It’s been a while since I delivered my last President’s Report so there are a lot of items to cover. Hang on to your hat, here we go!
As we head into the spring months of March & April I am reminded that we have experienced a relatively mild winter with not very much snow. Hopefully, we will still receive more snowfall, followed by adequate amounts of rain in the spring and early summer so that our province will not experience drought conditions in 2024.
Meanwhile, the Centre has gradually returned to987 almost pre-Covid levels of activity. Our lunches from Mondays through Thursdays are often well-attended, especially on days when there are morning and/or afternoon classes. Over the past several months we have hosted a number of noteworthy programs and special events.
These include a lively Hanukkah Celebration with a full house of over one hundred guests for latke lunch, with a stirring performance by our Young At Heart Choir. We experienced an inspiring presentation by Lewis Cardinal about the History and Sacred Meaning of Treaties, in which he described the story of the Indigenous peoples of Canada and Alberta, including notable members of his own family. Many thanks to Edmonton Opera: we recently had two lunches with them at the Centre with amazing singer Alla Salakhova, and attended full performances of CARMEN and DON GIOVANNI at the Jubilee Auditorium, with excellent seats made available to us at a reasonable price.
In addition to our regular and ongoing Health and Wellness classes, including Yoga on Mondays, exercise classes with Bonnie Austen on Tuesdays and with Anna Kratochvil on Thursdays, there are opportunities to play cards, Mah Jong, Scrabble and other board games at various times. Just ask Luba or Svetlana how to get started. We have had several excellent courses on Art, Music and Culture over the past few months. Currently Professor Emeritus Alvin Finkel is in the midst of a 5-part course on The History of Democracy, and Eileen Conway is conducting a 6-part course called Rediscover Detective/Mystery/Crime Fiction, examining the delights of early classic works of crime fiction, including mid-20th Century queens such as Agatha Christie, and the works of contemporary writers as well. A big thank you to our executive assistant, Luba Allen, for all her work in arranging these and many other programs. Luba, you rule!
I would particularly like to acknowledge the welcome support the Centre has received from the following donors:
The Sam Osher Switzer Charitable Foundation made a sizeable donation towards our programming efforts.
The ORT Edmonton organization made a generous donation towards our intellectually stimulating classes.
The Jewish Federation of Edmonton provided a much-appreciated grant towards our transportation program.
And now here is something that really makes our Centre stand out. We have held a large number of programs and events over the past year or so, under the umbrella of “Overcoming Our Biases: Colour, Race and Religion Through Intercultural Dialogue”, a continuing project made possible through the financial support of the Canadian Race Relation Foundation’s National Anti-Racism Fund.
This brings me to a very important point of consideration. Our Centre is in constant need of fundraising. We purposefully keep our annual membership fees low in order to encourage participation. But it costs thousands of dollars a year to run our building, with constant bills for electricity, gas, maintenance and repairs, over and above our programming and personnel expenses. You can help maintain the Centre by utilizing our Tribute Cards services. These beautiful cards start at $10 (picture of the Ten Commandments), and go up to $18, $36 and higher, and are a very nice way to acknowledge life events or to just send a greeting to a friend, while supporting the Centre. You might also consider the opportunity to leave an historical record about your significant event by purchasing a plaque on our mural entrance Shalom Wall: single plaque $100, double $180, triple $280. These provide a permanent visible reminder of a loved one or an important event. You can also support the Centre by including Jewish Senior Citizen’s Centre in your will via a bequest; just ask Svetlana for the information.
Finally, I just want to say a word or two about the importance of volunteering for positions of responsibility at the Centre. Volunteers are the lifeblood of our organization and we thank all of you who volunteer, sincerely from the bottom of our hearts. Whether it is greeting guests, receiving payments for lunches, takeout or programs, helping in the kitchen or serving tables, sharing your experiences at lunch-and-learn, or whatever you do, you are really, really appreciated! Please consider volunteering for a board or a committee position in the future. We are certainly in need of a vice-president on the Board, who would eventually move up to president (he said, hopefully).
That’s all for now, folks. Thanks for reading this far.
Sam Koplowicz, President