Dear friends,
We hope the holidays were wonderful. We are pleased to provide the following update.
We have raised over $9.7 million in commitments to our capital campaign total, comprised of approximately 165 pledges including Shaarey Zedek’s own pledge of $3 million, and a grant awarded recently by The Jewish Foundation of Manitoba through their Community Grant program. Looking at the number of pledges more closely, that number represents approximately 160 of our over 700 membership units who have made a commitment to the campaign.
As we have indicated throughout, it is our intention to communicate with every member (even a few former Winnipeggers who are no longer members), to talk about the project and campaign. Given that the construction work will not be finished until the beginning of 2024 earliest, our campaign is now two-pronged. The first phase, underway since our launch in January, will continue, our efforts focusing on communicating with those members who have been canvassed. It is our hope that we will conclude these gifts by the end of 2022. In January 2023, we will begin reaching out with those who have not yet been contacted, for the duration of the project. We appreciate everyone’s patience in this regard.
As we have expressed, to reach all our members (those other 540+ calls), we require volunteer canvassers. Anyone who has an interest to speak to friends or relatives, please contact Jodi to get involved. Her contact information appears below.
You should be aware by now that work on the first phase has already begun, which is asbestos abatement. There are still a few issues currently under review regarding the interior renovations, office partitions, ceiling finishes, and work related to exploring a daycare program.
We encourage any member (even past members who we intend to convince to become members again!), that have questions related to the work itself, the cost, and the timeframe for completion, to send your questions to Bob and Jodi at hello@szfuture.ca.
Updated renderings, floor plans, and some photos of the construction site are now available on our campaign website. These renderings consider the issues that are still currently under review,
identified above.
We had quite a good response to the surveys that were earlier circulated, which will lead to the formation of various focus groups – a key component in the development of our future operating plan.
As always, if you have any questions or concerns, please contact Jodi Novak, Capital Campaign Manager, at jodi@szfuture.ca or 204-452-3711. You may also want to check out our FAQ section on our website.
Our next member update will be at the end of November.
Sincerely,
Gary Hyman
President
Neil Duboff
Capital Campaign Chair
Bob Freedman
Capital Campaign Consultant