committed 2008

annual
to values report
 “The goal of the JCC
Movement is to create a
community of Jews who
are consciously Jewish, who
are respectful of Jewish
differences, and who are
knowledgeable of and
committed to Jewish values
and practices.”
Copyright © 2009 by JCC Association. All rights reserved.
W
ith these simple yet stirring words, the Commission on
Maximizing the Jewish Educational Effectiveness of JCCs,
chaired by Morton L. Mandel, took the JCC Movement on a
continuing journey for more than twenty years, a path that
is as joyous in the traveling as it is in the terminus. Creating a community
of conscious and committed Jews is what JCCs do, and supporting JCCs in
that mission is what we do. Through our many programs for children, teens,
and adults, through our educational gatherings and training conferences,
through our consulting and personnel services, through our outreach to
Jewish military members and their families, through all the ways that we help
JCCs save money and run more efficiently, we help them create, support, and
maintain that community of conscious and committed Jews.

The special gift of the JCC is that it never presumes

to define conscious or committed. We are confident
that everyone who walks into a JCC will find a way to
explore or express some new and exciting aspect of
Jewish life and culture. We have worked hard to design
programs and materials that embody all the richness
and complexity of our Jewish heritage.
In this sobering economic environment, we also know that JCCs need to
work effectively and efficiently. That’s why we have ramped up our business
and management publications, webinars, consultations, trainings, and
other services to help JCCs get the most out of their budgets. Both on the
programmatic and management sides, we are helping JCCs achieve that
overarching goal.
 committed 2008
annual
to values report

Dear Friends,
We are proud to celebrate 2008 as a great year of helping JCCs
provide service to over two million users—for many reasons:

• We grew and enhanced our signature programs throughout

the year, and invigorated JCCs across North America
Alan P. Solow in the process.

• We gathered the leadership of the Movement in the spring at

a Biennial in Miami that was as educational as it was energetic.

• We analyzed benchmarking results for 48 JCCs, and helped them

chart a course to continuous improvement and capacity building.

• Over the summer, our JCC Maccabi Experience programs gave

5,000 teens a path to follow their passion for sports, for the arts,
and for Israel—and along each of those paths they discovered a
new enthusiasm for their Jewish heritage.

But perhaps what we’re most proud of is helping JCCs respond to

Allan Finkelstein the extraordinary and tumultuous economic climate of 2008.

• We responded early to the looming stormclouds. In the first part

of the year, we published a new business model guide for JCCs,
a paper on management strategies for recessionary times, and a
manual on maximizing annual appeals.

• With the dramatic turn for the worse in September, we began

delivering a daily economic hotline message, bringing JCCs a
wealth of information about the potential economic pitfalls...and
how to avoid them.
JCCs of North America

• All the while, we have maintained the highest levels of service

to JCCs while weathering the impact of this unprecedented
economic story ourselves.

We are deeply appreciative of the outpouring of support, understanding,

and encouragement from Jewish Community Centers and our generous
donors. We look forward to continuing our strong relationship as we
work together to significantly impact the Jewish community across the
continent, and build much to celebrate in 2009.

