The Jewish Ottawa InfoCentre is a new program of the Jewish Federation of Ottawa resulting from the community-building symposium, “Building Ottawa’s Jewish Future” held in February 2007.

The symposium identified a need for a centralized and co-ordinated source for Jewish information in Ot-tawa. The new InfoCentre will be the gateway to the Jewish community for recent arrivals to Ottawa and will also be extremely useful to long-time residents who simply don’t know where to turn to address a specific need or have a question answered.

The InfoCentre has a wealth of information about the agencies, organizations, synagogues, schools and private businesses that serve the Ottawa Jewish community.

InfoCentre coordinator, Benita Siemiatycki is very excited to be able to provide this much-needed service to the community.

“The purpose of setting up the Jewish Ottawa InfoCentre is that it be the place that people contact when they are seeking information and don’t know where to find what they are looking for,” she says. “We provide a wide range of information about the community and we are a resource centre that connects individuals to the appropriate place for them to get what they need.”

From the simple questions like where to buy a challah or obtain a list of synagogues, to more complex questions dealing with a death in the family or about what to do in a case of domestic violence, the Jewish Ottawa InfoCentre is there to help people get assistance.

Federation President and CEO Mitchell Bellman is thrilled that this gap in service is now being filled.

“Ottawa now has a re-source for anyone, Jewish or not, affiliated or not, new to the city or just seeking information for the first time, or even visiting as a tourist, to connect with our community in a way that is inviting, knowledgeable, and non-judgmental,” he says. “I encourage everyone to make use of the Jewish Ottawa InfoCentre whenever they need assistance about any aspect of the local Jewish community.”

The InfoCentre has developed a package of useful information to help orient newcomers and for people considering whether to move to Ottawa  As well, the InfoCentre will serve as a volunteer matching service with local Jewish organizations. It is also the place to call when looking for a speaker to address an event about a topic related to Judaism.

The Jewish Ottawa InfoCentre is located in the Joseph and Rose Ages Family Building at 21 Nadolny Sachs Private on the Jewish Community Campus. People are welcome to drop in to talk with co-ordinator Benita Siemiatycki. Hours of operation are Monday to Thursday from 9:00 am to 5:00 pm.

The InfoCentre can also be reached locally by phone at 613-798-4644, toll-free from anywhere in North America at 1-877-798-4644 and by e-mail at infocentre@jewishottawa.com.