It has been about five years since the Jewish Community Capital Campaign closed in 2007, having exceeded all expectations by raising $45.5 million for renovating and rebuilding the structures that house many agencies and programs of Milwaukee’s Jewish community.
Funds raised were used to remodel and expand structures on the Karl Jewish Community Campus, which house the Harry & Rose Samson Family Jewish Community Center, BBYO-Wisconsin Region, the Coalition for Jewish Learning, Hillel Academy, Jewish Beginnings Lubavitch Preschool, and Milwaukee Jewish Day School.
Other CCC dollars funded renovation of the Helfaer Community Service Building, home to the Milwaukee Jewish Federation’s administrative offices, and created a permanent space for the Jewish Museum Milwaukee.
In 2007, the last CCC expenditures supported construction of a facility for Hillel Milwaukee near the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee campus.
Today, the programs and activities of Jewish Milwaukee are thriving. BBYO-Wisconsin’s teen lounge is attractive to teens and in convenient proximity to the JCC.
The JCC is flourishing and its programs are expanding. Said JCC Board Chair Moshe Katz:
“Space used to be an issue for our Jewish community; now it is a resource to help us build not only the JCC but our entire Jewish community and beyond. From the warm welcome of the Marcus Entrance to the functional use of our Peck Entrance for our fitness users, the spaces all flow together to give our community the quality and spiritual venue that equals the spirit of the great programs we offer. It has also allowed us to reach out and partner with agencies and organizations that together make our community stronger.”
In the campus’ North Building, the three schools are bustling, and the development of shared spaces has expanded to other kinds of collaboration, including a day school marketing campaign.
MJDS Head of School Brian King said: “How many Jewish day schools can boast about having a beautiful beit midrash, access to two gyms, a full library, two computer labs and dedicated spaces for everything we need to educate the whole child? MJDS is so fortunate to have these state of the art educational facilities and to be in a community that supports Jewish education so thoroughly.”
B. Devorah Shmotkin, director of Jewish Beginnings Lubavitch Preschool and of Hillel Academy, both located in the North Building, said: “The remodeling of the North Building has been a G-d send. Only five years ago, Jewish Beginnings had two-thirds of its current space, and we are already looking for more space. Not a week goes by that we don’t have a community member comment on how beautiful our environment is, and not a day goes by that the children are not taking advantage of the wonderful setting.”
Shmotkin added, “Hillel Academy has grown by 30 percent and is continuing to do so. The reallocated space supports our commitment to differentiation and hands-on learning. Our beautifully appointed beit midrash and refurbished science, math, and technology labs all speak to an environment that supports multiple modes of learning. We are grateful to the Milwaukee Jewish community who so generously stepped up to support Jewish education and to the Federation for spearheading this initiative.”
Since the Jewish Museum Milwaukee opened in 2008, more than 16,000 people, Jewish and non-Jewish, have visited its 3,500-square-foot permanent exhibit that is packed with information, photographs, artifacts and stories.
The museum’s Ettinger Changing Exhibit gallery has showcased exhibits ranging from Jewish camping and youth groups, to the Chagall Bible Series, to Arnold Newman’s portrait photography. In addition, the museum’s archives have received more than 800 reference requests.
Said JMM Founding President Marianne Lubar: “The museum in only three years has become a major community resource, actively providing schools and community groups, both Jewish and non-Jewish, with a way to connect to the Milwaukee Jewish experience. More than 5000 students have visited the museum, using our permanent and changing exhibits to learn about Jews, Judaism, and Jewish life.”
The final CCC project was building the Joseph & Vera Zilber Hillel Milwaukee Student Center, which, according to Hillel Executive Director Heidi Rattner, “offers a comfortable and inviting space for Jewish university students to celebrate Shabbat and holidays, learn from speakers on a variety of topics, socialize with peers, and so much more. The new student center has enabled us to double the number of Jewish students that we serve on a weekly basis, and provides a comfortable and inviting space for students to drop in throughout the school day.”
“The passage of time has made the dreams of the Capital Campaign come alive, as the building projects have enhanced the activities of our community,” said MJF President Jerry Benjamin. “The creation of new and remodeled spaces has raised us up and helped us educate the next Jewish generation, engage the community at all stages of life and nurture Jewish identity.”
Funding for the expansion and renovation was secured through a bond issue and the creation of a repayment model designed to leave the next generation free of debt. The economic downturn of 2007-2008 forced MJF leaders to revisit the model and develop creative approaches for repayment.
“Now we are focusing on other approaches, such as our decision last month to designate any excess loan proceeds resulting from our proposed refinance of the Golda Meir House to go into the Capital Finance Model. A work group of volunteers continues to monitor repayment and develop methods to ensure the success of the model,” Benjamin said.
“Five years later, the success of the Community Capital Campaign is a tribute to the leadership of this community, whose foresight has provided us with the facilities needed to ensure a vibrant Jewish life in Milwaukee long into the future. The Capital Finance Model, with its 30-year horizon, provides the flexibility needed to ensure that we will have the time to be strategic in our thinking as we identify the best methods to meet our obligations as a community,” he said.
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