What would a cool half-million bucks buy you if you were a small New York area day school? For two such schools, that’s not a hypothetical question.
The Silverstein Hebrew Academy in Great Neck and Sha’arei Zion Ohel Bracha in Forest Hills were officially announced last week as winners of $500,000 each from the Kohl’s department stores “Giveback” program. As the Jewish Week previously reported, 12 of the schools that will receive funding from the Kohl’s Cares Facebook competition (out of 20) are Jewish institutions.
“There’s a great sense of happiness and achievement,” said Rabbi Dovid Ezagui, director of the Chabad-affiliated Silverstein Hebrew Academy. The 150-student school, which runs from preschool through fifth grade, has plans to build a kitchen in their building.
Sha’arei Zion Ohel Bracha in Queens is planning to create a music program and build a science lab for their 300 students.
The contest, which ran throughout the summer, awarded a total of $10 million to the top 20 schools.
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