Our Mission
The Barnik Tarbut Foundation supports enhanced educational and business development opportunities for underserved communities in the United States and in Israel.
The Foundation is focused on funding early-stage educational programs which provide leadership, management, and business training for underserved communities as well as latter-stage start-up incubation, micro-financing, and other services to help advance the economic and social statuses of individuals within such communities.
As part of its effort, the Foundation is also focused on promoting tolerance, stigma reduction and non-discrimination through supporting opportunities for interaction and collaboration between underserved community members and the larger business community.
Supported Partners
World Central Kitchen (WCK) is a not-for-profit non-governmental organization devoted to providing meals in the wake of natural disasters. Founded in 2010 by Spanish American chef and restaurateur José Andrés, the organization prepared food in Haiti following its devastating earthquake. Its method of operations is to be a first responder and then to collaborate and galvanize solutions with local chefs to solve the problem of hunger, immediately following a disaster.
The Barnik Tarbut Foundation (BTF) is an adamant supporter of WCK. One BTF member, Ori Barnik spent month on the border of Poland and Ukraine in the Spring of 2022 as part of WCK’s Chef Relief Team, which to date has cooked millions of meals for Ukrainian Refugees. Since then, BTF helped WCK establish its operation in Israel, helping to feed hundreds of thousands of Israelis displaced from their homes after the unimaginable atrocities of the October 7th, 2023 terrorist attacks, while also working to support innocent Palestinian civilians caught in the middle of the war.
Brothers and Sisters in Arms (BASIA) is a leading provider of support for Israelis affected by Hamas’ recent terrorism against innocent civilians. Some of the services they are providing include: shuttling civilians out of active war zones and shuttling IDF personnel and reservists to their units; providing warm meals to survivors, hospitals, and military units; collecting food, toiletries, clothing, toys and books for those affected by the atrocities; arranging homestays for the thousands that have fled their homes; providing mental health support for survivors of terrorism.
Prior to the October 7th attack, BASIA helped lead the judicial overhaul protest movement, organizing hundreds of thousands of Israelis against the actions of the current coalition government.
Poland Welcomes (Fundacja Unitatemis) a small, local charity in Jarosław, Poland which offers shelter to refugee Ukrainian women and children. With just a small band of volunteers and no outside funding, Poland Welcomes began operating the day after war broke out in Ukraine. Within two months, they scaled up to operate 6 sites, with capacity to house 1,100 refugee Ukrainian women and children. Today Poland Welcomes can shelter a Ukrainian child for $5 a day.
Beyahad / Anya Banya is a youth movement which aims to connect Ethiopian-Israeli youth and non-Ethiopian-Israeli youth to facilitate a space which enables the formation of a shared identity, building the foundations to a solid and united Israeli society. A society built on the diversity of its population and enriched by its cultural diversity. Beyahad / Anya Benya works to inspire and empower boys and girls, to strengthen their sense of ability and self-belief. Our volunteers act as leaders and agents of change working individually and collectively to create change in our society”
Tikva’s core mission is to care for the homeless, abandoned and abused Jewish children of Odessa and neighboring regions of the Former Soviet Union. Tikva provides a warm, compassionate home, essential social services and a quality education, while revitalizing the growing Jewish community of Odessa. In addition, Tikva offers its graduates the opportunity for a brighter future through university & technical education in Odessa & immigration to Israel, where Tikva continues its support services to help them thrive
The Monarch School has served San Diego for nearly three decades, beginning as a one-room education center and expanding into a K-12 comprehensive school designed to educate homeless youth.
There are more than 1.2 million homeless students across the country and 23,000 in San Diego County alone. Research shows homelessness contributes to a wide range of challenges including physical and psychological problems, safety fears and academic struggles. It’s estimated that 75% of homeless students do not receive a high school diploma. The barriers these students face, hinder their ability to become contributing, successful members of their families and society and place them at a high risk of becoming tomorrow’s homeless adults.
The Monarch School gives students the skills and tools they need to overcome these odds.
Established in 2005, The Friends by Nature Empowerment Group is made up of a number of young people who deal with multiculturalism and identity in the areas of community, youth at risk, and education.
