April 6, 2020

Dear Friends:

On behalf of the CBH Board of Directors, we write to offer our best wishes for your physical and spiritual good health in these times of crisis and great pain, and to give you an update on CBH operations and plans.  We also want to wish you a happy and joyous Passover, as we celebrate our past liberation and gather strength as Jewish people to conquer our current adversities.  Hopefully your families and friends are not victims of the COVID-19 pandemic, or have recovered well from any illness, and hopefully we get through this crisis in the near future.

Please make use of the many on-line resources offered by CBH and others to help you navigate through these times, resources that aim to provide guidance and comfort as we move forward.  You can find many CBH resources for religious services and education activities for youth and adults in our e-Tone.  The CBH team of Rabbi and Staff have really stepped up on short notice to get us up and running with alternatives to our usual in-person activities, to accommodate the constraints of the stay-at-home requirements we are all living with. Also, many Board members and other Partners are endeavoring to reach out to CBH Partners, especially those most vulnerable to the present circumstances.

Of course, the COVID-19 pandemic has affected our CBH operations in a major way.  We have moved to only on-line activities, and sadly, we were forced to close Gan Haverim in early March, losing an important service to our community and a significant source of income to CBH.  In fact, our entire campus is fully closed down until further notice.  We continue to provide salary support for all CBH staff (including Gan Haverim), but have applied for reimbursement of those salaries and some other operation expenses under the recently passed CARES Act, which provides funding for non-profits such as CBH.  That reimbursement should help us get through the next two months, since our requested CARES loan will be forgiven for that period of time if we maintain our staffing (and fulfill other requirements we are able to satisfy.)

Of course, the loss of income from Gan Haverim and the financial stress felt by many of our Partners regarding their CBH commitments lead us to conclude that we will be dealing with major financial shortfalls this year and next year, and maybe longer.  We had to postpone the Donor Appreciation event celebrating Rabbi Greg’s 25 years of service to CBH originally scheduled for May 3^rd to a later date – you will hear more about the rescheduling in the coming days.  Balancing this fiscal year’s budget, which is already under additional stress, is dependent on this event generating significant income.

Because of these significant and unanticipated shortfalls in our revenue, we urge all our Partners to assess their personal situation and be as generous as you can in supporting CBH.  We really need your help and any additional financial support you can provide.

We will keep in touch with updates often, especially to keep you informed of any additional changes in circumstances regarding CBH operations. Please continue to pay attention to the e-Tone, too.

Finally, please feel free to get in touch with either of us, at the email addresses listed below, if you have questions or needs that we can help with.  Stay safe and healthy.

With sincere best wishes in these trying time,

 

Barry Klein   bmklein16@gmail.com

Steve Cohen   considereverything@gmail.com

CBH Co-Presidents