About the Award – About the Honorees – About the Fundraising Beneficiaries
In 1996, a group of families in Chapel Hill created “The Chapel Hill Kehillah,” a word in Hebrew which simply means “community.” While they could’ve chosen a myriad of other names for this new synagogue, they aptly and simply chose “kehillah” to emphasize that our relationships with one another are core to who we are as a Jewish people. Community has been at the forefront of our mission and values.
Two years ago, our former executive director Mary Lawrence and a few other key organizers created the first Community Builder Award to reflect upon the importance of community. Its inaugural recipient was Jamil Kadoura, owner of Mediterranean Deli and long-time friend of Kehillah. Honoring Jamil was a way in which Kehillah could acknowledge his kind deeds not only to us, but to the entire Town of Chapel Hill, which has benefited from him being a part of it.
Continuing this tradition, we are holding our second Community Builder Award gala on Sunday, May 4th. We will honor those who, through their selfless dedication to community, have brought about change and improvement in Chapel Hill and the greater Triangle community.
Our honorees for the two awards will be Pam Hemminger, former Mayor of Chapel Hill, and Marion & Stanley Robboy, our very own Kehillah members.
The efforts of former Mayor Hemminger continue to this day with improved housing, student access to free meals, and a burgeoning Chapel Hill economy. To list the impact that Marion and Stan have made at Kehillah would take pages upon pages, but their support is felt every day when you enter the doors of our synagogue with its vibrancy, growth, and continued sustainability as a Jewish community.
We hope that you will join us on Sunday, May 4th at 5:00 p.m. in the Kehillah sanctuary as we honor the legacy and achievements of these individuals. It will be a night to remember, including speeches, toasts, and music from Rabbi Solomon Hoffman and the Kehillah Klezmer Band.
You can visit this link to purchase tickets. Donations will support Kehillah’s general fund as well as the RENA Community Center, which Mayor Hemminger has selected as a beneficiary this year, and American Friends of NATAL (AFN), which the Robboys have selected as a beneficiary.
For more information, help with purchasing tickets, or to talk about becoming a sponsor, contact the office by calling (919) 942-8914.
Tickets to this event are sold out. Thank you so much for your support, and we look forward to seeing you! Please contact Nate Craig (nate@kehillahsynagogue) if you have any questions.