From the Finance Committee - October 1999

The focus of our Kol Nidre Appeal this year is Improved Educational Opportunities for Adults and Children. For those of you who have generously responded, thank you. For those of you who have put off until another day sending in your checks, that day is NOW! We need each and every member of our congregation to do what their circumstances will allow - whether that's sending in a check for Chai ($18), double Chai ($36), $500, $10,000 or …? Our objective is to begin implementing a state-of-the-art education program at Congregation Albert this year.

Over the last few years, significant cuts were made to the religious school budget as the leadership of our temple did what it needed to do, with your approval, to get our financial house in order. Thanks to your support, last year was a watershed year for putting our congregation back on a firm financial footing. Now it's time to do the same for our education program.

One of the visions identified during the Long Range Planning process was improving educational opportunities at Congregation Albert for people of all ages. This included, of course, the pre-school and religious school programs, but participants also called for upgrading our adult education program. To be successful, we need to look at all aspects of education at our temple …

• From sending our teachers and teens to leadership and training conferences;
• To providing scholarships for those who wish a Jewish education, regardless of their ability to pay, and regardless of their age;
• To fostering a desire for Jewish education among our youth with Israeli and camp scholarships;
• To hosting seminars and scholar in residence programs led by notable religious and lay leaders;
• To being able to budget for extra security and custodial services, as needed;
• To needed repairs and improvements to the religious school wing of our building;

It all requires money. Money that for the most part lies outside our current budget. In her Kol Nidre Appeal letter to the membership, our president, Karen Kahn, challenged each of us to help make this goal a reality. Please write a generous check made out to the Kol Nidre Appeal and mail it to the office today. Don't wait for another day; do it right now. This is our first step in taking a vision from the Long Term Planning process and turning it into reality. Working together, let's make it a successful step.

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