L’Shanah Tovah! A Message from Our Campaign Chairs
As we begin 5784, we are thrilled to see the revitalization work on our cherished home begin. Over the next year, we will be making many enhancements including:
- Creating a beautiful new library and other learning spaces for children and adults upstairs on the second floor;
- Refreshing our classrooms and installing suitable restrooms on the 2nd and 3rd floor so our children, teens, and synagogue committees can use them effectively;
- Installing an elevator in the Education Building so that all of us can reach those spaces;
- Expanding of our office spaces and lobby to accommodate our growth which will include a beautiful, comfortable seating area, “the living room” for congregants and visitors as they wait for an appointment;
- Creating an accessible, all-gender and family bathroom;
- Installing crucial infrastructure including a new electrical system and HVAC, as well as new flat roofs and restoration of our exterior.
You can find updates on all of the construction progress including timing and implications here on our blog.
We are inspired by the enormous giving of our community who have already answered the urgent call of the Lifting the Sky Campaign. To date, we have received commitments of $4.2 million toward our fundraising goal of $5.5 million, an amount we must secure to complete the most essential work. Should we exceed this fundraising goal, we will have the opportunity to extend our stewardship of Touro to include meaningful responses to climate change and further support of future congregational growth and historic preservation.
As Chairs of this campaign, we are both honored and humbled by this level of generosity. And over the coming weeks and months, we look forward to continuing our meetings with congregants to ask them to join us by supporting this campaign. Our discussions reinforce how much our congregants value and truly love Touro Synagogue. We all know how the education, social action and spiritual guidance provided by our superb clergy and staff ensure Touro Synagogue as the epicenter for Jewish life in New Orleans and across the region. How wonderful it is to belong to such a thriving congregation!
We look forward to continuing to work with all of you in Lifting the Sky to achieve our goals.
Shanah Tovah!
Susan and Lou Good, Campaign Chairs
Ruth and Larry Kullman, Campaign Chairs