Join Our Annual Fund Today!
It is the season of T’shuvah – returning – to God, to the Torah, to our traditions, and to our true selves. In that spirit, I am writing to ask you to renew your annual support of the Temple Beth Israel Preservation Society. What a year we’ve had, and what amazing plans we have for the future.
With your help, we have moved from subsistence to sustainability. Not long ago we were anxious about paying our heat and utility bills. What a difference a few years (and some hard work) makes. This year, our reach is greater and our influence is stronger. We started with seventy names on our list of friends - we now have over 300 individuals who support our activities. Our message, while timeless, remains fresh and relevant. As we approach the High Holidays, we anticipate welcoming more worshipers than ever to our unique, contemporary and inclusive services.
It has become routine for us to welcome over 100 guests to our major events. We have made our mark in the local educational and faith communities. Our members have been invited to participate in local worship services, bringing Jewish ritual and perspective into places where it had never before been seen. Our partnerships are expanding and we are gradually taking an important seat at interfaith gatherings and in educational settings.
Since last Rosh Hashanah, we have hosted hundreds of community members at celebrations like our Thanksgiving Service, which this year marks a 58-year partnership with the Brooklyn Federated Church; our joyous and thought-provoking interfaith Seder; a moving celebration of our beloved founding member and Holocaust survivor Ray Gawendo; and our first Bar Mitzvah since founding the Preservation Society. This Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur, we expect even greater attendance than last year as we further develop and enhance a unique new liturgy, while holding on to many of our wonderful traditions.
We invite you to continue playing such a vital part in our exciting growth. As a direct result of your support last year, we were able to use the lessons of the Holocaust to bring our message of respect, understanding, and awareness to nearly one thousand middle and high school students; complete a Conditions Assessment laying the groundwork for our upcoming renovation and preservation construction; secure new funding sources; apply and receive major grants to fund our preservation efforts; broaden community partnerships; and kick off projects like a web site redesign and program materials’ development.
We hope you will consider renewing and even increasing your gift as we head into a year that aims to offer twice as much programming.
With your ongoing support, we plan to:
- Expand our in-house programming, featuring speakers, film viewings, and discussions;
- Increase the number of schools participating in our educational program and develop supporting materials;
- Cultivate new relationships with other Holocaust education programs;
- Modernize our web site and launch a new social media campaign aimed at engaging the younger audiences participating in our school and community-based programming;
- Begin a critical first phase of building repairs, renovations and preservation.
Our current organizational position is reminiscent of Temple Beth Israel’s original founders’ over sixty years ago. The Temple started as a dream and it flourished. We plan to do the same. Despite the physical distance between most of our daily lives and the Temple itself, our cultural, spiritual, and civic home is growing.
To fully meet the needs of our Jewish and interfaith communities, we need to ensure our building is completely safe. We have electrical services to upgrade, leaks to fix, a kitchen (over 60 years old) to update, a terrace to repair, and emergency exits to provide. We need to do this work more than ever because we are now welcoming hundreds of neighbors and friends from near and far, as we offer ever expanding opportunities to gather, to learn, discuss, laugh, and break bread.
Please renew your support of Temple Beth Israel Preservation Society’s mission of “Honoring the Past – Enriching the Future” through this year’s annual fund. We would not have this current momentum without the support of generous donors like you who, throughout TBI’s 60+ years, have always made the impossible possible. With your help we will continue to grow, educate, enrich, and comfort. Thank you for all you do for us.
L’Shanah Tovah!
Sincerely,
Norman Berman
President
