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Clarksville
Jewish Campus Goes Ahead Community
Center Project Advances to Planning Board Leaders
unveil plans for future Jewish Community Campus JCC
Sells its Property, Boosting New Campus Plan Federation
Purchases Land for Proposed Community Campus Ambassadors
to Promote Campaign for Campus A
Campus for All Ages Capital
Campaign Yields Unprecedented Gifts; Circle
of Agency Presidents Unite for Campus
Campaign
Clarksville Jewish Campus
Goes Ahead by Joyce J. Persico WEST WINDSOR -- The Jewish Community Center has won unanimous approval of its plans for a new $28.5 million campus from the township planning board, clearing the path for a new home on Clarksville Road. Groundbreaking will take place next spring with a target opening of the campus and camp in the spring of 2009. Requiring only a few waivers for signs on the 81-acre undeveloped tract that lies between Route 1 and Clarksville Road, the ambitious project will include headquarters for a full-service Jewish Community Center, Abrams Day Camp, Jewish Family & Children's Service, Greenwood House for the Aged, the United Jewish Federation of Princeton Mercer Bucks and Community Foundation. Rezoned to include recreation at the research-office area, the JCC site also will house an amphitheater, baseball field, two lighted soccer fields, an outdoor pool, archery range, two volleyball courts, two basketball courts, two tennis courts, an activities center, a bike-pedestrian trail, a health and fitness center and offices. Room for 272 cars and eight buses will accommodate visitors and 70 employees in the seven-day-a-week operation. " From a quality-of-life perspective, it has huge, positive benefits," planning board chairman Marvin Gardner said of the JCC project, "because it provides recreational, educational and cultural opportunities for all citizens regardless of their religious beliefs." According to Gardner, not much will be visible from Clarksville Road, but there will be an LED sign near the road announcing upcoming events. To the north, there will be an enter-only driveway; to the south will be an exit-only road, both along Clarksville Road. Placement of a pedestrian crosswalk, bus stop and traffic signal lies somewhere in the future because the JCC sits directly across from the approved West Windsor Gardens, a 352-unit, 44-acre rental development that will contain the largest number of affordable housing units in the state. While the planning board decided to allow the JCC to choose either its original main building design or one suggested by the township's Site Plan Review Advisory Board, it also got the JCC to agree to pay an affordable housing fee of 2 percent of the project's assessed value. The JCC also agreed to grant the township a 200-foot-wide corridor easement along a portion of the property that abuts Duck Pond Run. Formerly in Ewing and, before that, Trenton, the JCC has been in the Trenton area for nearly 100 years and will serve 20,000 members of the Jewish community from Mercer and Bucks counties at the West Windsor site. The JCC began its search for a new home in 2000 and purchased the West Windsor property in 2005. After announcing plans for its new campus in May, the JCC held a series of public meetings to explain its plans to various segments of nearby communities. Community Center Project Advances
to Planning Board by Joyce J. Persico WEST WINDSOR -- The Jewish Community Center moved one step closer this week to breaking ground for its proposed $28.5 million campus on Clarksville Road. The township's Site Plan Review Advisory Board sent the plans for the 80-acre campus to the planning board Monday night. Planners will take a look at the project dur ing their Dec. 12 meeting. "Everyone has been very supportive of us," Drew Staffenberg, executive director of the new campus, said yesterday. "There were some questions and we agreed to meet with township consultants. But, in terms of overall planning, nothing was really changed (by the advisory board). "Next we'll bring preliminary and final plans to the planning board. After the planning board, we have to get building permits. We have to go through the whole process." Designed to serve the needs of the Jewish population in both Mercer and Bucks counties that numbers 16,000 to 20,000, the new JCC site will include headquarters, a day camp, the Jewish Family and Children's Service, Greenwood House for the Aged and the United Jewish Federation of Princeton Mercer Bucks and Community Foundation. Twenty acres on the western portion of the site, which is south of Meadow Road, will be turned into an outdoor recreational area with the day camp, swimming pool, recreational fields, baseball field, tennis courts, gaga pits (Israeli dodge ball) and enclosed pavilions and activity rooms anchored by an outdoor amphitheater. The JCC acquired the site in December 2005 and has been planning the ambitious project since 2001. The organization has already explained its plans in a series of public meetings throughout Mercer. According to Staffenberg, groundbreaking could begin next spring with a possible target opening in the spring of 2009. Leaders unveil plans for future
Jewish Community Campus Local Jewish leaders have unveiled architectural plans for the proposed new $28.5 million Jewish Community Campus of Princeton Mercer Bucks — marking one more milestone on the journey toward realizing the dream of a central Jewish address for the region. The plans call for the construction of a 78,000-square-foot structure at the heart of the campus site, an 80-acre, tree-lined property bordering Clarksville-Grovers Mills Road in the Princeton Junction section of West Windsor Township. The site will combine headquarters of the United Jewish Federation of Princeton Mercer Bucks, the Jewish Community Foundation, the Jewish Community Center of the Delaware Valley, Jewish Family and Children's Service, and the Abrams Day Camp. The development plans include the transformation of some 20 acres on the western side of the site into an outdoor family recreational area, complete with facilities for the day camp. The area will have an outdoor swimming pool, recreational fields, a baseball field, tennis courts, gaga pits (Israeli dodge ball), partially enclosed pavilions, and