“Or Shalom is a community that cares about community,” stated Dave Kauffman, co-chair of the Board of Directors, in a meeting last week with Or Shalom’s Strategic Financial Planning Committee. The item of discussion was the success of this year’s Annual Campaign. To date, 125 members/families have pledged a total of more than $160,000.
Each year, Or Shalom’s canvassing volunteers reach out to every member of our community for a discussion about Or Shalom, their connections to the community, and to ask for a gift that helps Or Shalom maintain its unique role in the Metro Vancouver Jewish Community. Our annual campaign runs from the end of Pesach until Shavuot. We are nearing the end of this year’s campaign.
Did you know that membership dues cover less than 50% of Or Shalom’s operating costs? The reality is that we cannot operate our community without contributions and support beyond membership dues, and that’s why we started our Annual Campaign 11 years ago. Thank you to this year’s donors, each of whom have given generously to support the shul in a year when our doors have been closed, and our contact with each other reduced to Zoom. The success of the campaign shows the strong place that Or Shalom holds in the hearts of our members.
More exciting and important than the funds raised each year is the conversations that are sparked by the Campaign. So far this year, our 29 canvassers, or “listeners,” have shared meaningful discussions with over 150 members/families.
“Each year I look forward to the time between Pesach and Shavuot as the opportunity to connect with members through the Or Shalom campaign. As a canvasser, this is my opportunity to reach out and invite members to share their experiences with Or Shalom in the past year. Each year since the campaign began more than ten years ago, I have had the privilege of engaging in genuine conversations with members. Over time, the message is consistent: ‘Or Shalom is important to all of us in so many ways.’ I’m grateful that year after year we are committed to this unique and thriving community.” – Adele Ritch
“This was my first year volunteering for the annual campaign. I was happy to have been asked and honoured to have participated as a ‘listener’ in this important initiative. The support team for the campaign was amazing! I very much enjoyed connecting with the five individuals or family groups on my list, either by phone or on Zoom. These connections were wonderful opportunities for me to get better acquainted with these members, to hear about the changes to their lives due to COVID, their experiences of Or Shalom offerings, and what they would like Or Shalom to offer post-COVID. For me, this was a positive experience of service to Or Shalom.” – Kathy Brandon
A heartfelt thank you to all of this year’s Annual Campaign canvassing volunteers:
Martha Barker
David Berson
Maurice Bloch
Kathy Brandon
Sandra Cohen
Ron Einblau
Zelda Fedder
Abby Fitch
Michal Fox
John Fuerst
Pat Gill
Martin Gotfrit
Lorne Greenberg
Dave Kauffman
Alexis Kellum-Creer
Rozanne Kipnes
Ros Kunin
Motti Lis
John MacDonald
Dalia Margalit-Faircloth
Paul McCurry
Linda Peritz
Marty Puterman
Karen Rabinovitch
Adele Ritch
Jennie Virtue
Mark Welch
Rima Wilkes
Mark Winston
To all, thank you for answering your call from the canvassers about your personal Or Shalom experience. If you haven’t yet heard from your canvasser and would like a conversation, please feel free to contact our Campaign Director, Jaydeen Williams Rabinovitch. It is not too late to give. We hope you will choose to make a gift to this year’s Campaign.
