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The Charlotte Jewish News - April 2021 - Page 16 ~ SYNAGOGUES AND CONGREGATIONS ~ The Spirit of Giving Is Strong at Temple Beth El Eden Gobuty By Eden Gobuty, Director of Development and Member Services, Temple Beth El In August 2020, amid a glob al pandemic and right before the High Holy Day season, I began my role as director of development and member ser vices at Temple Beth El (TBE). My husband, Kevin, and I have been members since we moved to Charlotte in 2018, and the opportunity to work alongside TBE’s outstanding clergy and staff was tremendously exciting. More than six months into the role, I have some key observa tions and have learned important lessons about TBE and Char lotte’s Jewish community are apparent to me. TBE’s community is gen erous. When COVID hit, TBE’s leadership had to consider how much the pandemic might affect membership in the coming year along with other revenue sources such as rental income. We fol lowed a conservative budget that allowed for a significant decrease in My Temple Commitment (an nual membership income) due to anticipated financial challenges among congregants because of the pandemic. The community Grades 8-12 • Undergraduate Colleges • Graduate Schools . TAKE THE STRESS OUT OF COLLEGE ADMISSIONS ' One-on-One Consulting ' College Selection ' Essays ' Interviews ernatIc INTERNATIONA! COLLEGE Counselors Ettp^n Stratrgii for Adml'i -um • Academic Guidance • Applications • Extracurricular Opportunities • Scholarships Nancy Zofotorofe 980-265-2368 offices in South Charlotte, Florida, New York and Connecticut nancy@internationalcollegecounselors.com 1^) www.internationalcollegecounselors.com TRUST YOU NEED. CHOICE YOU DESERVE. Whether it is protecting your business, home or your family, Main Street/Swimmer Insurance Group makes it a priority to earn the trust of our customers. MAIN W STREET SWIMMER 1523 ELIZABETH AVENUE, SUITE 300 CHARLOTTE. NC 28204 704.333.6694 | MAINSTREET1NS.COM Serving families and businesses in the Charlotte Jewish Community since 1953. One example of generosity at Temple Beth El - congregants baked and delivered challah for the entire congregation for TBE Challah Day on March 12 and 19. responded with a resounding cry — one that said, “TBE is import ant to my family, and I am com mitted to this congregation.” As we face the beginning of anoth er uncertain fiscal year, we feel confident that the congregation will again rise to the occasion, ensuring the continuity of TBE’s staff and community. The Jewish Federation of Greater Charlotte is full of mensehen. While I have been fortunate to see the leadership and partnership of the Federation first-hand before this role (pri marily because of my experience in the most recent cohort of the Bernstein Leadership Group), our Federation took it to anoth er level this year. In addition to Federation’s annual allocations, the emergency grants provided to the community immediately after the pandemic began and the creation of the new Adaptation and Transformation Fund show a level of compassion and acumen that I will never take for granted. At TBE, funds from Federation in 2020 allowed us to pivot to online programming and hire a social justice outreach coordina tor who will build on our tikkun olam work. We are so thankful. Partnership is powerful. One of the most exciting aspects of this role is being part of a con gregation that is so intertwined with other communities, both locally and nationally. As our congregation is a member of the Union for Reform Judaism, I par ticipate in professional meetings with other development and/or membership directors at congre gations around the country who are asking the same questions we are. Additionally, I have benefit- ted greatly from the partnership and experience of working with our friends at the Foundation for the Carolinas and the Foundation for the Charlotte Jewish Commu nity, in particular Phil Warshau- er and Doug Benson. As both congregants and professionals in the philanthropic space, their support has been invaluable. Connecting with others in similar roles always helps me feel more connected and less isolated. Building relationships in a pandemic is rough. This one almost needs no explanation. While I have been a member of TBE for a few years, I still need to meet so many congregants, and the pandemic has not made this easy. Through phone calls and online meetings, Shabbat services and delivering mish- loach manot to our new mem bers, I have made some inroads, but there is still a long way to go. Many of us are struggling to build new relationships during this time, and my suggestion is that we continue putting our selves out there. Everyone is looking for connection, and even when we think we are suffering from Zoom fatigue, human inter action is priceless. There is nothing like a ded icated team of lay leaders. I am so deeply inspired by the commitment of TBE’s lay lead ers. From baking more than 100 hamantaschen to deliver to the aforementioned new members, making phone calls to those who had not renewed their My Tem ple Commitment, being all-in on an online Purim shpiel, sending out cards of condolence to those who have lost loved ones ... the list goes on and on. I am con sistently in awe of our Develop ment Committee members who are truly the experts on the gen erosity and capacity of our com munity. It has been wonderful to learn from and be guided by them in these first months on the job, and I look forward to con tinuing to build our partnership. Todah rabah for the warm wel come to this role, and I look forward to meeting even more members of our community, pro fessionals and congregants alike, during the next six months and beyond. 111! TEMPLE BETH EL
The Charlotte Jewish News (Charlotte, N.C.)
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April 1, 2021, edition 1
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