to "reach out to Jewish families everywhere with life-enhancing learning opportunities, resources and programs – all with a warm, human touch.".[3]
Contents
Organization biography
Oorah, Inc. was founded by Rabbi Chaim Mintz and its day-to-day operation is run by Rabbi Eliyohu Mintz (son of the founder) out of Lakewood, New Jersey.[4][5]
Programs
Oorah runs a multitude of programs to spread Orthodox Judaism. Separate summer camps for boys and girls and Jewish holiday enrichment are just some of the things Oorah manages. Oorah organizes Jewish outreach and adult learning programs and seminars. It promotes family support and development. A large portion of funds goes towards yeshiva tuition for Jewish children from non-observant homes.[6]ufghjk
Fundraising
Oorah employs a number of different fund-raising entities to keep its many programs running. They operate Kars 4 Kids, a car-donation program, and Cucumber Communications, a phone service.
Kars 4 Kids raised $8.9 million in 2006, and sent $7.6 million to its religious affiliates, with some $1.4 million going for advertisements. The Better Business Bureau says 65 percent of a nonprofit's outlay should fund its programs and Kars 4 Kids beats this target by about 20%.[7][7]
Controversies and criticism
In the summer of 2007, Oorah's camp was temporarily shut down by the Schoharie County Health Department and 31 undocumented workers doing work for a subcontactor were arrested in a raid by ICE and local law enforcement.[8] When questioned on July 10, 2007, camp director Eliyohu Mintz stated that "the organization was not aware that the workers lacked employment authorization."[9] One neighbor also complained of loud music and overly bright lights being used late at night which camp directors justified as "necessary to create a "festive mood" for the campers."[8]
Mary Murphy of New York City's Channel 11 news prepared a story on Oorah's "Kars 4 Kids" fund-raising division's lack of disclosure of the religious nature of its programs in its radio and billboard advertising.[10] The report was criticized by some local Jewish residents as yellow journalism.[11]
The St. Louis Post-Dispatch reported that "what is left unsaid [in Kars 4 Kids' radio advertising], and what also is conspicuously absent from the charity's Web site, is that almost all money raised through the Kars4Kids charity goes to a Lakewood, N. J.-based program set up to pay for private schooling and other educational programs. It aims to bring Jewish schoolchildren and adults closer to their heritage." The article also cites a 2004 Better Business Bureau report that criticizes Kars 4 Kids and Joy for Our Youth, another Oorah subsidiary, for its charity accountability standards.[12] Kars 4 Kids' website has since been modified to disclose its affiliation with Oorah and that the organization's purpose is to provide "for the spiritual, emotional and practical needs of Jewish children".[13]
Joy for Our Youth paid $65,000 in fines in Pennsylvania[14] and Kars4Kids paid $65,000 in fines in Oregon[15] in settlements reached with the respective state attorneys general as a result of investigation of alleged misleading practices in those states.
Many people[who?] have identified the radio ad, with a warbling adult male singing a kiddie-style song along with a young boy. Some Oorah subcontractors stole the cars of potential donors.[16][17] Free vacations offered by Oorah are sometimes timeshares in disguise. Oorah Kars 4 Kids is one of 16 organizations being investigated by New York Attorney General Andrew Cuomo.[18] On September 11, 2010, Oorah's Website was hacked by Muslim terrorists posting messages of hate. Oorah is a neutral organization.[19]
References
- ^ Oorah.org
- ^ Oorah.org - Tax exempt status
- ^ Oorah.org - Mission statement
- ^ Kiruv Organizations
- ^ Rabbi Chaim Mintz
- ^ Oorah's self-published December 2008 news bulletin, pages 90-91
- ^ a b The New York Post REAL BUM $TEERS: CAR-DONOR CHARITIES' FALSE PROMISES, January 21, 2008
- ^ a b The Daily Star.com Summer camp not neighbor-friendly, December 10, 2008
- ^ Immigration News Briefs - NY: Raid at Upstate Summer Camp
- ^ Mary Murphy's Fact Finders - Kars 4 Kids
- ^ Yeshiva World News Open Letter To Channel 11 After Oorah Smear-Campaign Goes Bad, February 15, 2008
- ^ St. Louis Post-Dispatch, Radio jingle is catchy-and it may catch you, December 20, 2005
- ^ kars4kids.org
- ^ The (Pottstown, Pa.) Mercury, Nonprofits for kids accused of misleading donors, January 30, 2009
- ^ (Medford, Oregon) Mail Tribune, Charity misled donors, AG says, April 15, 2009
- ^ failedmessiah.typepad.com, Oorah Subcontractor Linked To Sale Of Stolen Cars, May 21, 2010 [1]
- ^ failedmessiah.typepad.com, Donated family car makes criminal turn, May 20, 2010[Donated family car makes criminal turn]
- ^ New York Daily News, http://www.nydailynews.com/news/ny_crime/2010/06/15/2010-06-15_ag_andrew_cuomo_car_charities_kars_4_kids_lechaim_for_life_cars_that_help_taking.html, June 16, 2010 [2]
- ^ Yeshiva World News, Oorah’s Children’s Camp Site Attacked by Radical Islamists on Anniversary of 9/11, September 14, 2010 [3]
External links
- Oorah.org
- Kars4Kids
- Other vehicle donation websites benefiting Oorah: [4],[5]
- Cucumber Communications
- KirbyCard calling cards
Categories:- Orthodox Jewish outreach
- Jewish organizations based in the United States
- Non-profit organizations based in the United States
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