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The Charlotte Jewish News - June-July 2013 - Page 13 The Stars of the Shalom Park Freedom School Movie Fundraiser Were Not on the Screen By Amy Lefkof Nearly 200 people at tended the Shalom Park Free dom Sehool (SPFS) Brooklyn Castle movie fundraiser on April 25 at the Sam Lemer Center. The evening featured a ehess doeumentary where low-ineome, minority inner- eity ehess whizzes, with the help of dedieated parents, teaehers, and administrators beeome the eountry’s leading middle sehool ehess team and seeure plaees in New York City’s most prestigious publie high sehools. But perhaps the real drama of the evening was not on the big sereen, but rather at the podium where speaker after speaker spoke about the differenee that the SPFS (the first Jewish-sponsored Free dom Sehool in the nation and a model for others sinee) has made in the lives of the 50 eampers (or “seholars”) who have attended SPFS for six weeks eaeh summer sinee its ineeption in 2011. Weleoming speaker. Temple Is rael’s Rabbi Noam Raueher, fea tured as the SPFS “breakdaneing rabbi” in the fundraiser’s Wel- eome to Shalom Park Freedom Sehool slideshow (visit www.spfreedomsehool.org), stressed the importanee that Jews plaee on edueation and partner ships in edueation. The next speakers were Prinei- pals Beth Wardy of Sterling Ele mentary and Carol Rodd of Fluntingtowne Farms Elementary, the two sehools that are in year- round CMS faith-based partner ships with Temple Beth El and Principal Carol Rodd from Huntingtowne Farms Elementary and Principal Beth Wardy from Sterling Elementary. Temple Israel, respeetively. Both prineipals reaeted emotionally to the slideshow showing their stu dents enjoying enriehment during their time at Shalom Park. These SPFS volunteers Flarriet Meetz and Dr. Iris Cheng manned the Will Call table. aetivities inelude swimming les sons, storytelling at the Levine- Sklut Judaie Library, molding eeramie masks in the LJCC Ce- ramie Studio, learning photogra phy in the beautiful outdoors, partieipating in the Holoeaust But terfly Projeet, doing yoga, learn ing basie ballet positions, eooking, and diseovering the movements of ehess pieees. Both prineipals explained that their sehools are high minority sehools with nearly 90% of their students living in poverty situa tions, and as many as 40 homeless students at eaeh sehool living in extreme erisis. Both prineipals eredited the literaey-based Shalom Park Freedom Sehool with providing 50 students from these two sehools with a safe sum mer eamp whieh helps 90% of the seholars avoid summer reading loss - with 65% gaining one or more levels of reading eompre- hension after just one summer. Susan Jaeobs, Direetor of the Temple Beth El Religious Sehool, emotionally explained her own involvement as a volunteer SPFS eooking instruetor: “I saw a Shalom Park Freedom Sehool student with whom I had beeome partieularly at- taehed, running, dreadloeks flying, with open arms yelling, ‘It’s the eooking lady, the eook ing lady.’ He threw his arms around me in a giant bear hug and I was over the moon.” Ja eobs’ mother, Florenee Jaffa, a loeal artist and member of Temple Israel who has taught linoeuts to the seholars for the past two summers, was a row eaptain at the fundraising event. During her presentation, Jaeobs explained that while there is no eost to the ehildren who attend SPFS, the yearly operating eost of JCC Donations OASIS SENIOR ADULT PROGRAM FUND In honor of liana Levin from friends and members of the Oasis Program In honor of Evelyn Berger’s speeial birthday from Jen and Leon Golynsky, Wendy Cohen JUDY AND STAN AUGUST FAMILY ENDOWMENT FUND In memory of Robin Leavitt’s father and Fran Kors’s mother from Judy and Stan August LJCC GENERAL PROGRAM ENDOWMENT FUND In honor of the engagement of Jaek Cohen, son of Tammy and Andy Cohen, from Aleen and David Epstein BUTTERFLY PROJECT FUND In honor of the birth of Larry Sehwartz’s grandson from Judy and Stan August SPFS is $60,000, 50% of whieh is raised from indi vidual donors. Given that SPFS raises funds one year in advanee to ensure eonti- nuity of the program, Ja eobs implored members of the Shalom Park eommu- nity to eonsider a multi year pledge when filling out their pledge eards or to make a donation online at www.freedomsehoolpart- ners.org. The elosing speaker, teen board member Elyse Bo- denheimer, who reeently wrote a ehildren’s book about her grandfather’s experienee as a young boy during the Holoeaust, pointedly noted that the Jewish eommunity must eontinue to lead the fight against indifferenee espe- eially when it involves ehildren of eeonomieally disadvantaged eom- munities, saying, “While no one in this room ean do everything to help these eeonomieally disadvan taged ehildren, everyone in this room ean do something.” Shalom Park Freedom Sehool, approaehing its third summer this June, is a eollaboration of eight Shalom Park ageneies: Temple Is rael, Temple Beth El, The Levine- Sklut Judaie Library, The Charlotte Jewish Day Sehool, Levine Jewish Community Cen ter, Jewish Family Serviees, The Jewish Federation of Greater Charlotte, and The Foundation of Shalom Park. By the end of the evening the beauty of this eollaboration among the eight Shalom Park ageneies was elear: by lifting up the two eeonomieally disadvan taged eommunities of Sterling El ementary and Huntingtowne Shalom Park Freedom School Teen Board Members Kelly Albert, Annie Brown, and Marissa Uri, in vintage movie theater popcorn trays designed by SPFS Volunteer Betsy Rosen. Farms Elementary, we lift up the entire Jewish eommunity. Please visit www.spfreedom- sehool.org to make an online do nation. Cheeks for single year eontributions and multi-year pledges ean be sent to Freedom Sehool Partners at 1030 Arosa Av enue, Charlotte, NC 28203. Re member to note “Shalom Park Freedom Sehool” on your eheek or when making an online dona tion. ^ Photos courtesy Alan Gold berg. Whenever you need home care services for yourself or a loved one, Homewatch CareGivers is here for you. 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The Charlotte Jewish News (Charlotte, N.C.)
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June 1, 2013, edition 1
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