Shalom partners with Hakoah
Sydney’s Shalom has signed up to be the first announced preferred partner of Hakoah at Sydney’s White City.
Planned pool area
As momentum grows towards making Hakoah at White City a reality, the Hakoah team has been energetically engaging with many communal organisations to establish strong partnerships. Jewish community centres are most successful when they merge high-quality facilities with mission-driven programming. The MOU between the two organisations was signed this week.
Shalom will use Hakoah to run some of its programs and help develop a full portfolio of cultural programs at Hakoah. We are excited to help be part of such an important communal project.
Hakoah President Steven Lowy said “Hakoah will be the central hub of Jewish life for the community and, instead of being just bricks and mortar, we believe that Hakoah will have a greater impact if it has an overall education and engagement strategy – and for that, we need a number of excellent partner organisations to support Hakoah to implement this strategy. We see the facilities at Hakoah as the platform for the whole community to come together to use.”
“We’re enthusiastic about partnering with Shalom, who is the preeminent arts, cultural and lifelong educational organisation within the Sydney Jewish Community, focused on increasing the vibrancy of the community, through Jewish life and learning in an inclusive way,” Mr Lowy said.
Adama: a Shalom program at Hakoah
Shalom Chairwoman Hannah Challis explained that Shalom remains laser-focused on sustaining the future of the Sydney Jewish Community through incubating contemporary and inclusive Jewish life and learning programs.
“Shalom strives to safeguard our community’s openness, values and viability through our programs and our partnerships. We bring the best ideas, talent and thought-leaders—tailored to our own local culture, needs and relevance—to create Jewish relevance and connection for all, especially our young adults and those not otherwise engaged. We have been working in this space for over 30 years—known for programs such as PJ Library, Limmud or Succah by the Sea—with a focus on high-quality social, cultural and educational communal programming”, Ms Challis said.
Mr Lowy commented “Thousands of Jewish community members will be visiting Hakoah each week. They might be coming to play soccer, watch their grandchild play tennis, or eat a schnitzel on their first date. Whatever their reason for being at Hakoah, we want them to have a meaningful and enriching Jewish experience.”
“Hakoah and Shalom are two of our community’s most valued organisations and share the same vision for our community,” said Mr Lowy.
Ms Challis commented, “Shalom is thrilled about the innovative programs that will be run in the different spaces at Hakoah: programs that will stimulate, energise and inspire our community to lead meaningful and connected Jewish lives. We are grateful to Hakoah for hosting—over the last two years—the Adamama urban farm at White City. Adamama has become a hugely successful communal project, creating a micro-community of thousands concerned about the land and environmentalism, and reconnecting them to traditional Jewish agricultural practices. This is a practical example of how Hakoah—through its various spaces—will serve as a canvas for enriching community programs.”
Mr Lowy noted that Hakoah intends on entering into other non-exclusive preferred partnerships with different organisations in various sectors. “To create a strong community, collaboration is a key ingredient, and this partnership between Hakoah and Shalom is a wonderful example of two longstanding organisations thinking innovatively about our community’s future.”