Alan P. Solow Allan Finkelstein

Chair President
Managing Addressing the historic
economic downturn quickly
the crisis became an unprecedented priority
I n October, the Mandel Center
for Excellence in Leadership and
Management launched the Economy
Hotline, a daily briefing on issues
relating to the management of JCCs:
• lines of credit
• marketing in a downturn
• staff recognition when raises
are frozen
• communicating the JCC’s value to
members
• fundraising strategies
• ways to cut utility costs
• keeping leadership informed
• meeting short-term cash needs
We added experts in financial services
to answer JCCs’ questions about
managing investments and debt.
The response from JCCs was
immediate and unanimous. They
found the Economy Hotline useful
for the information it included and
for the conversations it sparked.
JCC executive directors shared it
with their board members and with
Free Marketing
Concepts
3 Words. Endless Possibilities.
did you know?
JCC Association’s five niche-market
ad campaigns are specially designed
to help JCCs increase and retain
membership. They’re fast, they’re
fun, and they’re free. We’ve done
the creative work—just drop
in your info and go!
Visit www.jcca.org, click on
JCC Resources, and download
everything you need to get
your message out.
their financial professionals. They
planned board meetings around
the Hotline’s findings. They reported
Timely, practical, and evidence-
based, the reports helped JCCs
remain agile and competitive in
back to us so we could share their a challenging situation.
experiences with the field. “The
JCC Assocation hotline provides me Earlier in the year, we published
Getting the Most from Your
with useful data points that serve
JCC’s Annual Appeal, written
as conversation starters with board
by our fundraising consultant,
members and staff leads who chair
David Valinsky. It’s an invaluable
the JCCSF committees,” said Susan
aid to JCCs, who must depend on
Diamond, president of the JCC of
fundraising now more than ever. l
San Francisco. “The economy hotline
is a very valuable service provided The Mandel Center for Excellence in
by JCC Association.”  Leadership and Management is funded
by an annual, renewable grant from the
In addition to our daily economic Mandel Foundation.
briefing, we are doing everything
we can to give JCCs the tools they
need to come through the downturn “The economy hotline is
successfully. To provide information
to JCCs that they could use right
a very valuable service
away, in the middle of 2008 we provided by JCC
published Weathering the Storm:
Management Strategies and
Association.”
Tactics for JCCs in Recessionary Susan Diamond
Times and Business Model Guide. president of the JCC of San Francisco
O ur financial experts recommend
maintaining or increasing
marketing efforts during tough times,
and JCCs loved them. We also uploaded
a wealth of images, photographs,
banner designs, illustrations, and
so we developed a series of ads for card designs to our intranet site JCC
JCCs to customize and use in their Resources for JCCs to download and
local markets. Witty, eye-catching, use completely free. Marketing support
and varied, these ads gave JCCs and consultation is part of the broad
professional-quality products at no cost, array of services we offer to JCCs. l
Communities of
the JCC Movement: A B
Akron Berkeley
Albany Birmingham
Albuquerque Bloomfield Hills
Annual Report 2008
Allentown Boca Raton
Altoona Boston
Ann Arbor Boulder
Asheville Boynton Beach
Atlanta Bridgewater
Augusta Brighton
Austin Bronx
Baltimore Brooklyn
Bayside Buffalo
Beachwood Buffalo Grove
3
 Like GPS
For JCCs
H ave you ever wondered how
your JCC builds Jewish
community? Or why JCC members
decide to renew their membership
each year? Maybe you’re curious
what motivates staff to continue
working at a JCC. Thanks to the
Mandel Center for Excellence in
Leadership and Management’s JCC
Excellence: The Benchmarking
Project, we can now answer those
questions.
Through Web-based surveys that
we administer to staff and members
and with detailed financial and
program participation data that
staff provides, the Benchmarking
Project offers comprehensive
analysis of a JCC’s finances,
operations, staffing, membership
and program participation.
Over the past three years we have
collected a multitude of data rich
with information. Participating
JCCs have learned:
• how to improve their bottom line
• how to better engage their
members, users and staff
• how to increase participation in
their programs
• strategies for improving
customer service
• how to communicate between
staff and members
• how to retain more members
JCCs recognize the value of
JCC Association of North America
this information and have been
clamoring to be included in the
Benchmarking Project. Forty-eight
JCCs have participated in JCC
Excellence: The Benchmarking
Project, and potentially over
Communities of the JCC Movement:
Calgary Chesterfield
Cedarhurst Chicago
Chandler Cincinnati
Charleston Clifton
Charlotte Columbia
4 Cherry Hill Columbus
With our benchmarking on
board, JCCs find the smart Getting our green on
route to ongoing excellence We’re commited to greening our
offices, meetings, and conferences.
20 more will take part in 2009.
JCC Association provides JCC
Excellence: The Benchmarking
Here are a few of the ways we’ve
started to make a difference:
Project to member JCCs at no cost. Refillable
coffee mugs have us
One JCC learned from its
drinking green—and
benchmarking analysis that their
saving money
retention of members was below
average for JCCs their size. To
increase retention, the JCC
developed new techniques that
helped them retain 15 percent of the Reuseable
program binders reduce
members wishing to cancel. How
did they do it? Before they left, waste at conferences
members completed brief online
surveys about which departments
they had been using and why they
were not renewing. One simple
follow-up call by a friendly staff
member (and in some cases a few restorative
perks like a free personal training plants release oxygen—
session or a massage) was all it and tranquility—into the
took to remind 15 percent of those office environment
members why they should retain
their memberships.
Through JCC Excellence: The
Benchmarking Project, JCCs are
now able to develop a baseline
of key indicators of success, find
out where they excel and where
Payoff
there is room for improvement,
and chart their progress in making guaranteed
those improvements from year to
year. The Benchmarking Project Investing in JCC staff through
is providing objective, data-based
information so JCC leadership professional training always
can be proactive in addressing pays dividends. We make it easy.
problems before they become
W
crises and in implementing creative e’ve known for a long time that the
programming and management influence and impact of a JCC on its
strategies. In these stressful members depends on its staff. The more
economic times, that’s more dynamic, the more inspiring, the more Jewishly
important than ever. l literate and informed the professional, the
more able that person is to radiate the joy
of Jewish life and culture. Research shows
that JCC staff today has much more Jewish
education and experience than it did 25 years
C D ago, and a higher percentage feel that their
Jewish identity is important. These statistics
Commack Denver are heartening, for they indicate that the JCC
Coral Springs Detroit is indeed a place that inspires Jewish journeys.
Dallas Dunwoody A large number of our graduate scholarship
Davie Durham recipients, the future leaders of the JCC
Dayton Movement, are working on advanced degrees
Delray Beach in Jewish communal work or Jewish studies.
Go green, In New York we are getting our own house in order by
greening the JCC Association headquarters. Our staff
members now drink fair trade coffee from reusable mugs

