CEO Letter 5.21.21

By Jenn Ross

This summer should be much brighter and lighter than last year.  For starters, Green Hills will be open this year for JCC Summer Camp and all of our members!!!!!

I’m incredibly grateful to our hardworking dedicated staff for making this happen and hope to see you there soon.  George, Jack, Bruce, Terri, MarkJo, and Lori have been working tirelessly to get Green Hills ready.  Thanks to Lori for developing a creative summer break program last year and for relaunching JCC Summer Camp at Green Hills and developing alternative programs for our older youth including an incredible woodworking program with Maplewoodshop.

The Hilton has a new roof thanks in part to funding from The Josiah W. and Bessie H. Kline Foundation, Inc. which helped reduce this expense. We are indebted to The Donald B. and Dorothy L. Stabler Foundation which continues to provide generous financial support for scholarships for children at JCC Summer Camp and The Brenner Family Early Learning Center.

Congratulations to all of the students who have graduated High School and College. This was another challenging year for you and I hope you have brighter times ahead.  It was a pleasure seeing The Silver Academy back in session this school year and the continued growth of our enrollment at the Brenner Family Early Learning Center.  Congratulations also to Silver’s 8th grade graduates and to our Pre-K graduates. Thank you to Samara and Chana and to all of the teachers for enriching our youth!

We will continue to host the Kosher Grab N Go this summer. If you know families with children under eighteen who could benefit from free breakfasts and lunches, please have them contact me to get enrolled.  Thanks again to Arielle Frankston-Morris and Norman Gras for starting this program, and to Norman for his continued role behind the scenes. I appreciate all of the volunteers who help me each Sunday. It has been a pleasure seeing people enter the J on Sundays, when the JCC is buzzing with community members coming to work out or participate in swim lessons or Iddy Biddy Basketball.

Another exciting opportunity relaunching this summer is Taglit Birthright Israel which provides a free 10 day journey for Jewish Young Adults, Ages 18-32.  Information and the application can be found here: https://www.birthrightisrael.com/

What are your summer plans? You can reach me to share those details or to provide other feedback or answer questions at j.ross@jewishfedhbg.org or 717-236-9555 x3104. Enjoy and be safe and well.