Alone We Can Do So Little. Together We Can Do So Much.

As our 2017-18 school year began, Hurricane Harvey brought destruction to the Houston community. Even while developing storms in the Atlantic were threatening to hit our own community, an army of parent and student volunteers, led by indefatigable PTA President Sharona Kay, jumped at the chance to assist. Naturally, our community responded generously, and thousands of donated items were collected, sorted, and packed. Because the collection was so unexpectedly prodigious, it would take nearly two months until all of the donations were able to be distributed to those in need. Even more impressive was our collaboration with the many organizations that helped to distribute the donations and the incredible Kiddush Hashem that our school community was able to make through this act of chesed. In the words of Rabbi Yisroel Salanter, "another person's material problems become our spiritual opportunity."

We have boundless gratitude to Hashem for largely sparing our community from the wrath of Hurricane Irma. Nevertheless, being able to restore the usually safe and welcoming appearance of our campus seemed insurmountable in the aftermath of the storm. Thanks to our tireless maintenance staff and a host of outside contractors, despite having their own personal obligations, we were able to open our doors two days later with few traces of Irma to be seen.

When the Boca Raton Synagogue, long ago, scheduled delivery of new chairs for the High Holidays, it was hard to imagine the havoc that the hurricanes would bring upon shipping lines throughout the south. Yet just a few hours before Rosh Hashanah prayers were to begin, their expected delivery of over 1,000 chairs hadn't yet arrived. Through the efforts of numerous community volunteers, KHDS' donation of over 400 chairs, and those of several other community institutions, were able to assist just in the nick of time.

On October 16, we were honored to host Governor Rick Scott on our campus where he announced that he would request an increase of security funding for Jewish schools from this year's monumental $654,000 to $1 million for next year. His visit was also an opportunity to thank him for the security funding as well as his support of tax credit scholarship programs such as the income-based Step Up for Students and AAA scholarships, and the special needs-based Gardiner and McKay scholarships which have brought over $20 million to Florida's Jewish day schools this year.

We have received a security grant from Homeland Security and have applied to FEMA for assistance with damage sustained from Irma, as well. We cannot, however, assume that these programs are a given, or that our elected officials would have provided these funds on their own. In fact, months and years of work are put in ahead of time by dedicated lay leadership and advocacy groups such as Teach Florida, led by Executive Director Mimi Jankovits, and KHDS executive committee member and Treasurer Daniel Adler. While we may feel insignificant and incapable of affecting change on a government level, I can personally attest that the opposite is true. Rabbi Chaim Mordechai Katz, the Telz Rosh HaYeshiva used to say, "only small people say that something is too small to care about. For truly great people, nothing is too small." Our school's voice and our community's voice is being heard loud and clear in Tallahassee and Washington D.C. because we have many such "great people" and groups working with each other to present our message and advocate on our community's behalf.

"Alone we can do so little. Together we can do so much." Those words of Helen Keller perfectly encapsulate all of the aforementioned points and show the power of the klal — the group. Building a playground or a pool, burning our school's mortgage, raising over $1.5 million a year for our scholarship fund, are all monumental tasks, but they are all accomplished through the involvement — whether financial or otherwise — of all of you. Whether it is a donation of your money or time, your involvement in current campaigns like the Mega Raffle or Annual Journal Dinner, or any of the opportunities throughout the year, you can play a vital role in the immediate and long-term success of Katz Hillel Day School.