Fall - Reena

Kolreena Kolreena Reena Foundation Kolreena KolreenaUpdate on the Reena Foundation BoardThe Board of Directors of Reena Foundation is pleased toannounce that at the Annual General Meeting of theReena Foundation Board and Members, held ThursdayJuly 30, 2009, Leon Kieselstein was elected as Chair of theBoard. Other Officers elected were Irving Feldman, Vice-Chair: Ellis Orlan, Treasurer; and Steven Weisz, Secretary.Report of the Chairof the ReenaFoundation Boardby Leon KieselsteinReport of thePresidentby Gary SimIam both very honoured and veryexcited about serving as Chair ofthe Reena Foundation for the nexttwo years. As we reflect on the life ofone of Reena’s founders – RabbiJoseph E. Kelman - I am reminded ofReena’s great history and the amazingsuccession of great leaders that Reenahas attracted. There is no doubt that itis this strong leadership from thecommunity that has made Reena theworld class organization it is today. Ilook forward to working with theleadership of Reena in defining howReena Foundation can play animportant role in building the futureof Reena.Reena Foundation recently held itsAnnual General Meeting. Our Boardof Directors that will take us throughthe next years is full of promise for abrighter fundraising future and I lookforward to working with each of ourvolunteer leaders in raising moremoney.Over the coming year, we will focuson three key thrusts;First, we will focus on ourfundraising priorities. We willaggressively pursue our target tocomplete the first half of our $18million Capital Campaign that will seethe completion of the new ReenaResidential Building on the LebovicCampus in Vaughan. Tobie BekhorWe have passed some verysignificant milestones in ourattempts to build asubstantial endowment fund at ReenaFoundation. Reena’s 100thendowment fund was recentlyestablished. Just this past year, thetotal in Reena’s endowment fundsurpassed the $2 million mark! WeNew Members and Directors elected were Ellis Orlan andJeff Shankman.The Board would like to extend its sincere thanks toretiring Board members, Murray Klein, Jeff Rayman andHoney Schipper for their years of service, dedication andcaring.and Irving Feldman, our CampaignCo-Chairs, continue to build apowerful fundraising Cabinet. Inaddition, we will continue to fully fundthe Respite and Enrichment Programsthat today serve over 800 of Reena’skids.Second, we will support and buildour New Leadership Division. We wantto see more membership in thisdynamic group. I especially lookforward to working with Steven Weisz,the chair of our New LeadershipDivision and his team. It is our desireto help train, motivate and empowerthis energetic and talented group ofyoung people. This group is the futureof Reena and our community and theyneed and deserve all of our dedicatedand enthusiastic support.Finally, in these tough andchallenging times we will redouble ourefforts to build relationships andcommunications with our primarystakeholders – our donors, ourvolunteers and our sister companyReena. It is relationships and thestrength of them that will see usthrough the worst and best of times.I look forward to working with theentire Reena team in making thesepriorities a reality. In closing, from myfamily to yours, let me wish you andyour families a Happy New Year, aneasy fast and a sweet year.have come a long way.But you may ask why this isimportant. It has been said that allgreat service organizations can bemeasured by their endowment fund. Itis a tribute to the level of communitysupport for an organization, but it isalso a clear indication that thecontinued on page 18Kolreena • September 2009 • 17