$10M Gift to West Bloomfield Preschool ‘Definitely Not Typical’

A West Bloomfield Township preschool has been given a $10 million endowment from two longtime members of the Temple Israel Synagogue.

The gift from Audrey and William Farber to the Susan and Rabbi Harold Loss Early Childhood Center is the largest ever to the center and one of the largest ever in Michigan, The Detroit News reports.

“It’s definitely not typical,” Keith Myers, executive director at the Michigan Association for the Education of Young Children, told the newspaper. “Anything this size we would hear about, and we’ve never heard anything like this.”

The gift will be used is to establish more annual scholarships to families seeking a Jewish education, increase staff, expand programs, and update supplies and equipment. “It gives us those deep pockets,” director Bryna Leib said.

William Farber, chairman emeritus of Philadelphia-based Lannett Co. Inc. pharmaceutical company, explained in a statement the cost of preschool was a motivating factor for him and his wife.

“Young families in Metro Detroit with children entering preschool are finding it increasingly challenging to find Jewish educational opportunities that are affordable,” he said. “It was a priority for Audrey and I to create this endowment to help children and their families have this experience.”

David Tisdale, Temple Israel’s executive director, said th gift will be “transformational for our school and our parents.”

The preschool, which opened in 1980, serves about 200 students ages 2-5 and also offers an accredited kindergarten program.