History unfolds in Vaughan as Kimel Family Education Centre opens its doors

Sunday, September 9 was an historic day for Jewish education, Jewish Toronto, UJA Federation and TanenbaumCHAT. Over 200 donors to UJA Federation’s Tomorrow Campaign gathered at York Region’s Joseph & Wolf Lebovic Jewish Community Campus to mark the opening of the world-class Kimel Family Education Centre (the Kimel Family is pictured at left).
The building – designed by award-winning architect Guela Solow Ruda of Petroff Partners and Paul Cravit of CS&P Architects – is the first institution to open its doors on the new 50-acre campus, located just north of Rutherford on Bathurst Street.
The chairs of the Tomorrow Campaign are Gerald Schwartz and Lawrence Tanenbaum.
In addition to an impressive roster of Jewish community members that included Canadian birthright israel philanthropist Charles Bronfman and Tanenbaum, the event was also attended by a wide range of politicians and city councilors. All gathered to celebrate with the Jewish community on what was truly a momentous occasion for York Region – which currently boasts the fastest-growing Jewish population anywhere outside of Israel.
“This is truly an historic day for our community,” said UJA Federation board chair David Engel. “It is my honour and pleasure to be here today with so many of our friends who have been on board with the Tomorrow Campaign since the nineties.”
“Some people have suggested that I stand here like a proud parent,” said Leo Goldhar, the inaugural chair of the Lebovic Campus steering committee. “That’s one way of putting it. It’s definitely a rewarding moment and I feel lucky to be here today.”
“In preparing for this day I started making a list of all the great lay and professional leaders who made today possible,” said UJA Federation president & CEO Ted Sokolsky. “The list was enormous. Looking back at these past seven years I couldn’t help but feel we’re part of an amazing community with visionary individuals who want to make a real difference, who want to create something special and meaningful. Surely they have done that and more with this new home for TanenbaumCHAT. The Kimel Family Education Centre is a gift for all of us and a wonderful glimpse into the exciting future of the Lebovic Campus.”
“This is a very special school,” said event moderator Irene Berkowitz. “My three daughters went here, and for each child, TanenbaumCHAT offered a unique educational program with teachers who really love and care about their students. We’re all just so proud and excited, and we offer a huge mazel tov to TanenbaumCHAT, the Tomorrow Campaign, and the entire Jewish community of York Region.”