On Wednesday, August 20, the Board of Directors of Temple Israel in Minneapolis unanimously voted to become a supporter/partner of the Center for Changing Lives (CFCL). Temple Israel, which formed in 1878 as the first Jewish synagogue in Minneapolis, is in the Uptown neighborhood and is only a few miles from the CFCL. Temple Israel’s Social Action Committee previously contributed to the CFCL Capital Campaign, but this new partnership will extend to volunteer opportunties for Temple Israel members, program support and referrals, and other activities.

We hope this will be the beginning of long-term opportunities and relationships between Temple Israel and LSS. The seeds of a partnership began when several Temple leaders accepted an invitation to visit the Center for Changing Lives during the community leader hard hat tour on May 14. LSS representatives met with their Social Action Committee in August, which led to a special tour for other Temple Israel leaders on August 14. LSS is very excited that they have accepted our invitation to share our vision for helping the children and families at the CFCL. It is wonderful to see two organizations with such long histories of service to the people of Minneapolis come together. Changing lives is truly an interfaith effort.