save green
Our greening initiative saves JCCs
money while it helps save our planet
to reduce waste. At our annual staff retreat we potted and
distributed plants to create a healthier environment in our
offices. We are revising our purchasing policies to favor
suppliers with a commitment to sustainability. Each of us has
taken on the responsibility to speak up and take action when
we see something that we can do to make our operations
more environmentally sound.

J udaism has a vision for the kind of world we as Jews are

striving to bring about. It is remarkably similar to the
vision of a sustainable world that is emerging from today’s
Achieving sustainable lifestyles is fundamentally about
changing values and behavior. As such, JCCs and camps can
environmental movement. Both look to build a society that play an important role by engaging people in experiences
can sustain itself over time—from generation to generation— that encourage appreciation for nature and understanding
while nourishing its members in the present both materially of environmental problems. Building operations are a major
and spiritually. This year we made the commitment to source of stress on the environment. With the right tools and
mobilize the resources of the JCC Movement to making the resources, we can manage facilities in ways that will provide a
vision of a clean, green, sustainable world a reality—a world healthy environment within the JCC and reduce harm beyond
that is not built on waste and excess. the facility. JCCs can also use their position of leadership to
inspire community action.
What better way to start than by greening the JCC
Association Biennial? JCC leaders took notice of our efforts As we move ahead we take our inspiration from Jewish
in Miami to reduce waste, encourage recycling, and share teachings that guide us to have reverence for all of creation,
information about greening JCCs. We continued this effort to use our human faculties to improve the world, to value
with a “reduced paper” board meeting, and will expand our modesty in consumption and to pursue justice for all people.
efforts at all JCC Association meetings and conferences. We embrace our responsibility for our communities and
Now JCC leaders are turning to JCC Association for celebrate the potential that we have to contribute to tikkun
information about how to go green. Over 100 JCC olam—repairing the world. l
professional and volunteer leaders are sharing information
and ideas on a “greening” Listserv.
We train the field: We
helped JCCs invest in their
staff by providing training
in the following areas:
What else are we doing to find, nurture, and motivate top- about the rewarding work
notch professionals? We’re researching and sharing the best and opportunities that can Aquatic Safety
practices in management and programming. We’re showing be found at JCCs. We also Closing a Sale
executives how to be great leaders. We’re recruiting the next made it a point to speak Communication Skills
generation of JCC staff from top college programs. We’re with thousands of teens, Customer Service
making it easier than ever for JCCs to fill openings. We’re coaches, and delegates at the Early Childhood Education
helping future JCC stars get advanced education degrees by 2008 JCC Maccabi Games® Fitness & Wellness
providing scholarship help. We’re connecting thousands of and JCC Maccabi ArtsFest®. Governance
JCC professionals across the continent. Internal Customer Service
In order to fill vacant Judaic Enrichment
We coached over 250 professionals from more than 50 JCCs positions at JCCs, we have Management
on the finer points of supervision and customer service, and introduced a streamlined Supervision
responding to demand, we’re planning more training sessions. jccworks.com, making Teen Services
it easier than ever for
To keep JCCs staffed with energetic, committed young
applicants to send their
people, we engage in an extensive recruitment process. In
resumes and cover letters, and for JCCs to inform job seekers
2008, we visited over thirty college campus career centers,
everywhere about open positions. Launched in early October,
Hillels, and Jewish studies departments, sharing stories
the site had over three thousand hits in its first month. l
Annual Report 2008

