
KAL WATSKY AND DEBBIE FRIED
CONGREGATION B’NAI JACOB TIKUN OLAM FUND
Kal Watsky and Debbie Fried first became involved in Congregation B’nai Jacob when their eldest child, Benjamin (Ben), started pre-school at Gan Hayeled; their daughter, Rebecca (Reba), soon followed. Reba and Ben grew up at B’nai Jacob, as students at the synagogue school and as volunteers in the madrichim program. Ben and Reba were both recipients of the Herbert Epstein Prize, B’nai Jacob’s leadership award for high school seniors. In addition, for the past two summers, Reba worked as a volunteer at Gan Hayeled summer camp. Kal has served as a member and chair of the B’nai Jacob Religious School committee and is a past member of the Board. Since 2007, Kal has chaired B’nai Jacob’s Social Action Committee which provides countless volunteer hours and raises money for the Downtown Evening Soup Kitchen, Habitat for Humanity, Columbus House, as well as for coat drives. Debbie has been a parent volunteer for the B’nai Jacob Religious School, a member of the Social Action committee, a performer in B’nai Jacob Player’s productions and an active member of the B’nai Jacob Kol Nidre choir.
For their B’nei Mitzvot, Rebecca and Ben each established Build a Tzedakah Funds at the Jewish Foundation. Kal had thought about an endowment fund as well and following his father’s death in 2006, Kal and Debbie established the Fried-Watsky Tikkun Olam Fund for the benefit of Congregation B’nai Jacob—the fund is managed by the Jewish Foundation. Kal and Debbie plan to use this fund to assist the programs and organizations that are supported by B’nai Jacob’s Social Action Committee.
Type of Fund/Area of Need: Funds for Synagogues