activity rooms — all of it anchored by an outdoor amphitheater. Planners suggest groundbreaking could take place in the spring of 2008. The target date for the opening of the camp and the community campus is the spring of 2009. "In this phase, about two-thirds of the site will be developed," said Drew Staffenberg, executive director of the Jewish Community Campus Development Council, as he surveyed two large poster boards depicting concept plans for the site. Sitting with him in the offices of the PMB federation was Paul Schindel, who shares the responsibilities of cochair of the council with Ronald Berman. The concept drawings, by Perkins Eastman Architects of New York, show the outlines of a multifunctional building designed to serve all segments of the community. The first-level entrance opens onto a spacious lobby, a senior adult lounge, a kosher café and dual kitchen, a gift shop, a multipurpose room that can accommodate 400, several meeting rooms, an early childhood wing with room for 150 children, and an outdoor patio. The main level also includes an indoor swimming pool and a fully outfitted gymnasium and fitness center. The second level will house classrooms and the offices of the PMB federation, the Jewish Community Foundation, and the Jewish Community Center of the Delaware Valley. The design, which takes advantage of the slope of the property, also allows for a third level at the back of the building that will accommodate the offices and meeting rooms of the Jewish Family and Children's Service, with a separate entrance to preserve the privacy of clients. "I think we've got a terrific building and a terrific site plan," Schindel said. "The building is a facility that will truly serve the needs of the broadest possible community. "The community has been very patient with us over the last couple of years as we have very carefully, methodically stepped through the process of selecting an outstanding architect and a great team of professionals to lay this out," he said. "We are now ready to implement it." That process of implementation is moving forward on two fronts — planning and funding. The council is already engaged in meetings with the West Windsor Planning Board, according to Schindel. "They have been very positive, very supportive," he said. "The planning process is expected to be completed by the end of 2007. The next piece is three to four months to get the actual building permit, and then 14 to 16 months of construction, which means that groundbreaking will be a year from today — basically, the spring of 2008." "We are pretty much on target," Staffenberg noted, "which is pretty incredible with the size of this project and all the complexity of the partners — an architect, site engineer, construction manager, landscape architect, security consultant, and kitchen consultant." Schindel credited Berman, his cochair, with helping the council to successfully navigate those complexities. "He has the experience, the vision, the history, and the negotiating strengths as a developer to come and devote countless hours of invaluable expertise to pulling together this whole team of experts," he said. In a separate conversation, Berman, a Trenton-based real estate developer, urged the community to embrace the campaign for the new community campus. "We have a very exciting project that serves the community's needs," he said, "and the community needs to support it." In all, about 50 acres of the property, which is accented by groves of trees and wetlands, can be developed, Schindel said. "The real message is that we are in full compliance with state water-management regulations," he said. "From A to Z, the site complies with state, county, and local regulations." Staffenberg stressed that the planners are doing as much as they can about greening the facilities. "We're using certain kinds of materials for insulating the building," he said, "and we want to ensure that the heating and ventilation system is as environmentally friendly as possible." As for funding the project, the capital campaign for the Jewish Community Campus currently counts about $18 million in the plus column — moneys raised or to be raised from various sources. The figure includes some 146 individual gifts totaling $7.4 million; projected proceeds from the sale of the JCC's property in Ewing, which is currently under way; various funds administered by the Jewish Community Foundation; and projected proceeds from the future sale of the JFCS property on Alexander Road in Princeton. Planners declined to say what they expect to get from the sale of the old JCC building in Ewing, maintaining the negotiations are ongoing. They also declined on how much they might earn from the sale of the JFCS building. Now, Schindel said, the council is going to take the campaign more directly to the community — hosting parlor meetings, sponsoring town hall sessions, meeting with the boards of synagogues and other Jewish organizations, and reaching out through direct mail to the estimated 10,000 Jewish households in the region. In addition, a new Web site is up and running — http://www.jccampus.org/ — where members of the community can learn more about the campus and make online pledges. "We're particularly interested in getting as many gifts as possible now in 2007, before groundbreaking," Schindel said, "because every dollar pledged now gives us additional leverage in terms of actually financing the construction." Staffenberg agreed: "The message is that the more money we can raise up front, the less money that goes to the bank for interest and the more that goes into the project for facilities." As all of these elements begin to come together, Schindel said, the finish line for the new campus is coming into sight. "I'm very excited, because we now have something everyone can easily relate to and appreciate and see themselves as belonging to," he said. "We're at the point now where people can truly participate by giving and by spreading the word to their friends and neighbors. It really is a thrilling moment." "To me," Staffenberg said, "this project is going to change the history of this community. It's really being designed as a building that says: We are a community. This is the place to belong, and your Jewish life will be enriched by being part of it."
