Dear Limmud NY 2009 Conference Registrants:

We are writing to invite you to be our guests at Limmud NY's Spring Sampler , which will take place on Wednesday, March 25th at Temple Emanu-El and the Skirball Center for Adult Jewish Learning in Manhattan. The evening will feature a robust sampling of seven different one-hour Limmud NY sessions, followed by music and comedy performances, along with dessert.  In true Limmud NY spirit, we will bring together Jews of all ages, backgrounds and beliefs, through an exciting and dynamic array of Jewish learning options, enhanced by wonderful entertainment.

We were overwhelmed by the energy, spirit and sense of community fostered by the hundreds of you who stayed for the entire conference this year, but also recognize that the hotel's boiler breakdown and resulting conditions presented challenges for everyone - especially those who had to leave early or were unable to join us at all.

As a token of our appreciation, we would like to invite everyone who registered for the fifth annual Limmud NY conference to be our guests at the Spring Sampler. We hope you will join us for this opportunity to come together once again, as one community, to enjoy the best of Limmud NY - including some programming we were unable to offer at this year's conference.

While we are inviting you, our 2009 conference registrants, to join us for the evening at no charge, the Spring Sampler is also Limmud NY's annual fundraising event. Because we are committed to making the annual conference affordable to everyone, regardless of their financial status, the participant fees we charge are significantly less than the actual cost Limmud NY incurs to produce the conference (each full-priced adult registration is subsidized by $360). On top of that, we provide additional financial assistance to over one-third of our participants. As a result, the registration fees we collect cover less than half of our actual expenses. In this fiscal year alone, Limmud NY must raise $400,000 to balance our budget.

In order for Limmud NY to survive, we must reach out to all possible sources of funding - including the individuals like you who make up the Limmud NY community. So while your ticket to the Spring Sampler is 'on us' this year, we hope that you will nonetheless consider making a donation to Limmud NY and inviting your friends to attend the event. We realize that the current economic climate is having an impact on virtually everyone, and this makes our mission more critical than ever. In recognition of these fiscal realities, we have consciously lowered both expenses and ticket prices for the Spring Sampler, eliminating the dinner and printed invitations to focus on what draws people to Limmud NY: its diverse programming and community.

We hope that you will join us for the Spring Sampler. This offer is limited to 2009 conference registrants and is non-transferable. Due to security regulations at Temple Emanu-El, pre-registration is required.

We look forward to seeing you on March 25th.

Sincerely,

Penny Arons and Stephanie Morem, Spring Sampler Co-Chairs,
The Limmud NY Board, 2009 Steering Committee, and Staff
 
P.S.  Save the date:  Monday evening, March 30th for the Volunteer Kick-Off meeting to help shape Limmud NY 2010!