did you know?

In 2008, our Graduate Scholarships helped 15 full-time scholars pursue graduate degrees, at
schools including Columbia University, New York University, and Jewish Theological Seminary.
Upon graduation, they will put their knowlege to work at a JCC. Our Tuition Assitance Programs
helped six current JCC professionals afford part-time study towards advanced degrees that will
make them even more effective in serving the JCC Movement.
5
 JCC day & resident Camps:

Directing a
jcc camps cast of thousands
Some memories last a lifetime.
Our initiatives are transforming
resident camps Jewish camping, helping JCCs
impact a generation of Jewish youth
day camps

resident campers Jewish values—served daily

Thanks to support from the Legacy Heritage Fund,
day campers we gave 48 grants to JCC day and resident camps for
JCC Association/Legacy Heritage Fund Days of
Caring and Sharing projects so they could make tikkun
the largest network of olam and community service an essential part of their
program. With help from the Foundation for Jewish Camp
Jewish camps in North America and the Genesis Philanthropy Group, we helped children
from Russian-speaking families attend Jewish day and
resident camps, which meant they had the chance to
experience a joyful Shabbat perhaps for the first time and
learn what it means to be Jewish and proud in America.
did you know?
Shalom, shlichim: Israelis on board
Each JCC has a dedicated JCC consultant Those boys and girls certainly met some of the 400
who can assist you in the following areas: Israeli shlichim we interview and train and place in JCC
day and resident camps each summer. In partnership with
Benchmarking Fitness the Jewish Agency for Israel, we have been involved in
Board Development Financial Resource this longstanding program for many years, and the impact
Camping Development of young Israelis in JCC camps continues to be profound—
Crisis Management Governance both for them and for the campers. The campers who
Early Childhood Marketing interact with Israelis daily feel a bond to the Jewish State
Education Membership that is personal and immediate. The learning and intimacy
go both ways.
Emerging Programming
Communities Sports & Wellness
Executive Search Strategic Planning

Contact Alan Mann at amann@jcca.org to get

in touch with your JCC Association consultant.
JCC Association of North America

Communities of the JCC Movement: E M

East Hills Hartford Long Beach, CA

Edmonton Highland Park Long Beach, NY
Fairfax Houston Los Angeles
Fairfield Indianapolis Los Gatos
Flossmoor Irvine Louisville
Forest Hills Jacksonville Maitland
Ft. Meyers Lake Como Malibu
Foster City Lake Delton Manalapan
Framingham Lancaster Manhattan
Ft. Lauderdale Las Vegas Marblehead
Hamilton Little Neck Margate
Harrisburg London, ON Marietta
6

