SARASOTA, FL – Thanks to supporters Ed and Betty Rosenthal, through the Rosenthal Roots Family Foundation’s “Go Green” program, Hershorin Schiff Community Day School will receive Aerus air filtration units in time for the 2020-2021 school year. A gift of $12,000 has enabled the purchase of 24 Aerus Pure & Clean units to be placed in classrooms throughout the school.
The Pure & Clean devices reduce airborne contaminants and freshen air in otherwise stale-prone environments. While the Aerus technology has yet to be sufficiently tested on the coronavirus, the purchase underscores the school’s commitment to providing the safest, healthiest possible environment for its students, families and staff.
Ed and Betty Rosenthal – or Papa Ed and Mimi, as Community Day students call them – have a rich history with Community Day School. Their two sons, Jonathan and Eric, both graduated from the school when it was the Temple Beth Sholom school, and all four of their grandchildren attended Community Day.
For over a decade, the Rosenthals have funded the Papa Ed and Mimi Sustainable Organic Kibbutz School Garden and Outdoor Classroom and the school’s Go Green program, which provides clean water through reverse osmosis filters installed on drinking fountains throughout the campus. This reduces plastic water bottle pollution and precludes the use of toxic pesticides in the garden.
Ed and Betty also have supported the school in innumerable other ways, contributing substantially to the Mobile Classroom Van, which enables students to enjoy learning expeditions to organizations and attractions throughout the area. The Rosenthals have also pledged a significant amount toward a new iteration of the organic garden – which will be twice the size of the school’s current garden – and the Marie Cohen Hadida Remember Me Orchard, on the school’s new campus at McIntosh and Wilkinson in central Sarasota. The move to the new campus is planned for the 2021-2022 school year.
“Our family is dedicated to ensuring a healthy, sustainable future for all students,” said Ed Rosenthal. “Through our ‘Go Green’ program, we are both honored to share our connections with Aerus’ state-of-the-art technology and proud to continue to contribute to the wellness of our entire school community. While these are unprecedented times, our goal remains the same: create a healthy environment where children learn and thrive.”
The Rosenthals were inspired in their sustainability efforts by their own family histories. Ed and Betty both came from poor families, experiencing first-hand the negative health outcomes of poor water and air quality.
“The CDC recommends the use of portable high-efficiency particulate air (HEPA) fan/filtration systems to help enhance air cleaning, especially in higher-risk areas,” said Head of School Dan Ceaser. “We are grateful to the Rosenthal family for its continued care of and support for our community, particularly at a time when public health is such a top-of-mind concern.”
Community Day School is a private Jewish day school serving children of all faiths in preschool through eighth grade. For more information, go to communityday.org or call 941-552-2770.
About Hershorin Schiff Community Day School
The mission of the Hershorin Schiff Community Day School, which serves students in preschool through eighth grade, is to impact the world by creating a community where children of all faiths demonstrate integrity, academic excellence, and a desire to improve the world. Community Day offers a rigorous, project-based academic program in a diverse and vibrant learning environment rooted in the Jewish values of honesty, integrity, mutual trust and respect. For more information, visit the website at communityday.org or call (941) 552-2770.