YOU GOT THIS! Check the upcoming workshops

NSU offers free virtual financial literacy, entrepreneur, and workforce education workshops. Presented by the NSU Alvin Sherman Library and sponsored by Truist Foundation, these workshops are designed to inspire and educate you to become personally and professionally successful.

July 2021

  • Identity Theft…Don’t Become a Statistic

Thursday, July 15 | 7:00–9:00 p.m. ET | Zoom Webinar

  • Email Etiquette for the Workplace and Job Search

Wednesday, July 21 | 7:00–9:00 p.m. ET | Zoom Webinar

  • Magical Marketing – Houdini’s Formula for Entrepreneurial Success

Tuesday, July 27 | 7:00–8:00 p.m. ET | Zoom Webinar

NSU Showcased at the Soref JCC’s Annual Meeting

Soref JCC Executive Director Donald Graw presents an award to Jill Gallner.

Soref JCC Executive Director Donald Graw presents an award to Irv Rosenbaum.

Nova Southeastern University’s Irv Rosenbaum, Ph.D., VP – Health Professions Division, Operations; and Jill Gallner, administrative coordinator at the Alvin Sherman Library both received community service awards at the Soref Jewish Community Center’s Annual Meeting on Monday, June 7.

Rosenbaum is a past president of the Soref JCC and Jill is the current secretary. Both have vast records of community service and remain active in leadership roles at the Soref JCC.

Also announced at the meeting was the exciting new community partnership between the Soref JCC and the NSU Alvin Sherman Library. The Soref JCC is a non-profit organization that contributes to the welfare of the entire community, children, adults and seniors, by providing a center for cultural, educational, recreational and social programs and services while contributing to preserve Jewish traditions and values.

All the programs are inclusionary for the special needs population, and open to all, regardless of race, religion, ethnicity, gender or background. The organization offers significant assistance to those in need by providing children’s scholarships and food from their WECARE pantry. The Soref JCC is a beneficiary agency of the Jewish Federation, United Way and Children’s Services Council all of Broward County.

This partnership will enable the two organizations to cross-promote each other’s programs and events and ultimately collaborate on joint initiatives. The Alvin Sherman Library is very excited to solidify another relationship with a new community partner.  This partnership with Soref JCC is sure to be a win-win for both organizations.

Arts Alive! The Fairy Tales of Grimm on Sunday, July 25

Tales such as Rapunzel, Snow White, Hansel & Gretel and The Bremen Town musicians come to the stage in a classical 19th Century theatrical melodrama. This fun-filled show is loaded with laughs! This special pre-recorded theatre show will be featured on the NSU Alvin Sherman Library’s Facebook page and YouTube channel from July 25 – August 15.

Atlantic Coast Theatre for Youth’s professional producers, actors and composers have delighted audiences across the country since 1999.

Summertime is the Perfect Time to Pick Up a New Hobby

Looking for a hobby? Well the Alvin Sherman Library, Research, and Information Technology Center has got a variety for you. All you need to do is register online to learn about hobbies that are not only easy to learn and inexpensive, but full of joy as well.

Among the topics are easy bread baking, herb gardening, upcycled sewing, watercolors, creating a zine, and papercrafts.

Circle of Friends Holds Annual Meeting to Celebrate Achievements

The Circle of Friends, the advisory board and fundraising partners of the NSU Alvin Sherman Library held its Annual Meeting on May 19 online to celebrate the achievements of the past year and installation of incoming Board and Officers.

Douglas Ford was installed as the newest board member, Chuck Morton as president, Barbara Grosz as vice president, and Peter Woolf as past president, while Rona Levitt and Daniel Fleischer will continue to serve in their roles as secretary and treasurer, respectively. Also serving on the Board of Directors are Stephanie Brown, Adolfo J. Cotilla Jr., Tony DuBose, Peter Garcia, Bonnie Lippman, Vilma Lopez, Greg McDermott, Luis A. Muriel, Ronnie Oller, Ann Porterfield, Janet Speth and ex-officios Diane Klein, Laura Sturaitis, and Jim Hutchens.

During his address, outgoing President Peter Woolf thanked the board for supporting the following three initiatives:

  • Two years ago, Circle of Friends’ funding enabled the library to upgrade the its digital signage to include large touchscreen displays on the first and second floors. This year, this important project was completed, and today, digital signs are located throughout the building.
  • This year the Circle of Friends also invested in the ASL/OCL staff by funding the library’s professional development budget. Although the pandemic led to the cancellation of several opportunities, many more online offerings became available.
  • Circle of Friends is especially proud to have funded the Alvin Sherman Library’s contract with the consulting firm Library Strategies. This contract provides for three-year strategic plans for both the library and the Circle of Friends.

