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Charlotte, N.C.
Permit No. 1208
The Charlotte 'TEWISH T®WS
Vol. 7 No. 7
Charlotte, North Carolina
August, 1985
Foundation Makes Giant Strides
Benefactors Pledge $1 Million Each
Herman Blumenthal
The Blumenthsd Foundation
and Leon Levine have each in
creased their pledges to the
Foundation to $1 million.
“These philanthropists have
brought us in sight of our
Phase I goal,” said Mark
Bernstein, Foundation
President.
The announcement of the in
creased pledges was made in
conjunction with a decision of
the Foundation Board
designating over£dl names for
the component parts of the
Phase I facilities.
The entire Phase I facility
will be called the “Jewish
Education and Community
Center”. It will house all the
Leon Levine
facilities necessary for the pro
grams of Temple Israel, Tem
ple Beth El, the Jewish Com
munity Center, the Hebrew
Academy, the Federation and
its Social Services Depart
ment.
Physically, the Jewish
Education and Community
Center is divided into two
halves. These will be known as
the Jewish Educational
Building and the Jewish Com
munity Center Building. The
Community Center Building
will house such facilities as the
gym, youth lounge, indoor
pool, racquetball courts,
health club, snack bar and
dance exercise areas.
In the Jewish Educational
Building will be found the
varied classrooms, library, of
fices, auditorium and adult
lounge.
The Jewish Education and
Community Center is schedul
ed for completion in April ’86.
At that time, the doors will
open for use by all the par
ticipating institutions,
organizations and the total
community.
“It is with a deep sense of
gratitude and respect that we
accept the pledges of $1
million from the Blumenthal
Foundation and Leon Levine,”
S£iid Mark Bernstein.” “They
have taken the lead in showing
that this community can and
will fulfill the dream we share.
“The Designating of the
Phase I facilities as well as the
naming of the 54 acres,
‘Shalom Park’, marks an im
portant step in the work of the
Foundation,” said Bernstein,
“No longer will we have to
refer to the ‘project’ or the
‘building’.
“It is as if wt have come of
age. We have come to the
point of being a living entity
with clear identities.”
Foundation Site To Be
Called ^Shalom Park’
Shalom Park has been
chosen by the Board of the
Foundation of the Charlotte
Jewish Community as the
name for the 54-acre site on
Providence Road.
This is the location where
Phase I is now being built and
where Temple Beth El and
Temple Israel will build their
new sanctuaries/social halls in
Phase II.
“We wanted a general name
that would clearly show the
Jewish nature of the site
without implying exclusivity,”
said Mark Bernstein, Founda
tion president. “The word
‘Shalom’ has become so well
known as a word meaning
both welcome and peace, that
it was a natureil choice.
“Calling it ‘Shalom Park’
was designed to emphasize the
effort we have made to
preserve the natural beauty of
the land. The word ‘park’
brings images of people at
play and at peace with
themselves and with their
surroundings.
“Together, we hope that the
words ‘Shalom Park’ will come
$6SO,000 Still Needed To Reach Phase 1 Goal
Honorials And Memorials Being Established
Indoor Pool Named In
Memory of Barbara Levine
A new pledge of $150,000
has been made by Howard
Levine, Mindy Levine and
Laurie Levine Sklut in
memory of their mother, Bar
bara Levine. This and the $1
million pledged by Leon
Levine and Herman Blumen
thal have brought the cam
paign to within $650,000 of
the goal necessary to complete
Phase I. Phase I includes the
construction of the Jewish
Education and Community
Center Building with its two
component halves, the Jewish
Educational Building and the
Jewish Community Center
Building.
Social Ser\ices Office Dedicated
In additional pledges this
month, Don and Bobbie Bern
stein have dedicated the Social
Services office with their incr-
reased pledge totaling
$35,000.
Harry Swimmer, Capital
Camp£iign chair, has indicated
that this month will be busy
with helping major donors
designate various rooms and
portions of the Jewish Educa
tion and Community Center
Building as honorials and
memorials.
“While we are turning first
and in person to those who
have already made pledges,
said Swimmer, in the
September issue of the
Charlotte Jewish News, we
will publish a full list of all the
available honorials and
memorials. It would not sur
prise me to find there are very
generous individuals who will
increase their pledges after
seeing the published list.
“This is a unique opportuni
ty to have the name of a fami
ly or a loved one associated
with the most exciting innova
tion in the history of the
American Jewish com
munity.”
Others To Gain
From Our Concept
In the past three months the
Foundation has received calls
from communities in Texas,
Kansas, Nebraska and several
New England states asking
for consultation and help in
developing similar but smaller
concepts.
“For generations to come,”
said Swimmer, “represen
tatives from Jewish com
munities around the nation
and the world will be coming
to Charlotte to study and
learn from the Foundation,
Shalom Park, and the Jewish
Education and Community
Center. Those names associ
ated with the facilities of the
Jewish Educational Building
and the Community Center
Building will become well
known and respected on a na
tional level.”
Swimmer plans to complete
the campaign and to raise the
$650,000 by mid-October.
“When we have reached
that figure, we will have
achieved not only the financ
ing of the faciities but the
assurance of being able to
maintain them in the future so
that they will always be a
proud reminder of our ability
as a community who makes
our dreams come true,” said
Swimmer.
to mean a center for education,
recreation and culture for the
entire community.”
Phase I, the building of
education and recreation
facilities for the Jewish Com
munity Center, Temple Israel,
Temple Beth El, the Hebrew
Academy and the Federation
and its Social Services, is pro
gressing extremely well.
“We look to be in the
facilities by April ’86,” said
William Gorelick, Foundation
Building Committee chair.
“We have been blessed with
excellent weather ever since
we began construction in
December of ’84. Laxton Con-
S-truction, our contractors,
have taken every advemtage of
the clear days and, with the
cooperation of their excellent
work crews and subcontrac
tors, they have kept the
building moving at a brisk
pace.”
In late June and July the
columns and roof have gone
up on the Education Building.
The overall plan of the facili
ty is now evident to visitors.
It is possible to enter the facili
ty and walk through the
future classrooms and
auditorium to the fully enclos
ed Community Center build
ing. There, the gym, indoor
pool, racquetball courts,
health club and many other
facilities are in various stages
of completion.
“The vision of our archi
tects, Dellinger and Lee, is
becoming more evident each
day,” said Mark Bernstein.
“The building, with its tex-
tured brick exterior, blends in
to the site like a living piece of
the landscape. It adds addi
tional credence to the image of
‘Shalom Park’.”
—In The News—
Together We Are...
page 16
Bulletin Board
12-13
Calendar
15
Classifieds
15
Editorials
2
JCC
8-10
Lubavitcher Rebbe..
7
Missions-Part III..
6
Social Services...
3
This 'n That
11
Women’s Division
14
World Beat
4
JCC Fall Children’s Class Schedule — Pages 8,9
Coming In Sept: JCC Fall Adult Class Schedule