The paint on some of the structures has not yet dried, but the Ternopil Community Center has begun to buzz with life, hospitably inviting community members to an Open Day. Today, employees of the Hesed Besht Charitable Foundation, led by director Igor Ratushny, came here to personally communicate with clients, hold a number of interesting and useful events, and most importantly, to find out people's needs and find ways to solve them. July 10, 2014 will go down in the Jewish history of the region as the first full-fledged day of operation of the new Community Center for the community.
There are less than two months left until the official opening. This event will coincide with the 15th anniversary of the founding of the Hesed Besht Community Foundation on September 16 of this year (after all, the Foundation has long had a tradition of opening new premises on the day of its “birthday”). Today, a technical opening took place using the installed equipment, lighting, and auxiliary facilities. That is why the Community Center did not work at full capacity, but everyone was satisfied with the result. Some shortcomings that were discovered during the “launch” of the new building were identified and will be eliminated very soon.
Khmelnytskyi residents brought with them a number of methods and projects that have proven themselves well recently. Three events were held for Ternopil residents, each of which was focused on a separate age category of clients. In the morning, people of the “golden age” gathered in the ceremonial room, who had the opportunity to talk with the social rehabilitation manager Alla Klopotyuk. People were invited to delve into memories and reflections on life and goodness. Alla Yukhymivna told those present parables full of deep philosophical thoughts, which prompted those present to reflect on the eternal. People also learned about the state of modern charity in the world.
In the afternoon, an event for middle-aged and older people was held in the same hall. Regional Development Manager Halyna Atamanchuk and ensemble leader Anatoliy Muzyka presented the second part of the project “The Road Will Be Overcome by the One Who Walks” to the guests, entitled “Fathers and Children” (the first part is called “The Lives of Wonderful People”). The meeting took the form of a dialogue between the presenters and clients on the topic of relations between the older and future generations. Musical interludes, performances of original songs, which harmoniously revealed and complemented the eternal theme, added emotionality to the meeting. It was not uncommon to see tears in the eyes of guests who were streaming while watching the videos; you could often see people singing along to familiar guitar motifs.
The event for young families with children took place at 4 p.m. Public Relations Manager Lyudmila Shvartsman and Customer Service Manager Olga Nikitina held a master class on making paper flowers for adults and children. In parallel with the handicrafts, developmental work was carried out, which encouraged children and adults to interact with each other, reveal their young or already adult personalities, and unite together for joint work.
In addition to the people involved in the meetings, the Community Center was also visited by ordinary visitors from the Jewish community of Ternopil, who could not remain indifferent to a truly important event. An exhibition of the life of the Jewish community of Ternopil was presented to their attention, which was told by the staff of the representative office. Many visitors found photos from personal photo archives in the exhibition program "We are the People", which in itself speaks both about the unity of the community and the importance of self-identification with Jewish history and roots.
While some people held presentations or master classes at the OC, others made home visits to clients who could not come in person. Such visits always help to better understand the needs and existing problems of a person, to form a list of issues that need to be resolved. Some of them had the opportunity to receive special targeted assistance from All-Ukrainian level benefactors, which was doubly pleasant.
In parallel with all the events, a film crew from the "New View" studio and the editor of the "Shalom Aleichem" newspaper and the administrator of the hesedbesht.org.ua website Vyacheslav Nagnybida worked at the Community Center that day. The filmed footage will form the basis of a video about the Community Center, which will be presented on the day of the full opening in September. Some visitors kindly gave interviews on camera. And if we sum up everything they said in one sentence, we can note: "Now there is a real Jewish warm home in Ternopil!"
The visit of the Khmelnytskyi colleagues ended with a meeting of employees of all structural divisions for better communication and coordination of work, which was held by Ihor Ratushny. The work of the Community Center is a complex process that requires significant time and effort from many managers. Therefore, everyone must work in a coordinated and clear manner so that clients - members of the Jewish community - can fully realize themselves, their skills and needs. The first steps in this process have already been taken. Therefore, it is worth wishing encouragement to the staff of the Ternopil Community Center in the persons of Olena Senyk, Iryna Ivshyna, Oleksandr Geller, Mykhailo Shmitko and Hanna Kraynyk and all the volunteers who invest their time and skills in building their warm home in the "nice city of Ternopil."
