Announcing our new project, Mezuzahs Build Jewish Homes!

Eleven percent of the Jewish population in Toronto currently lives in poverty. Mezuzahs Build Jewish Homes is a fundraising initiative to help create more affordable housing for the Jewish community in Toronto. Our mezuzahs are handcrafted and designed by local Toronto artist Gillian Batcher of Pash Designs (http://www.pash.ca/). One hundred percent of the proceeds of mezuzahs will go towards the Kehilla Residential Programme and current affordable housing initiatives. Stay tuned for more information on how to order these beautiful and uniquely designed pieces!

An address from our new board chair, Paul Braun!

 It is with great eagerness and anticipation that I begin my term. I look forward to working with Nancy, Lisa and the capable staff of Kehilla and, of course, with our Board. I would also like to congratulate Moiz on the fine job he did as President.

The needs of our community have not diminished over time. The challenge to provide affordable housing is something that the staff and Board of Kehilla take very seriously and work very hard to achieve. This year we are working on a number of planning initiatives to increase affordable housing. On the rental front we are working on developing a rent bank to increase the number of units with private landlords in our community rent program(JCARP). In addition, studies are being undertaken on two sites that we hope will result in affordable home ownership initiatives.

One of our objectives this year is to raise the profile of Kehilla within our own community. To accomplish this, as Nancy mentioned above, Kehilla is embarking on two projects, Mezuzahs and Sukkahs. We believe that raising our profile will help Kehilla achieve its goals by "opening" more doors and focusing the community to work towards housing those families that can least afford it.

An address from our executive director, Nancy Singer!

Mezuahs and Sukkahs – both are symbols of creating a Jewish home,and both are symbols of what Kehilla is all about - creating affordable housing for the vulnerable in the Jewish Community. This fall we will launch two exciting new fundraising and awareness raising initiatives.  The first will be marketing artist designed mezuahs for purchase that can be ordered directly from us.  The second will be a design competition and showcase of innovative sukkahs. Book the evening of October 11th in your calendars for the event opening and display  at the JCC Sherman Campus. 

On the development front, the special needs Reena Building on the Lebovic Campus, which we are the development consultant on, is nearly 50% complete. The completion date is March 2, 2012.  The four units in Great Gulf's Charlie building that will be contributed to us are also well under construction with a May 2012 transfer date anticipated. We continue to explore the affordable home ownership model with two ongoing feasibility studies supported by grants from CMHC.

At our May AGM we elected a new board and new board chair Paul Braun, whose welcoming message to you follows mine. Hope you have a great summer; we look forward to sharing our events and work with you in the fall!

Announcing: The Sukkahville Design Competition

We are pleased to announce and to encourage you to participate in the first annual Sukkahville: The Design Competition. Entrants will be challenged to reimagine the “Sukkah,” the temporary shelter or dwelling that is traditionally built during the Jewish festival of Sukkot. Inspired by New York City’s Sukkah City 2010, this competition reflects Kehilla’s mission to champion new initiatives which increase awareness of our greater community’s housing needs. Approximately 5 innovative designs from the competition phase will be selected by a committee of distinguished judges to be constructed in conjunction with Sukkot, and will be on display Oct 11 and 12^th, 2011 on UJA’s Sherman Campus in Toronto. Please refer to the photos for further details regarding timelines, rules and submission requirements. Also, feel free to contact us at sukkahville@rogers.com or (416) 932-1212.