“JCC residential camps
can make Judaism
magical.”
Yossi Prager
Director of The AVI CHAI Foundation,
which is the recipient of the
Morton L. Mandel Jewish Education
Leadership Award
How do camps spell inspiring? T.A.G.
Campfires, scary stories, best friends, Shabbat songs—
these are all hallmarks of Jewish camping. Because
studies tell us over and over that Jewish camping is a
transformative experience, we work tirelessly to make
JCC camps inspiring as well as fun. In 2008, our Mandel
Center of Jewish Education’s Jewish values-based camp
initiative, TAG: Jewish Values Through JCC Camping®,
brought two new curricular units to 60 JCC day and
resident camps across North America. We developed a
new program unit about the summer fast day of Tisha B’Av,
and our JCC Association/Legacy Heritage Fund Days of
Caring and Sharing unit tackled the subject of “Shalom:
Pieces of Peace.” We now offer 40 substantive and fun-
filled curricular units to infuse our JCC camps with Jewish
values-based programming. In addition, we have made
all TAG units accessible online so camps can easily
download them.
A day camp director told us what a huge difference the
TAG materials made at his camp:
“Now, our Oneg Shabbat consists of Torah portion
skits, announcement of weekly or summer
mitzvah projects, Shabbat prayers, the ruach
stick, staff awards and other group activities.
The skits and mitzvah projects alone have been
a huge success in getting the kids to be more
aware of what they can do to help the JCC, the
environment, and the community.”
JCC pilot camps during the summer of 2008 and will be
in nine camps in the summer of 2009. Based on a model
program currently being used at Chicago’s Camp Chi,
Yisrael Sheli will be available to 15 JCC resident camps in
the summer of 2010, with new and different programs for
ninth, tenth, and eleventh grade campers. It will be offered
to all JCC resident camps in 2011.
Developing serious Jewish educators
Participants in Lekhu Lakhem: Jewish Educational
Journeys for JCC Resident Camp Directors have told
us how much the program meant to them, and how it has
changed their self-perception—they now view themselves
as serious Jewish educators as well as administrators.
Meanwhile, our alumni group, Hemshekh: A Program
of Continuing Jewish Learning and Growth for Lekhu
Lakhem Cohort I Alumni, has been meeting monthly
for ongoing mentoring with Jewish educators. The AVI
CHAI Foundation has generously underwritten these two
programs, as well as a new program for JCC resident
camps. Through Chizuk: Jewish Programming Directors
Strengthening Lekhu Lakhem-JCC Camps, participating
camps obtain a Jewish programming director on staff to
integrate meaningful, purposeful, quality Jewish content
and experiences in all aspects of the camp program. l
The Mandel Center for Jewish Education is funded by
an annual, renewable grant from the Mandel Foundation.
did you know?
In 2008 we stripped down and rebuilt JCC
Resources, our online solution supersite.
Completely revamped with new software and
a powerhouse search engine, the new JCC
Resources is a one-stop source for the tools
and information you need to tap into the
collective brainpower of the JCC Movement.

Talking Israel to teens

Many campers nowadays are in their teens, and to reach
these young people at a particularly impressionable age,
the Mandel Center for Jewish Education launched an
Annual Report 2008

initiative for teenagers at camp to give them an in-depth

understanding of contemporary Israel before they leave
for college. The Goodman Family Institute - Yisrael Sheli
(My Israel): A Teen Program of Israel Education and
Experience is a three-year program for ninth, tenth, and
eleventh graders underwritten by a generous grant from
the Goodman Family Foundation. It is designed to enhance
teenagers’ knowledge of, familiarity with, and emotional
attachment to the Jewish State. Goodman Fellows, the Visit www.jcca.org and click on
professional staff specially trained to implement Yisrael JCC Resources today.
Sheli, brought the program to ninth grade campers in three 7
 To life? Our new adult education initiative
pairs Jewish identity with wine. “Our primary
To learn! And food. And humor. And more... resource is the
richness and
W e designed our adult initiative,
Journeys: Adult Jews Living and
Learning, to strengthen our Jewish
We produced a second pilot unit on the
subject of Jewish humor, “To Laugh!
Jews and Humor: A 5,000 Year Old
variety of Jewish
culture.”
interest and identity through viewing Love Story,” and this unit investigates
David Ackerman
all aspects of life and culture through the rich and profound relationship Jews director, Mandel Center
a Jewish lens. We successfully piloted have with puns, irony, sarcasm, and for Jewish Education
the first Journeys program, entitled, other forms of humor, again through
“Food: A Loaf of Bread, a Jug of Wine, film, literature, text, and audio. The
and You,” in the winter and spring of response to these programs and their
2008, and it is now in use at JCCs across accompanying marketing materials has
North America. It presents the Jewish been enthusiastic, and we are developing
experience with food through film, text, new program units, with the intention of
personal remembrances, baking, and wine rolling out two to three per year over the
tasting. The activities in the program lead next several years. Ultimately, Journeys
participants to know themselves and each will provide an array of captivating and
other in a deeper way, and to appreciate unique learning experiences to engage
the specifically Jewish aspects of their the minds and hearts of Jewish adults in
interactions with food. our JCCs. l