JCC
Sells its Property, Boosting New Campus Plan by Marilyn Silverstein In a decision announced on Aug. 10, Mercer County and Ewing Township have jointly agreed to pay $8.1 million to purchase the Ewing property owned by the Jewish Community Center of the Delaware Valley. The purchase encompasses some 38 acres, including the facility that formerly housed the JCC and the Trenton Bath House, the four open-air pavilions designed by renowned architect Louis Kahn and built in 1955. Four acres of the 42-acre tract, bordering along Sylvia Street in Ewing, remain unsold. According to reports, Mercer County is using $7.7 million in funds from the Open Space Preservation Trust Fund to purchase 36 acres of the JCC property, and Ewing Township is spending some $400,000 to purchase the main JCC facility and its two-acre site. The township is expected to house its Senior Center in the facility and to transform the campgrounds and pool into a regional park. Under the purchase agreement, the JCC will reportedly be able to lease back the campgrounds for the summer 2007 camp program of its Abrams Day Camp. The sale of the property will be a tremendous spur to the community’s drive to build the proposed new Jewish Community Campus of Princeton Mercer Bucks in West Windsor, observed Howard Cohen, president of the JCC board. “ This is a great situation for everybody,” Cohen said in a telephone interview. “It’s good for the JCC, and it’s good for the county and the township. The Bath House will be in good hands, and it’ll propel us to the next level in terms of our new campus.” Ron Berman of Princeton, cochair of the Jewish Community Campus Development Council, also sees the sale as a shot in the arm for the campaign to build the $23 million campus complex. “I think it’s a really important milestone in our effort to raise the funds for the new campus,” Berman said. “I think it will have a significant effect on the campaign. “This has made it easier to complete the fund-raising because of the timing of it,” he added. “We were able to sell the property in a much faster time frame than we had originally anticipated.” Just how much the community will reap from the sale of the property is still up in the air, Berman said. He noted that the Jewish Community Foundation of Princeton Mercer Bucks, the endowment arm of the United Jewish Federation of Princeton Mercer Bucks, would receive $2.9 million from the sale of the 13.5 acres that are owned outright by the community. The remaining $5.2 million from the sale will be split between the Jewish Community Foundation and the Ellis Pierson estate, which leases the remaining acres to the Jewish community. “The issue of what proportion of the $5.2 million belongs to the Jewish Community Foundation and what proportion belongs to the Pierson estate has yet to be determined,” Berman said. “As for the four additional commercial acres remaining — the proceeds from that sale will also be split in the same proportion.” Although the final numbers are not yet in, Berman said, “Certainly, the price, in all likelihood, will exceed the budget estimates we made for the sale of the property. “People will begin to understand the impact this really has on the campaign,” he said. “I think it will be a significant boost to the campaign.”
