o Where: 9604 N.E. 126th Ave.
o Teachers: Two.
o Students: Nine.
o Hours: 8:30 a.m. to noon weekdays.
o Telephone: 360-256-0859.
o Name? The Gan is Hebrew for the garden.
o Major contributors: Marty and Kate Rifkin donated space for the preschool; Dr. William and Sandra Bennett provided financial support; Merriel Mandell donated indoor playground equipment.
More than 80 community members Sunday celebrated the dedication of The Gan Garrett, a preschool under the umbrella of the Chabad Jewish Center.
“The community is growing, and there is more and more future for the Jewish community in Clark County,” Rabbi Shmulik Greenberg said.
He and wife Tzivie came to Clark County seven years ago, and the preschool is another goal achieved, the rabbi said. Besides, they have two youngsters in the preschool, Levi, 3, and Mussie, 5.
o Where: 9604 N.E. 126th Ave.
o Teachers: Two.
o Students: Nine.
o Hours: 8:30 a.m. to noon weekdays.
o Telephone: 360-256-0859.
o Name? The Gan is Hebrew for the garden.
o Major contributors: Marty and Kate Rifkin donated space for the preschool; Dr. William and Sandra Bennett provided financial support; Merriel Mandell donated indoor playground equipment.
Sunday was a meaningful day for Dr. William and Sandra Bennett of La Center. The preschool is named for their late son, Garrrett Douglas Hughes, who died of a heart problem in 1986 as a 22-year-old senior at the University of Oregon.
The Bennetts donated $50,000 to support the preschool.
“Garrett would have loved this Chabad center and the preschool, and so we are very pleased that the stars were all in place for us to play a meaningful role in the establishment of the Gan Garrett,” Sandra Bennett said.
Anna Kun of Battle Ground said she and husband Boris are pleased with the instruction at the preschool. Their daughter, 4-year-old Miriam, “is having a lot of fun. She’s learning to count and to spell, and they’re introducing life knowledge,” Anna said.
She said while the preschool is ported by the Chabad, “Religion is not the main point.”
Anna said she pays $520 a month for Miriam to attend the school five days a week. She said the instruction presents “different traditions,” and that she is happy that many of the children are bilingual, including Miriam, who speaks Russian.
Greenberg said the excitement of the dedication Sunday buoyed him.
“It surprised me at how many young families showed up at the event,” he said.
Greenberg said there are about 4,000 Jews in Clark County. He stressed, however, that the preschool is open to all.
The dedication gave Sandra Bennett a chance to reflect on Garrett and his life. In an e-mail, she told this story:
“As some of you know, ours is a blended family. Our five children met at Bar Mitzvah and Hebrew School lessons at Congregation Neveh Shalom, played together at the Middleman Jewish Community Center and then banded together at B’Nai B’rith Summer Camp. I think it was there that they decided it would be a great idea to get their parents together, ‘and the plan worked,’ though often not exactly as they would have liked. But it was Garrett who would tell us, when the going got tough, that we were really good parents and that he knew we were trying hard and that we should not give up. And we didn’t.”
