Submission #28262 by Anshe Emet Men'S Club - Chicago, IL (608)
2023
I have read the 2023 Torch Awards Program Guidelines.
Sukkah Village
Fundraising
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Worked with a member of our synagogue to bid on an auction of one of 11 custom sukkot to bring home for our rabbi in honor of his 40th Anniversary as our rabbi. Program sponsored by Jewish Federation of Princeton (NJ) Mercer Bucks. The event promotes the impact of design in addressing key social issues impacting New Jersey and the nation as a whole, such as Homelessness, Food Insecurity, Sustainability and Struggles of Refugees. We won the auction for $1000 (all donated to the cause) and brought the sukkah home to Chicago in time to build it for our rabbi and present it to him for Sukkot 2022.
Michael Landau, a member of our synagogue, is an architect who brought this program to our attention and encouraged our men's club to participate during Sukkot 2021. Michael designed the sukkah (named Sukkah Drash) with thematic input from our rabbi. We solicited (10) $50 bids from our members for half the cost ($500), and then our men's club treasury donated the other half ($500) to fill out our winning bid. All proceeds went to Sukkah Village to support awareness of the key social issues noted above. Michael then arranged to transport the sukkah that he had designed (and we had bought) to be brought back to Chicago so that we could set it up and dedicate it for our senior rabbi for Sukkot 2022, for which we organized a group of men's club members on Oct 9, 2022 (see attached photos). The gift to Rabbi Siegel was in honor of his 40th Anniversary with our synagogue.
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Original Program