In the annual appeal message, I indicated that MoTAS is spearheading a community effort to rehabilitate the Social Hall Kitchen. To donate, click on the buttons below

Here’s what’s happened:

Back at the June 2015 Shabbabaque, MoTAS arrived to prepare our usual scrumptious meal. To our dismay, we discovered that the refrigerator we regularly use was not holding a food-safe temperature.  We improvised that Shabbabaque by storing food in the Sisterhood refrigerator, while we started to investigate the problem.

Since June, a team headed by Frank Soronow and including Scott Yollis, Les Birken, and Aaron Solomon has been investigating the problem. We discovered two primary issues:

• The refrigerators and freezers are limping along and may fail at any time. We were able to temporarily get them working, but recent reports are that they are failing again.
• The cooling system for the kitchen space has not been working for a significant number of years. This has lead to increased heat in the kitchen, which serves to shorten the life of the refrigeration units.

We have been getting estimates for the repairs, and have proposed dividing the cost of the repairs between MoTAS, Sisterhood, and the congregation as a whole. MoTAS recognizes that we are not the primary user of the kitchen; we feel these repairs are so important to the heart of the Temple that we need to make them happen sooner rather than later.

The estimate for repairing the kitchen is significant. The cooling is approximately $4,500. There are two refrigerators, each costing around $3,400; there are two freezers, each costing around $4,100. Sisterhood has already started the process to replace their refrigerator.

MoTAS would like to get this problem resolved before the next Shabbabaque. To that end, we have allocated $1,100 from the Football Squares funding towards the kitchen. We are also doing a challenge grant of $1,500 from our reserves. On 1/27/2016, an anonymous MoTAS member and TAS joined in the challenge by adding their own challenges. In other words, MoTAS, our donor, and TAS will each match the first $1,500 of funds raised by 4/30/16 — meaning that each dollars will bring in 3 additional dollars — and this will all go to the kitchen. We do not know yet the congregation’s contribution, as this was not in the annual budget.

Please help us make the TAS Social Hall kitchen a safe facility for food preparation. Having a working kitchen is a key factor in being able to rent out the social hall for events. We have urged the temple to set aside a percentage of rental income as a continuing fund for kitchen maintenance.

On the above pages, you’ll find space for an additional contribution towards the kitchen repairs. Please give generously towards this specific goal in addition to your annual appeal contribution. Remember, the first $1,500 raised by 4/30/16 towards the kitchen will be matched with 3 additional dollars. Those contributing over $100 will be added to the Wall of Honor with a special symbol indicating their kitchen contribution.