Federation
Purchases Land for Proposed Community Campus by Marilyn Silverstein The dream of creating a Jewish Community Campus in Princeton Mercer Bucks moved one step closer to reality on Dec. 29 as Donald Leibowitz, president of the United Jewish Federation of Princeton Mercer Bucks, signed papers purchasing the West Windsor Township property that will one day be the region’s central Jewish address. Federation purchased the 80-acre plot of undeveloped land bordering Clarksville-Grovers Mills Road in the Princeton Junction section of the township from the West Windsor-based Dataram Corp. for $3.1 million. The federation board voted overwhelmingly on Dec. 14 to move ahead with the land purchase — 34 to 1, with three abstentions. “ It’s obviously very, very exciting,” Leibowitz said on the day of the signing. “We’ve been working on this for a lot of years. It’s a real milestone to purchase the land and move forward with this project. “ This is a real step forward in building an even stronger Jewish community,” he said. “There’s still, of course, a huge amount of work to do and funds to be raised, but this is a very concrete step forward.” When fully developed, the land will provide the setting for a $23 million campus complex anchored by an 56,000 square-foot, multi-use facility that will be the new home of the region’s core Jewish agencies — the federation, the Jewish Community Foundation, the Jewish Family and Children’s Service of Greater Mercer County, and the Jewish Community Center of the Delaware Valley and its Early Childhood Learning Center and Abrams Day Camp. The facility will also include classrooms, meeting rooms, a library, a kosher cafe, a state-of-the-art fitness facility, a pool, and 22 acres of recreational areas and campgrounds. The purchase of the land marks both an end and a beginning, said Paul Schindel of Lawrenceville — the end of the community’s five-year exploration into creating a campus and the beginning of a two-stage, three-year push to bring the project to fruition. The first stage will be devoted to completing the pre-construction engineering and architectural work and to gaining approval of the project from the appropriate regulatory boards; the second stage will be devoted to construction. “I’m very excited about our big campus news,” said Schindel, who cochairs the Jewish Community Campus Development Council. “I feel in some ways that now that we own the land, the handcuffs have been lifted and we’re really free to move forward. At this point, we’re really liberated to move as far and as fast as the community will permit us to.” To date, the council has raised pledges of $7 million for the capital campaign, according to Schindel. With the help of volunteers who will serve as campus ambassadors, the council plans to host parlor meetings and public gatherings to spread the word about the development of the new campus, Schindel noted. “I expect to see the community come together over the next year with substantial pledges,” he said. “We’re asking people to give as much as they can and to do it at a meaningful level so they can feel they truly have been part of building the campus.” The community should see federation’s overwhelming endorsement of this move in a positive light, Schindel added. “The message here is very clear,” he said. “The community recognizes the need for a central address, where all members of the community can come and feel welcome at a facility that offers a full, broad range of cultural, recreational, social, and educational services and programs.” Ron Berman of Princeton, Schindel’s council cochair, said he was optimistic that the land purchase would spur donors to fund the campus. “I think that buying the land is a critical step in the process,” Berman said. “It means that the community is now very serious about this project and that we have a very good chance of completing the funding for the campaign.” Clive Klatzkin, president of the federation’s Jewish Community Foundation, agreed. “That’s a major step,” he said. “Now we have something we can all go forward with. This will be a great thing for the future. It’s tangible. It should bring us all together to make this campus successful for the benefit of the entire community.” Mark Pollard of Princeton, chair of the campus fund-raising effort, also welcomed the land purchase. “I think it’s a real commitment that we’re moving this project forward,” he said. “It’s going to happen. That’s not easy but we’re also a vibrant community, and we have the opportunity to stand up and stand tall and do it.” The proposed campus will bring the JCC to a location that is now the epicenter of the Jewish community’s growth, said Joe Fath of Princeton, who shepherded the project for more than four years as cochair, with Robin Persky, of the Campus Exploratory Committee. “It will, when completed, put a state-of-the-art central address on the Jewish community’s secular activities,” he said. “I think that’s a tremendous step ahead.” Federation executive director Andrew Frank called the purchase “the first step in giving birth to this new vision that will transform the community. This is a milestone event,” he said. “We’re buying the piece of property that is going to be our new home. We want to create an environment that will be as attractive as we can possibly make it, to draw in as many people as possible to the Jewish community, and this is the first stage. “ I’m very, very happy and very optimistic,” the federation executive said. “I believed in this project from the get-go, and I know it’s going to happen. It’s going to make a dramatic change in Jewish life in this community.”
