At a June 15 gathering to celebrate the opening of the on-site development office of The Village for Healthcare and Rehabilitation of Workmen’s Circle in Freehold Township are, from left, David Portman, chair of the Foundation for the Village; Marshall Goldberg, Village president and CEO; Sheri Tarrab, director of the capital campaign for the Jewish Federation of Monmouth County; Elise Feldman, federation president; Howard Gases, federation executive director; and Martin Krupnick, Village board chair.
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June 23, 2009
Members of the Monmouth County Jewish community gathered June 15 at the future site of The Village for Healthcare and Rehabilitation of Workmen’s Circle to bring the project “one step closer to making it a reality.”
Members of Workmen’s Circle, township officials, local rabbis, members of the Jewish community, and other supporters gathered at the 14-acre site to mark the opening of the project’s development office at 105 Gibson Place in Freehold Township. The office will serve as the headquarters for a major fund-raising effort to raise the capital needed for construction of the state-of-the-art elder-care facility.
“A Jewish nursing home in Monmouth County is an idea whose time has come,” said David Portman, chair of the Foundation for the Village, the organization’s fund-raising arm. “It is the right product at the right place at the right time.”
Many of the event’s attendees stressed the lack of a “truly Jewish” nonprofit nursing home in Monmouth County.
“There’s a significant need for the Village in the community,” said Rabbi Kenneth Greene of Congregation Agudath Achim in Freehold Township. “Not just for the future residents, but for the community in general.”
Freehold Council members Eugene Golub and Dorothy Avallone both said the township will benefit from the Village. “The location is perfect,” said Avallone. “I think I’m as excited as they are.”
Golub, a former Freehold Township mayor, said, “It will be a delightful project for the town and for Monmouth County.”
The office will be home to a fund-raising and development team including: Portman; Marshall Goldberg, Village president and CEO; Martin Krupnick, Village board chair; Seena Stein, chair of the foundation’s capital campaign; and Barry Haber, foundation development director.
“There is a significant need for a place in Monmouth County with the ability to provide quality care for the aging Jewish community,” Krupnick said. “Today, we are one step closer to making it a reality.”
Plans for the Village include housing for 152 residents in private suites for long-term care with subacute rehabilitation. It will be a kosher facility designed according to the “household” model, where 12-16 suites will be centered around a kitchen, dining room, and living room. There will be no long corridors.
Andrea Alexander, Women’s Philanthropy director of the Jewish Federation of Monmouth County, who has been a supporter of the Village since its inception, viewed the artist’s renderings of the planned facility hanging in the new office trailer.
“I think it’s going to be a phenomenal addition to the community,” she said. “It’s a much-needed facility. It looks like it will fulfill everyone’s expectations.”
Foundation chair: ‘I am passionate about this’
David I. Portman of Holmdel was named chair of the Foundation for The Village for Healthcare and Rehabilitation of Workmen’s Circle on June 5.
“I am passionate about this Village because it is so needed for the many elderly Jewish people in central Jersey who want to stay close to their family and friends,” Portman said. “The Village will give residents the opportunity to age gracefully and with dignity, as they will live in noninstitutional, small households with a full support of caring professionals.”
“Portman is one of the most highly respected businessmen in Monmouth County. He will work closely with Seena Stein, chair of the Village’s capital campaign, to coordinate a sweeping effort to raise millions of dollars over the next few months,” said Village board chair Martin Krupnick. “Seena is an icon in New Jersey commercial real estate circles; we’re thrilled she is part of this team.”
Portman is president of Triad Development in Eatontown. A member of Park Avenue Synagogue in New York City, he has twice served as president of the Jewish Federation of Monmouth County and has filled every board capacity, from allocations to endowments to major gifts. He was a member of the national board of the Hebrew Immigrant Aid Society for seven years, twice as vice president.
Portman has also served as the Monmouth County representative to the NJ State Association of Jewish Federations and the New Jersey-Israel Commission and was regional chair of Operation Renewal, a cooperative effort between American and Israeli cities.
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