Kehilla Residential Programme

Sukkahville 2011 - A Great Success!

2011-11-05T09:02:00.000-07:00

Tuesday October 11^th, 2011 marked the first night of Kehilla Residential Programme’s inaugural Sukkahville! The Sukkahville event was inspired by New York City’s innovative Sukkah City design competition held at Union Square back in 2010. The theme of the Toronto-based competition was to re-imagine the traditional idea of a sukkah with a contemporary sustainable design approach. Artists, architects and designers of all faiths were invited to submit their designs. Submissions were received from all over the world including, New York, Hong Kong, Mexico, Halifax and Toronto. Five sukkahs were then selected to be built for the community to experience.

The reception brought out a fantastic crowd of all backgrounds to view and experience the top five entries and vote for their favourite sukkah. Most importantly this event helped celebrate Sukkot while bringing awareness to the need for more affordable housing in Toronto.

A huge thank you to all those who participated in the event, and came out to show their support! Kehilla is already busy planning for Sukkahville 2012!

For those who missed it, or who were unable to see the sukkahs in daylight, here are some photos of the built structures.

If you’re interested in participating in next year’s events or have any suggestions or comments, please contact us at kehilla@rogers.com.

Jonathan Enchin Community Fund

2011-08-04T11:32:00.000-07:00

While August is still the height of summer holidays, we know that the High Holidays will soon be here. But for some Jewish seniors, holiday time is not about celebration and family, but one of privation. Thanks to the generosity of Harry Enchin, and with matching funds from the Weinberg Foundation, (a U.S.-based charitable foundation), 36 Toronto seniors have been able to celebrate the holidays as others do.

Harry Enchin conceived and established the Jonathan Enchin Community Fund in 2008, in memory of his brother Jonathan. It was established as a three-year pilot project to ease the effects of poverty among Toronto’s Jewish seniors and help them to live more “Jewishly.” Seniors with an annual income below $20,000, paying market rent are eligible for assistance of $1,240 each per year. These recipients are among the Toronto Jewish community’s most impoverished and vulnerable population. Stipends are paid per household, in quarterly installments, timed so that participants receive cheques at least one week prior to major Jewish holidays. Funds are used at the discretion of the recipients. Some use the funds for High Holiday tickets; others for food or non-subsidized medications or health supplies. Others have been able to reduce isolation through membership in the Bernard Betel Centre and participating in its programs.

The program is administered by the Kehilla Residential Programme, an affiliated agency of UJA Federation of Greater Toronto. Recipients are referred to Kehilla from Jewish Family & Child, Circle of Care, Bernard Betel Centre for Creative Living and Jewish Immigrant Aid Services.

Although the stipend is small compared to the need, the recipients’ comments attest to the impact it has had on the quality of their lives. An elderly woman called the money “a miracle,” and added that she was “thankful that Jewish people are helping me.” Repeatedly, Kehilla was told that “every penny counts.” Another family sends a thank you note at every Jewish holiday. The statistical evidence of the program’s achievements can never be as meaningful as these unsolicited words of thanks.

The three-year pilot project has ended. The challenge facing seniors this Rosh Hashana is for the Fund to achieve sustainability so that current recipients are assured of help over the long term, and the benefit can be extended to more people in need.

That is where you come in- Please make a difference in the Jewish lives of our community’s most vulnerable seniors by supporting this program. All donations are fully tax deductible and go directly to those in need. For additional information or to make a contribution, please contact Kehilla at 416-932-1212 or make a secure donation on-line by clicking the "Donate Now button" at CanadaHelps

Please specify the second Fund/Designation i.e. "2. Jonathan Enchin Community Fund" in the "Fund/Designation" field of Kehilla's CanadaHelps "Donation Details" page. Your help is much appreciated.

Announcing our new project, Mezuzahs Build Jewish Homes!

2011-07-21T07:59:00.001-07:00

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!

2011-07-20T07:24:00.001-07:00

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!

2011-07-19T06:38:00.000-07:00

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

2011-07-11T10:59:00.000-07:00

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.

One Hot Day!

2011-06-13T08:31:00.000-07:00

Yesterday, on June 12th, the UJA Federation organized their annual One Hot Day event in the GTA! They send out young adults to volunteer at various Jewish charity organizations and non-profits to assist with hands on work.

The volunteers we were provided with were great in helping us enhance our gardens on site The Avenel building. They planted all new flowers outside the building as well as on the rooftop garden. It was a great success and a big help to beautify the building!

Check out some photos below of the event, thanks UJA!

For more pictures and more updates, please visit our Facebook fan page and "like" the page to show your support!!

http://www.facebook.com/kehillaresidentialprogramme

Social Media Initiatives

2011-06-10T11:23:00.000-07:00

As apart of some new social media projects, Kehilla has now become involved on both Twitter and Facebook!

Help support a fellow non-profit organization by "liking" our Facebook page as well as following our Twitter account.

You can find us at @KehillaRP on Twitter and https://www.facebook.com/pages/Kehilla-Residential-Programme/224296087589479 on Facebook.

Thanks in advance from Kehilla!

2011-06-10T10:41:00.001-07:00