There will be a rededication ceremony  for Sherbondy Hill Cemetery on Sunday, April 3, at 10 am. Rabbi Robert Feinberg will lead a short service at the cemetery and then people are free to walk around and see the changes that were made.

Thanks to donors contributing to a crowdfunding campaign to restore Sherbondy Hill Cemetery last year, over $7,000 was raised. The work was completed in the late fall, which included re-erecting fallen headstones and clearing overgrown foliage.

The cemetery now looks completely different. Over 14 headstones were lifted and secured. Some graves were covered with foliage so thick you could not see a grave unless you were up close. The most important reason for the crowdfunding campaign was to honor and give dignity to those buried there.

“Many of the people buried here no longer have family in town,” David Koch, Jewish Community Board of Akron CEO said, “it is our obligation as a Jewish community to care for them. Unfortunately, we did not have enough money in the cemetery fund to do more than cut the grass. Not only did the crowdfunding campaign raise critically needed funds, but it raised awareness of the need to continually support the four cemeteries owned by the Jewish Community Board of Akron.”

The cemetery gates are usually locked. Visitors wishing to get into the cemetery can pick up a key at the Shaw JCC front desk during business hours.