The Friends by Nature Association has been initiating, establishing and supporting Ethiopian Communities since 2005. Today, 8 Communities or Nuclei exist: Gedera, Yavne, Beit Shemesh, Rishon LeZion, Lod, Petah Tikva, Yokneam and Hadera. The Friends by Nature Association also works to connect all the communities together, creating a "Community of Communities".
Among the members of the association are Ethiopians, Israelis and Veterans, religious and secular, alike.
The main goals of members in the Friends by Nature Association is to reach the personal potential of the youth participants by improving their self-identity, strengthening family units, bringing together different sectors of the population and creating an atmosphere of tolerance.
The AjA Project is a nonprofit organization headquartered in San Diego, California.
Utilizing participatory photography methods and an assets-based model, AjA’s programs transform youth and communities.
Since its founding, AjA has provided long-term, community-based programming for over 3500 individuals, and has shared visual narratives with over 3 million viewers through large-scale public exhibits.
Tarbuton is a nonprofit organization that was founded in 2006 to engage San Diego’s Jewish community by encouraging grassroots and lay-led Jewish and Israeli cultural programs for youth and adults that educate, build community and strengthen Jewish identity.
Flagship programs include adult clubs Cafe v’Ivrit, and Film and Literature groups, the annual Hagiga Ivrit festival that promotes celebration of Hebrew and Israel in San Diego and Startup18 programs that support grassroots Jewish community program development.
Roger Sherman, the Director of "In Search of Israeli Cuisine" went to Israel for the first time in 2010; it wasn’t even on his top 10 list before then - he wanted to go to Paris. Like many, hummus and falafel were all that came to mind originally about Israeli Cuisine and it soon became clear that most people he met in the United States didn't know much about Israel either.
After that initial trip, falling in love with the country and its culinary diversity and innovation, Roger returned in 2013 with a crew and filmed at over 100 locations all over Israel.
He found a vibrant restaurant scene in Tel Aviv that rivals New York, San Francisco, London and, yes, Paris. Learned that more and more of Jerusalem’s restaurants, which might once have been described as stuffy or uninspired, are now must-experience destinations. Roger and the crew visited some of Israel's 350 boutique wineries that are gaining international acclaim and discovered that Israel produces some of the finest distinctive cheeses in the world. Cheeses one could easily mistaken as French or Italian.
Most important, Roger discovered the people of Israel and the remarkable food traditions they produce. The food traditions are incredibly diverse – Moroccan, Persian, Lebanese, French, Italian, and Russian – Jewish, Arab, Palestinian, Christian, and Druze, kosher and non-kosher, secular and religious.
VVSD has served all veterans since 1981 and is dedicated to “Leave No One Behind.” With five locations throughout San Diego County, VVSD is the only program of its kind in the United States and is nationally recognized as the leader in serving homeless military veterans. Each year VVSD provides services to more than 3,000 military veterans throughout the County of San Diego.
Our goal is to put ourselves out of business. We look for a community of allies and supporters with a shared mission to combat mass incarceration and establish a pretrial alternative that is grounded in the presumption of innocence for all, regardless of race, income, or charge. We look for jurisdictions where our work can make a difference, from preventing the construction of a new jail to supporting local movements for equal justice and providing data to inform bail reform.
Additional Supported Partners:
Housing Helpers
Yesha U’Mazor
Moshe Barnik (1895 - 1939)
About
The Barnik Tarbut Foundation was established in honor of the prolific work and achievements of Moshe Barnik and the Tarbut Organization.
Moshe Barnik was born in Rozhnyatow, Eastern Galicia, Poland, and went on to study in a rabbinical seminary in Vienna before deciding to lead a secular life. In his twenties, he became the President and Principal of a network of Hebrew Schools centered in Levov, Poland, known as the Tarbut Organization. Through Moshe Barnik's leadership, the Tarbut Organization grew to hundreds of K-12 Jewish Schools in cities and towns throughout Poland prior to the Holocaust.
The Barnik Tarbut Foundation derives it's mission of education and other support services, focusing on minorities and underserved populations, in honor of of Moshe Barnik and his work.