John Wensveen, Ph.D., chief innovation officer of the Nova Southeastern University’s Alan B. Levan | NSU Broward Center of Innovation was the keynote speaker at this year’s annual meeting. He spoke about the development of the innovation center and its impressive cutting edge, world-class features and presented a virtual tour of this state-of-the-art center.

To join or renew your membership with Circle of Friends, click here.

Anti-Defamation League honors NSU’s Holocaust Center

The Holocaust Reflection and Resource Center in the Alvin Sherman Library of Nova Southeastern University was awarded this year’s “No Place for Hate” Community Change Maker Award for Social Justice by the Anti-Defamation League Florida. The center was featured on the Anti-Defamation League Florida’s Facebook page and all of its other social media sites and platforms on Friday, May 14, during “No Place to Hate Day.”

Families Dive Deep Into Germs at Alvin Sherman Library

This winter term, HCAS biology faculty member Julie Torruellas Garcia, Ph.D. gave a presentation for the Alvin Sherman Library entitled, “Germs: Good Guys or Bad Guys” as part of their Family Deep Dives series. She taught kids and their families about different types of germs, where they can be found, how to protect themselves from bad germs and the benefits of good germs.

The Deep Dive Series allows families learn and explore together. They can get the inside story and Q&A time with experts in science, history, community services, and more. Recommended for ages 6 and up.

Financial Literacy Series Succeeds

You Got This! More than 2,600 people tuned into this message through a series of workshops on financial literacy, entrepreneurship, and workforce education. Presented by NSU’s Alvin Sherman Library and sponsored by NSU Fellows Society member, the Truist (SunTrust) Foundation, the sessions were free to the public and covered topics ranging from managing your money in a crisis to taxes, insurance, and marketing your own business.

The goal? To provide educational programming and resources to help NSU and the community at large become more financially literate and to develop a growing community of entrepreneurs.

“We want the community to be well informed on the aspects of financial wellness,” said Tony Coley, South Florida regional president for Truist. “Providing resources and working with organizations like NSU to empower community residents to take control of their financial wellness and future is in line with Truist’s purpose, which is ‘to inspire and build better lives and communities.’”

The workshops were originally designed to be in-person, and faculty members from the H. Wayne Huizenga College of Business and Entrepreneurship, as well as other industry experts, were tapped to present on the chosen topics. But before the series could even take off, COVID-19 restrictions came into play, presenting a unique challenge and, as it turned out, an incredible opportunity to host more workshops and reach an even larger audience with an online format.

“Our intention was to have 2 programs per month for nine months, for a total of 18 programs,” said Susan Berkman, grant administrator. “We wound up with a total of 28 programs—14 in financial literacy and 14 in entrepreneurship. All sessions were arranged, and then along came COVID-19.

“At that point, we had to pivot on how we were presenting and how to market. Some topics needed to change as well,” she added. “For instance, originally, we scheduled a professor to talk about gaining financial independence. It didn’t seem appropriate when COVID-19 hit and people in the community were losing jobs and struggling to survive. So, that same professor presented on managing your money during a crisis, and it was one of our most interactive sessions.”

Additional popular topics in financial literacy included estate-planning tips, saving with grocery apps, and how to save money now. The most well-attended workshops under the entrepreneurship umbrella were funding your business, SEO in business, and starting a small business in the profit or nonprofit sector.

Said one participant in the evaluations, “Love the online events and hope even after the library opens, all events will have an online component. Love being able to view on demand if I have to join a webinar late or leave early. Thank you.”

“I learned enough today to build tomorrow.” said another. “Thank you for taking the time to share your wealth of information with the public. It is greatly appreciated.”

“There is a need in the community to provide practical and useful information they can use in their everyday lives and businesses,” said Berkman. “We are so thankful to the SunTrust/Truist Foundation for giving Nova Southeastern University’s Alvin Sherman Library this grant to provide financial literacy and entrepreneurship programs to a community that appreciates the outcomes of this partnership.”

“The program’s diversity of offering and providing our community at large a path to personal and business financial wellness and success is a great model now and into the future,” added Coley. “NSU is a great community partner.”

To learn more about the topics presented as part of the You Got This workshop series, visit here. Register for upcoming workshops, or view recordings of previously held sessions.

Summer Reading with the NSU Alvin Sherman Library

Reading Rewards!

June 1 – August 14, 2021
Pre-registration begins May 1

Theme: Tails and Tales​

Spend the summer winning prizes for reading, learning, and t​rying new things. Read and learn with us this summer!

How it works:

Create a Beanstack account.
Select NSU Alvin Sherman Library as your library.

Log the books you’ve read on Beanstack’s website or in the Beanstack Tracker app (Apple or Android)

Read, write reviews and complete activities anytime between June 1 and August 14 to earn chances to win prizes and earn free books!

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