Chabad schools lead Kohl’s contest for cash

By Elana Dure and Meira Davidowitz

The Siverstein Hebrew Academy of Great Neck, which is run by the Chabad of Great Neck, is in first place in the Kohl’s Care contest. The national contest is sponsored by the retail giant in honor of its

foundation’s tenth anniversary. $10-million dollars will be divided evenly among the 20 schools that place highest in the contest, which is conducted through voting on Facebook, the social networking site.

A Kohl’s spokesperson said that the program was intended to “give back to the communities that [Kohl] serves.”

“As kids and parents think about the new school year, we want everyone to dream big about how half a million dollars could impact their favorite school,” the spokesperson explained.

The contest has set off a frenzy among students, parents, faculty and alumni to get the most votes. Each member of Facebook is given a total of 20 votes, with five votes being the maximum one is able to give to

a single school. So far, as the competition draws to a close on Sept. 3, Chabad-related schools dominate the list — nine are in the top 20.

Part of the Chabad schools’ success is networking with other Chabad schools, said Rabbi Yosef Geisinsky, dean of the Silverstein Hebrew Academy and rabbi of the Chabad of Great Neck. With each person only

using five votes for their chosen school, fifteen votes are still available. He says that in his case, it managed to catapult the school far ahead of its competition with over 60,000 votes.

Despite being in first place, Rabbi Geisinsky isn’t taking it easy.

“We are not there yet,” he said. “We still have alot of work to do.”

Rabbi Geisinsky said that if the school wins, the funds will be used to renovate the school building.

Rabbi Motti Seligson of Chabad.org who does media relations for Chabad-Lubavitch said that Chabad’s high ranking was a “testament to the positive affect that the schools have on the community.”

“Chabad has a long history of harnessing considerable social media influence to generate results,” Rabbi Seligson explained, noting that in last year’s UJA-sponsored Jewish Community Heroes Contest many of

the finalists were Chabad-affiliated.

The Hebrew Academy Community School of Margate, FL., another Chabad school, is in second place. Rabbi Yossie Denburg, dean of the Hebrew Academy, credited former students who stood outside public venues like

Starbucks and approached strangers to ask if they would vote for the school. Rabbi Denburg said that was a victory in of itself.

“If a child is willing to put in time for a school that gave him direction, then you have an army that is willing to give back,” Rabbi Denburg said. “And we already are winners.”

The school also works with two other schools in Margate, Rohr Bais Chaya Academy and the Zimmerman School House, also know as Abi’s Place, to round up votes. Both of those schools are also in the top

20.

Rabbi Denburg says that the funding would be used to build a new media center as well as extend the library. Half a million dollars, he says, will also go a long way to starting new sports and music programs and

updated the school’s technology. “It is not for the bread and butter,” said Rabbi Denburg, “but for the icing on the cake.”

The online nature of the contest has generated some criticism towards Kohl’s. Some teachers have complained that the poorest schools and the communities that need the funding most desperately, don’t have ready access to computers and can’t win the competition. “It’s a neat idea and builds school spirit and camaraderie, but it leaves a lot of folks out from the beginning,” said an anonymous teacher on topix.com, a

Milwaukee news site.

Other local schools have not managed to make headway in the competition. The Hebrew Academy of Nassau County leads local schools with 3,000 votes while the Hebrew Academy of Five Towns and Rockaway

(HAFTR) clocked in at 750 votes.

If the Silverstein Hebrew Academy does win the contest, the money will arrive a little too late to save a sister school, the Max and Ruth Schwartz Torah Academy. The school , which was run by the Chabad of

Port Washington, closed due to lack of funding and the fact that it served the same population as the Silverstein Hebrew Academy.

Rabbi Seligson credited the institutions themselves and the nature of their work.

“It’s real people that are really being helped socially, not just through social networks, but by these organizations and schools.” Rabbi Seligson explained. “That’s how these contests are won.”