I Spirituality

Construction is taking place at the former Laker Center to transform it into The Corners: A Campus for Caring Communities.

grants."
Schwartz said, "We've had a great deal of help from
foundations that believe in this paradigm for the non-
profit sector as a whole. Donations have come from
people from every walk of life, because of the nature of
this project?'
An anonymous seven-figure donation has been con-
tributed.

Shelli Leibman Dorfman

Senior Writer

ust days after a final purchase agreement was
signed on a former West Bloomfield school
building, construction began to convert it into
a 39,000-square-foot, state-of-the-art wellness, job
training, education and recreation services center that
will involve Temple Shir Shalom.
The non-profit organization, "The Corners: A
Campus for Caring Communities" was spearheaded
by the West Bloomfield synagogue and Shir Shalom's
Rabbi Dannel Schwartz.
Purchased for $2.5 million by the non-profit this
past May from Congregation Shaarey Zedek (CSZ) in
Oakland County, the building is the former CSZ Irving
and Beverly Laker Education and Youth Complex, and
before that was Walnut Lake Elementary School.
In addition to housing Shir Shalom's school pro-
grams, "the Corners also will serve as a business
model for a new kind of collaboration: multi-tenant
non-profit centers:' Schwartz said.
"It offers non-profits a cost-efficient way to provide
services by cost-sharing and collaborating with other
tenants in the center.
"As the economy faces continuing challenges, non-
profit organizations are experiencing funding cuts
and decreased giving, yet greater demand for their

j

B2

July 10 • 2008

Janet Pont

Rabbi Dannel Schwartz

services:' he said. "This arrangement allows non-profit
organizations to leverage their resources so they can
do what they're meant to do — serve people?"
Set to open Sept. 2, along with major renovations
being made to the 35,000-square-foot building, a
4,000-square-foot atrium will be added, thanks to
fundraising efforts.
"We have raised enough to buy the building and
begin renovations:' Schwartz said. "We will raise
money to complete renovations and build the atrium
addition — but this will be done with the whole com-
munity."
The Corners representative Debbie Reinheimer
added, "We're tapping into foundations that are not
necessarily Jewish and applying for some government

School Days
Having access to the new space will allow the 900-fam-
ily Shir Shalom to launch a preschool program. With a
hoped-for opening date of early 2009, it will be headed
by the synagogue's Early Childhood Learning Center
Director Marsha Mitnick.
In addition to other tenants of The Corners, begin-
ning this September, Shir Shalom will utilize part of
the building's space for classes for its religious school,
whose 2008-2009 enrollment so far is 435 students.
Shir Shalom's Rabbi Michael Moskowitz will be
involved in and will oversee development of the reli-
gious school.
Classes will meet on Sunday mornings and Monday
evenings. Through an agreement made during the sale
of the building, CSZ will continue to have some use of
the facility for the next seven years, including holding
religious school classes on Tuesday afternoons this

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