Groundbreaking Nov. 2
We’re finally breaking ground on our new ICJA campus, Nov. 2. Save the date!
After nearly a decade-long initiative to raise funds for an endowment that would include a new
building for Ida Crown Jewish Academy, we are thrilled to be planning our groundbreaking for this fall 2014. The campaign spanned a changing real estate market and an economic recession, making it a project that lasted much longer than initially anticipated. As if building a new, state-of-the-art facility isn’t exciting enough, the long wait makes the close of our campaign even more rewarding.
The new campus will include outdoor space, sports facilities, space for cultural arts, expanded library and technology resources, study halls, expanded kollel and chavruta learning spaces, an auditorium, workout facilities, student and faculty lounges, a central Beit Knesset that can accommodate the entire school.
The Crown-Goodman family, represented by Lester Crown and Charles H. (Corky) Goodman, led the campaign and then led a final push for fundraising with a $5.5 million matching gift challenge.
This gift is in addition to the $10 million lead gift the family contributed at the campaign’s launch in 2010. In addition to a new building located at 8225 N. Central Park, Skokie, the capital campaign will more than double the school’s endowment, providing crucial scholarship funds and program support. All commitments to ICJA’s capital campaign are credited as gifts to the Jewish Federation’s Centennial Campaign.
At an outdoor summer event on the grounds of the new building, over 60 supporters of the Capital Campaign gathered on the lawn to celebrate the near close of a long campaign. Excitement was high for parents and donors who viewed final architecture plans for the facility and heard a Q&A panel from Rabbi Matanky and the lead architect.
Lester Crown has complimented ICJA, saying, “You’ve really attracted an awful lot of smart kids, and they get smarter in their four years there. They deserve this new facility because how you’ve been able to accomplish what you have in your facility is a wonder.”
The new facility will meet the needs of modern education programs by providing more classrooms, cutting-edge science and technology facilities and expanded amenities for extracurricular activities.
David Strulowitz, co chair of the campaign, along with Jacques Gliksberg, said, “We all want to see the best for our kids, and we want Chicago to continue to be an attractive community for our grown children.”
The building will also house the Keshet High School program, providing the organization with increased space and continuing Keshet and ICJA’s long-standing relationship. We thank our partners for being the visionaries of our community’s future by contributing to ICJA’s Building Campaign and for helping us achieve a once-in-a-generation goal of building a contemporary high school for our community and strengthening ICJA’s endowment to guarantee the scholarship and financial needs of future generations.
This dream would not be a reality without the help of the Jewish Federation and our lead donor, the Crown-Goodman Family. Many thanks to all of those involved in this tremendous effort.
For more information, please contact Jane Best, Building Project Campaign Director, at (773) 973-1450 x136.