Letter from our
Executive Director and our President

Dear Friends, 

Today, more than ever, American Jews are seeking ways to make Judaism meaningful and relevant to their lives. Jewish institutions that respond to this need with innovation and creativity will succeed in capturing the hearts and minds of American Jewry, and will secure the vitality of the Jewish community in the 21st century. The Isabella Freedman Jewish Retreat Center is at the forefront of this effort. 

Isabella Freedman provides transformative retreat experiences to thousands each year. In 2007, over 6,000 people will participate in our programs, a 200% increase since 1996. Participants come from around country and from all Jewish backgrounds. They are singles and families, teens and senior adults. They are Jews of color. They are rabbis. They are Jewish educators and they are people who have never stepped into a Jewish institution.  

They come to Isabella Freedman to experience Jewish tradition at its best. Our programs provide opportunities for deep learning, community building, and connection to meaning and joy. We offer holiday retreats, weeklong summer programs for adults and families, environmental training for young adults and teens, senior adult retreats, meditation programs and multi-year leadership seminars for Jewish professionals and lay leaders.  

Our impact on the Jewish community has been significant, yet we aspire to do much more. As demand for our programs grows, our small and aging facility cannot keep up. Our programs often sell out weeks or months in advance due to space constraints. Many buildings have reached the end of their useful lives and are in desperate need of renovation or replacement. Without a significant investment in our physical infrastructure, meeting our growing programmatic goals will be impossible.  

The document you hold is based on a master plan for facility renewal developed by staff, board members and professional advisors over the past 18 months. It is the blueprint for our future - a $16 million capital campaign to transform the physical landscape of Isabella Freedman so that we may meet the needs of the Jewish community for years to come. Once completed, our new campus will accommodate over 20,000 guests per year and serve as a model for environmentally sustainable design. To date, we have received almost $1 million in gifts and pledges.  

Many of you have supported our work in the past. We hope you will be with us now, to secure the future of the North American Jewish community. There are many ways to give and every gift will help us reach our goal.  

B’shalom, 

Adam Berman Executive Director

Sharon Strassfeld President, Board of Directors