This week’s edition of “In The Loup” from Stephanie Herm, our Chief Operating Officer, provides a look into the programs at the J and how they are taking shape.

Dear JCC Community,

One of the greatest joys of restarting our in-person programs over the last few weeks and months has been being around our community again. I always describe our team as “people-people.” Our energy and passion are driven by serving others, and for that, we are grateful to be seeing your faces inside the J.

As you know, we furloughed the majority of our team during 2020 due to the pandemic, and now we are in the process of developing a new team of professionals. We are very excited about the new talent that has joined us and the creativity and enthusiasm that they bring. Nevertheless, restarting the programs that you are used to as well as adding additional and meaningful options takes time.

We will continue to provide updates as we have them, but I wanted to offer a look at some of our program developments to date:

  • Older adult programs including lunch in partnership with Jewish Family Service, and the weekly current events class have begun.
  • The Fitness Center has reopened and continues to build programming.
    • Members will be offered weekly themed open-gym time for kids starting in August.
    • Massage is projected to begin this fall.
    • Adult and Youth Sports Leagues will start before the end of the year.
  • The ceramics program is slated for a fall start.
  • We continue to rebuild our partnerships with other Jewish organizations to provide robust teen and young adult program offerings.

Camps are in full swing, and our Early Learning School is wrapping up its summer program over the next few weeks.  We are looking forward to starting a new school year in a month. In total, this summer we have served over 1000 children.

Without our mission-driven, motivated staff, none of these programs would be possible, and we are so very grateful for each one of them. As we develop our programs, rest assured that we will continue to pursue excellence coupled with a razor-sharp focus on our mission. I hope that you will continue to enjoy and support our programs, and I would encourage you to try new things as our offerings continue to expand. Thank you for your continued patience as we work together to strengthen and inspire community guided by timeless Jewish values at the JCC that we all love.

With gratitude,
Stephanie Herm
Chief Operating Officer