Ambassadors
to Promote Campaign for Campus by Marilyn Silverstein Having sealed the purchase of an 80-acre West Windsor Township site for its projected new Jewish Community Campus, the United Jewish Federation of Princeton Mercer Bucks is enlisting “campus ambassadors” to engage the community in the $23 million project. To date, about 30 people have signed on as ambassadors, according to Paul Schindel, cochair of the Jewish Community Campus Development Council. They will make phone calls, arrange parlor meetings, plan events, and reach out to synagogues and organizations to raise the community’s consciousness about the project. “This is actually the second gathering of the campus ambassadors, which is a group of people who have expressed interest in promoting the campus project in a number of ways,” Schindel said as 18 ambassadors gathered in a conference room at the federation’s Lawrenceville offices on the evening of Jan. 24. “The ambassadors are going to play an ever increasing role in presenting the campus to the community,” he said. “At the core of it is building excitement about the campus. What we need now more than anything are increased pledges to the campaign, and that comes from increased awareness.” This is the final phase of the campaign, said council cochair Ron Berman. “We’ve raised $7 million to date, and that makes us at about 50 percent of our goal,” Berman said in an interview before the meeting. He explained that an estimated $9 million would be coming in from the sale of the Ewing property of the Jewish Community Center of the Delaware Valley and other real estate holdings, and from earmarked funds held by the Jewish Community Foundation, the endowment arm of the federation. “We need another $7 million to complete the project,” he said, “and we’re all very optimistic that we can accomplish that in the next year.” In a very real sense, the campaign is running a race against inflation, Berman told the ambassadors as he displayed an architect’s preliminary drawing of the proposed campus. At the heart of the complex on Clarksville-Grovers Mills Road will be a 57,000-square-foot, multi-use facility that will one day be the region’s central Jewish address. The goal, Berman said, is to complete the capital campaign for the project by the end of 2006, with ground breaking scheduled for the early part of 2007. “In my opinion, we have a year to do this,” Berman said. “If we go much beyond a year, inflation will kill us. That puts a sense of urgency into what everyone has to do. But the good news is that all aspects of this are going well. “I think the success of this campus facility is going to be largely dependent on the community at large — on smaller gifts,” he added. “At some point, it’s the relatively smaller giver who will make up a big chunk of the difference. Those gifts are critical to making this happen.” And the campus ambassadors will be critical to the task of securing those gifts, said Schindel. “The main agenda for this evening is to say, ‘Help,’” he said. “Now is the time to step up and help us get this off the ground in a big way.” Among those who are stepping up to volunteer as an ambassador is Bob Frey, executive director of the JCC of the Delaware Valley. “ Look at the excitement that’s being generated throughout the room,” Frey said. “My goal is to inform and educate — to make sure that people understand the excitement and importance of the campus project.” Emily Josephson of West Windsor said she was spurred to volunteer by fond memories of growing up at the JCC in the Squirrel Hill section of Pittsburgh. “ It was the greatest thing in the world,” said Josephson, a member of the federation board. “It was a whole family affair. “ I think a Jewish Community Campus in West Windsor would be a huge success,” she added. “You can’t take that wait-and-see attitude. You have to build it.” “ You have to pony up,” agreed Bob Weber of Princeton Junction, another member of the federation board. “I just think it’ll be wonderful for the Jewish community. It’s a chance for all the Jews to get together, to meet each other, to exchange ideas, and to socialize. It could turn out to be the center of the Jewish community in this part of New Jersey.” For Charles and Karen Brodsky of West Windsor, who met at a mixer at the JCC in Baltimore in 1980, working to bring a Jewish Community Campus to the region makes perfect sense. “ Our experience, growing up in Baltimore, is that the JCC in so many ways was the center of our lives,” said Karen Brodsky. When they moved to the Princeton Mercer Bucks region nine years ago, she said, they were surprised to see how fragmented the region’s Jewish community was. So when the opportunity arose, they were quick to sign on as ambassadors for the campus project. “ We really need a facility where we can come together,” she said. “ It’s absolutely crucial,” her husband added. As the ambassadors begin their work, said Linda Cohen, it’s a sign that the community is really taking ownership of the campus project. “ It’s wonderful to see the enthusiasm the ambassadors are displaying for the project and the energies they’re giving to make sure we reach out to the greater community,” said Cohen, federation’s director of community services, who is coordinating the ambassadors’ work. “Through the outreach by the ambassadors, we will engage the entire community as supporters and future users of the facility.” One of the first programs in the outreach effort will be hosted by the men’s club of The Jewish Center in Princeton on Sunday, March 19, at 9:15 a.m. For information about the campus ambassador program, call Drew Staffenberg at 609-219-0555.