Twenty thousand young adults

This year’s (role) model can’t be wrong
Training teen professionals
to help shape the Jewish young
M any JCCs have succeeded in programming for
young adults—a notoriously difficult group to
reach—through GesherCity, our Web-based multi-city
adults of tomorrow and community approach to engagement. Now in 20
communities, GesherCity helps JCCs strengthen their

I n 1999, Seth Merrin and Anne Heyman decided to

invest in Jewish teens. They established the Merrin
Teen Professional Fellows program to raise the profile
of the people who worked with adolescents in their
JCCs, and to help those people more effectively attract
and inspire teens. Since then, 69 Merrin Fellows have
completed the program, with the sixth cohort selected
in 2008. These professionals have brought their
deepened understanding of human development and
their enriched appreciation of Judaism to their JCCs
and their young constituents. As Aaron Selkow, the new
JCC Association of North America
organizations and the community at large by reaching out
to newcomers and locals in their twenties and thirties on
behalf of the Jewish community.
GesherCity’s unique approach uses technology and
theme-based cluster groups to reach this mobile,
technologically savvy demographic. Nearly twenty
thousand members participate in these clusters, and
we have seen GesherCity bridges that started with a
small Shabbat dinner cluster of four people expand after
only a year to more than five different Shabbat dinner

director of the Merrin Center for Teen Services, said, clusters (with over thirty members) held throughout the
“If we want to enhance their skills as teen professionals, city every Friday. Thanks to the support of the National
the single most important thing we can do is make them Federation/Agency Alliance, the number of GesherCity
the best Jewish role models they can be.” events has almost doubled since 2007, reaching close to
four thousand! l
Child development data shows that the maturity
associated with adolescence is arriving earlier, and as a Communities of the JCC Movement: M O
society, we are allowing our children to remain “teens”
longer. This is the time when young people are forming Memphis Nashville Northbrook
their deepest values and associations, when they are Miami Newark N. Miami Beach
trying out new and varied identities. JCCs and JCC camps Miami Beach New City Oak Park
must have highly motivated and well trained professionals Milford New Orleans Oceanside
in place to capture the attention and imagination of teens Milwaukee Newburgh Oklahoma City
so they develop a lifelong attachment to Jewish life Minneapolis Newton Centre Omaha
and culture. l Mount Vernon Norfolk Orlando
8
Introducing teens
to the bigger picture “There’s
nothing like the
JCC Maccabi: A powerful thing happens when feeling of being
over 5,000 Jewish teens encounter over 5,000
years of Jewish culture and values...
surrounded
by that much
“E veryone here is Jewish! I didn’t realize there were so many Jews my age!”
The JCC Maccabi Games® makes it possible for every Jewish teen to love, passion for
suddenly know how it feels to be among not just friends, but a huge extended family.
In 2008, over four thousand young Jews were able to feel that thrill of recognition
Judaism, and
and acceptance at the JCC Maccabi Games in Orange County, California, Detroit,
Michigan, and Akron, Ohio.
support of
It’s hard to beat the excitement of Opening Ceremonies, when each delegation
the arts.”
marches into the arena to shouts and cheers from fans. Competing against Jewish Megan Kimmel
JCC Maccabi ArtsFest®
teens from the U.S., Canada, Israel, and countries around the world brings home participant
the message that Jews live everywhere, and that wherever Jews live, they are one
people. Taking part in a community service project through the Days of Caring
and Sharing enables teens to perform the mitzvah of helping others, just as the
Rachmanus Rule reminds them that the Games are much more than competition,
they are an arena to live their Jewish values of compassion and respect for others.
In between athletic events, teens learn about Israel through games and conversation
with Israeli shlichim—a way to make Israel real for them as a modern society, a place
where they can feel at home. In 2008, they were able to meet 67 athletes from Israel,
kids like themselves, with Facebook pages and iPods and dreams for the future.

