New Heights Capital Campaign: Stories From the Heart
What inspired you to join BHS?
Babette was already a member when we got together in 1998. Harry would come down to Brooklyn from Boston on Friday nights and meet Babette at Brooklyn Heights Synagogue for services. Then we would go to dinner afterward. Harry liked what he saw and heard and joined BHS once he moved to Brooklyn.
How are you involved with BHS?
Harry has been a Board of Trustees treasurer, is a past president and continues to sit on the finance committee. He also coordinated an art show of member works a few years ago. Babette ran a drop-in program for Russian immigrants. She also co-chaired the book club and the arts committee. She has served on the board a couple of times.
What keeps you coming to BHS?
Rabbi Lippe, the nature of the services and the sense of fellowship.
What compelled you to invest in the New Heights Capital Campaign?
This is where we celebrate the high holidays. This is where our children Nathaniel, Sara, and Julia were bar and bat mitzvahed. This institution means a lot to our family. We want it to be there for others who come after us.
What aspects of the new building project excite you most?
We need dedicated classrooms for the preschool as well as the religious school. We also need a larger space for celebrations and social events, not to mention better working conditions for professional staff.
What would you like to tell individuals and families thinking about giving to the New Heights Capital Campaign?
BHS is a special institution. At a time when the majority of reform congregations are static or shrinking, BHS continues to grow. To accommodate all the things our current members want to do – and to assure we have the space to support continued growth in our membership – we need more and better space.