Spiritgrow raises $1.5million
MAJOR changes are on the cards for Spiritgrow after the wellness centre and shul raised $1.5 million in just 24 hours.
MAJOR changes are on the cards for Spiritgrow after the wellness centre and shul raised $1.5 million in just 24 hours.
The funds will enable the centre to employ more staff and expand programs to the community.
Speaking to The AJN after the fundraiser, which was held between 1pm on Sunday and 1pm on Monday, Spiritgrow director Rabbi Menachem Wolf said, “There will be a lot of cool new things.
“We want more staff involved inRabbi Menachem Wolf, we are going to expand our library resources, expand programming by doubling the amount we offer each week.”
Spiritgrow set the fundraising target initially at $1 million and, according to Rabbi Wolf, they were nervously confident of reaching that target.
“We didn’t have a clear script hour by hour, but there was a fair amount of belief and hope that all of the hard work would pay off.
“We had more than 100 volunteers come forward the week before and those volunteers translate into tachlis and they were the ones that made this possible.”
Less than seven hours after the campaign started, they reached the $1 million mark.
“It blew everyone out of the water,” Rabbi Wolf said.
“When we reached the target there was a lot of celebrations and the volunteers all felt they had really achieved something.
“We all thought we would get close the next morning, but never thought it would be so quick.”
Rabbi Wolf said some of the donations were so large that they had to call and confirm them.
Rabbi Laibl Wolf, who is the founder of Spiritgrow, said that the most positive part about the campaign was that it wasn’t just the “usual big donors” in the -community.
“This campaign was different because the funding came from the irregulars,” Rabbi Laibl Wolf said.
“We are creating new big donors from people that wouldn’t normally considering putting money into the community like this.”
The fundraiser was held with Charidy.com, with major donors matching dollar for dollar every pledge made during the 24-hour period.
Spiritgrow is a Jewish community centre, which includes a synagogue, that tries to improve people’s lives by creating a more values-conscious society through a holistic approach to life, informed by Jewish spiritual wisdoms coupled with contemporary insights of modern scientific research.
To make a donation, visit
www.spiritgrowjosefkrysscenter.org.
JOSHUA LEVI
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