Jewish life on campus — update from Nissen and Ariella

An update from Nissen and Ariella — Co-directors Chabad on Campus

If you’ve been following Chabad on Campus on social media or reading the Cape Jewish Chronicle in the last year or so, you probably know of the exciting developments that have taken place recently for Jewish student life in Cape Town, namely the expansion project for Chabad on Campus. 

This includes the purchase and repurposing of a new and bigger communal home (Chabad House) for Jewish Students. The current Chabad House capacity for a seated event, like a Shabbat Dinner, is 40 students. The capacity for a standing room only event, like our Purim Party, is just around the 90+ mark. 

Regrettably, due to the space constraints, our gatherings are on a RSVP system of first come first serve and not everyone in the community is always able to participate in our gatherings. 

The new property which was generously dedicated by the Eric and Sheila Samson Foundation will double our current capacity and will ensure that no Jewish Student will ever be turned away again due to lack of space. The building project which at this point is almostfully funded — with one final fundraiser still to come — will commence in a few months as the plans are being drawn and the site prepared by our dream team of pro-bono professionals.

At the time of writing this, they are Robert Silke, Architect and project manager who together with his team of designers have envisioned the most perfect communal home we could ever dream of. Quantity Surveyor Ayton Hack has helped us immensely with understanding our building needs and their costings. This has been vital in creating a realistic fundraising campaign goal. Project Engineer, David Levin is making sure we keep warm in winter, that the building is drained well and is electricity-safe. Landscape Architect Tarna Klitzner who is absolutely genius at her work is creating the most harmonious relationship between the outdoors and indoors. We don’t want to give away too much yet but the garden may just be the best part of the new Chabad House! 

We’ll stop there for now but stay tuned for future updates. Before we sign off we want to take a moment to express our deepest gratitude and admiration for every single one of you — our ChabadShareholders who continue to make this community possible. You know who you are. 

The monthly donors, Members of the Alumni Club, Parents, friends… your love, your care and your commitment to being there for the students is nothing short of heroic. Charitable and generous, you are by definition the finest people in the world — That is people who do what they don’t have to. You are literally building the future of our people.

Nissen & Ariella

Click here to download a PDF of the May edition of the Chronicle
Click here to read the editor’s column for May
Click here to read more from Chabad on Campus

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