The Covenant Awards are among the most acclaimed and recognized honors within the organized Jewish community. Recipients, named each spring, receive the considerable esteem and respect attached to the award, as well as $36,000 and $5,000 for their home organization or institution.

A dedicated Covenant Foundation web page – www.covenantfn.org/awards – describes the Covenant Awards and outlines procedures, guidelines and deadlines to be followed by those nominating an educator. The deadline for 2014 nominations is Nov. 21.

According to selection criteria of the Foundation, Covenant Awardees are exceptional Jewish educators who have made a significant impact, have contributed creatively to advancing the transmission of Jewish knowledge, values and identity, and are positive role models.

“Those who have been named as Covenant Awardees have given back greatly to Jewish education,” said Eli N. Evans, chairman of the board of directors of The Covenant Foundation. “The institutions they have enriched, the programs they have initiated, and the influence they have had on others is enormous. They do not share one denomination, one pedagogical approach, one teaching venue, or one definition of teaching. The one commonality among these uncommon people is their abiding love of Judaism and the Jewish people and their devotion to the perpetuation of the Jewish heritage.”

Sixty-nine Jewish educators from throughout the country and across the breadth of Jewish life have been honored with a Covenant Award since it was established in 1991. Recipients have distinguished themselves in the field of Jewish education in a variety of ways, including classroom teaching, family education, the arts, adult education, tzedakah, curriculum design, leadership and professional development.

Educators working in any setting in North America are eligible to receive a Covenant Award. These include those working in day schools, congregational schools, camps, informal education venues, Hillel programs, family and adult programs, and other educational endeavors.

The 2013 Covenant Award recipients, named in June, include Howard Blas, Director of the Tikvah Program at Camp Ramah in New England; Judy Finkelstein-Taff, Head of School at the Chicago Jewish Day School; and Zion Ozeri, Founder and Creative Director of The Jewish Lens in New York.

“The Covenant Award gives deserved recognition to those doing extraordinary and innovative work on the ground – in our classrooms, our synagogues, our camps and other settings where Jewish education is an objective and priority,” said Harlene Winnick Appelman, Executive Director of The Covenant Foundation and 1991 Covenant Award recipient. “These are educators whose daily work touches Jews of all ages seeking inclusion and fulfillment in Jewish life, strengthening Jewish community and continuity in immeasurable ways.”

For more information about nominating an educator for a 2014 Covenant Award, visit www.covenantfn.org/awards, email awards@covenantfn.org, or call 212.245.3500.

The Covenant Foundation is a program of the Crown Family Foundation