A Campus
for All Ages Members of the Jewish Center Men’s Club gathered March 19 to hear a presentation from Paul Schindel, Co-chair of the Jewish Community Campus Council on the status of the Jewish Community Campus project from Paul Schindel, cochair of the Jewish Community Campus Council. The Campus “will bring together a synergy of activities for all ages in our community, he remarked. From the very young, to tweens and teens, to young adults, to adults and well into to the seasoned senior population, there will be a flurry of activities that will harness the enthusiasm for Jewish cultural and recreational programs”. Schindel pointed out to the attendees that this is “your campus and your ideas, enthusiasm and support are valuable assets to the project – It’s happening, because you’re helping.” He showed on a map the location of the Campus that will house the Federation and Jewish Community Foundation offices, the Jewish Family and Children’s Service and a state-of-the-art Jewish Community Center. He announced that the 80 acres of land on Clarksville Road, had been purchased as of December 29, 2005 and plans are moving forward regarding design and zoning approvals. In the very near future, the Council is looking forward to placing a sign on the property so that people can easily locate the future home of the Jewish Community Campus. The community is encouraged to attend Campus Town Hall and/or Parlor Meetings that will be held throughout our geographic area during the next several months. These meetings will give you an update on the latest information on the project. The next two meetings are scheduled for 7:00 P.M. on Sunday, April 23, 2006 and Sunday, May 7, 2006 in the West Windsor area. To reserve a space or to arrange a meeting to discuss your participation in this project, please contact Drew Staffenberg, Executive Director of the Campus Campaign at 609-219-0555.
Capital Campaign Yields Unprecedented Gifts; "We're very encouraged by the early fundraising results we have seen," Capital Campaign General Co-Chair Mark Pollard told Community Builders. "The Jewish Community Campus of Princeton-Mercer-Bucks is going to happen." "While the amount of work ahead of us all is substantial, virtually every prospective donor we've spoken with thus far has seen the clear need for a vibrant 'home base' for Jewish families and individuals from all walks of life throughout the region," Pollard said. Many donors already have pledged meaningful gifts ranging as high as seven figures. The funding currently in place from various sources puts the project on a strong footing. The Campus Development Council expects to announce the first gifts later this year. As conceived, an 80,000 square foot, mixed-use facility will anchor the Campus on an 80-acre property that will include extensive outdoor recreational and park facilities. The building will house four highly-regarded agencies currently serving the region's Jewish population, with adequate space for the needs of other Jewish groups now and in the future. Eleven acres of the property are being reserved for future expansion. The Jewish Community Center will be the largest Campus occupant, continuing proud service to the community that began with the YWHA of Trenton in 1911. The JCC will offer a full range of social, cultural, education and wellness facilities including activity and meeting rooms, classrooms, a senior center, library, and lobby. The JCC also will have teen and "tween" lounges, a café and kosher kitchen, child care center, indoor swimming pool, fitness center, dance and aerobics studio, a full gymnasium and running track, as well as many outdoor facilities such as a swimming pool, nature trail, ball fields, tennis courts, roller rink and amphitheater. The JCC's Early Childhood Learning Center will include a pre-school, kindergarten, infant and toddler program, and a parenting center. The outstanding Abrams Day Camp will expand its 40-plus year history of summer fun that nurtures lifelong friendships on nearly 30 acres of the site. Visitors to Jewish Family & Children's Service will use a separate entrance that will assure the privacy and confidentiality required of its work. The agency's office suites, counseling and meeting rooms will, for the first time, provide adequate space for professional staff, clients and visitors. The United Jewish Federation will have a suite of offices, conference and meeting rooms, with designated space for the Jewish Community Foundation. Many rooms and common areas on the Campus will be shared by the partner agencies, ensuring the efficient and cost effective use of space.
Circle of Agency Presidents Unite for Campus Current and past presidents of the United Jewish Federation, Jewish Community Center, Jewish Family & Children's Service and the Jewish Community Foundation gathered in June to inaugurate the Campus Campaign's Circle of Presidents. Dr. Harold Shapiro, President Emeritus of Princeton University and his wife, Vivian, Honorary Co-Chairs of the Jewish Community Campus Capital Campaign, graciously hosted the event at Prospect House at Princeton University. At the get-together, the group of more than 50 was briefed on the Jewish Community Campus project and encouraged to personally participate in the capital campaign, both as donors and by reaching out to their board members, associates and friends now and during the Community Phase of the capital campaign. Speakers emphasized how much the success of the Campus Development project depends upon "the leadership of leaders." Former Capital Campaign Director Robert Allender, who has helped raise millions of dollars for Jewish causes nationwide, noted that "the culture of giving calls for community leaders of all kinds to step forward as soon as possible with meaningful pledges, then communicate the depth of their involvement to others. By setting an example, your leadership will inspire, reassure and motivate many others."
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