(Courtesy of Shalom Task Force) Never an agency to sit back and rest on its proverbial laurels, Shalom Task Force has spent the past months creating new programs. Using COVID restrictions to their advantage, STF has been running online workshops and webinars on a wide variety of topics for audiences from across the globe. The common themes in all these workshops is creating support for and awareness of domestic violence, and providing education about healthy relationships. This past month saw two events from the education department, both focusing on the creation of healthy marriages.
On October 26, STF presented its renowned Shalom Workshop for kallah teachers. Together with Core, an organization that provides a network of support and trained Torah-based guidance for today’s women so that they, their homes and their communities can truly flourish, we reached an international audience of over 150 kallah teachers from Australia, England, France, South America, Israel, Canada, Mexico and numerous states across the U.S. The focus of the session was to impart understanding of relationship dynamics, as well as ideas about how to help couples navigate communication, conflict and relationship challenges with conceptual frameworks and concrete exercises. The workshop was presented by Yeshaya Kraus, LCSW, Shalom Task Force’s community engagement and education manager and director of the Shalom Workshop program.
The following week, Kraus joined with Avital Levin, LMSW, Shalom Task Force’s director of education, and hosted “More Dating Goals,” the demanded follow-up session to their popular “Dating Goals” webinars from June. Over 300 participants tuned in to hear their answers to 10 frequently asked dating questions, including: How do I bring up something I am embarrassed about? How important is attraction? Can I ask someone to change something about themselves? What if my family or friends don’t like the person?
There’s more to come! The world may be running very differently than it did eight months ago, but for Shalom Task Force, it’s still business as usual. We remain committed to providing support, education and guidance to make our relationships safer, healthier and more fulfilling.
Shalom Task Force has been offering support and education to the Jewish community for the last 27 years. Our education department reached over 7,000 community members during the 2019-2020 school year. If you would like to request a workshop, please visit www.shalomtaskforce.org/education.