Another central experience at the JCC Maccabi Games is the memorial to the Munich
11, the Israeli athletes callously murdered at the Munich Olympics in 1972. The only
public event outside of Israel that commemorates this tragedy, the JCC Maccabi Communities of
Games reinforces the sanctity of the bond between Jews. the JCC Movement: O P

Celebrating the unity of the Jewish people in northern Virginia and the importance Ottawa Plainview
of giving thanks in Minneapolis, a specifically Jewish theme set the stage for Overland Park Plantation
JCC Maccabi ArtsFest® in 2008, as it does each summer. Accomplished artists-in- Owings Mill Pleasantville
residence encouraged the teens they worked with to look at art and life in a Jewish Palm Springs Port Jefferson
way, and in response, the young artists created work inspired by our deepest values. Palo Alto Station
Young photographers took pictures of the poor and the homeless, to honor Isaiah’s Philadelphia Portland, ME
injunction to “observe what is right and do what is just,” and an improvisational group Pittsburgh Princeton
put on a skit about kibbutz life. Signs in Hebrew, Jewish art on display, information
about Jewish artists, maps of Israel, and Israeli dancing added to the Jewish
environment the young people enjoyed. Three Israeli Partnership 2000 communities
(Beit Shemesh, Pisgat Ze’ev and Tiberias) sent delegations, and interacting with their did you know?
Israeli peers helped the American teens to appreciate the diversity of Israel. Both
communities threw gala Israel@60 parties that included Israeli music, Israeli food, Our continental Preferred
and a multitude of activities dealing with Israel, including a camel! Vendors can bring JCCs
great products and great
The Jewish teens participating spanned the spectrum of Jewish observance. Thanks
savings on everything
Annual Report 2008

to the support of the Legacy Heritage Fund and many other donors who invested
in this program, teens from Orthodox homes and those from secular backgrounds from insurance to flooring,
created and performed together, and learned the true meaning of K’lal Yisrael. from fitness equipment to
websites.
Our teen travel program, JCC Maccabi Israel®, provided an even more memorable
experience for teens visiting Israel. Groups from JCC camps and communities spent Visit www.jcca.org and
four fabulous weeks exploring the Jewish state, and seeing for themselves the click on Preferred Vendors
miracle that is Israel. The young adults that came on the free Taglit-Birthright Israel to see the complete list,
trip had the time of their lives—and two of them even got engaged! l and start saving today.
We are grateful to The Coca-Cola Company and the Jewish Sports Foundation for their support. 9
 “When my daughters and I see a spider in the house
we don’t kill it because they have learned in An Ethical
Start® that everything matters and everything counts.”
Stephaney Avital
An Ethical Start® parent
IJ & Jeanné Wagner JCC
Salt Lake City, UT

A solid Our early childhood services are geared

to give children a foundation in ethics—
footing and JCCs a reputation for excellence

W hat’s the right time to introduce children and

their families to the richness of Jewish values and
traditions? It’s never too soon, and An Ethical Start®,
JCC Association’s signature early-childhood values-
education program, is proof. Over five thousand children
and almost 900 teachers participated in An Ethical Start
in 2008. Close to fifty percent of JCCs that offer An
Ethical Start benefited from site visits from our early
childhood services professionals, and more than three
thousand parents eagerly took part in parent-learning
events. This level of enthusiasm shows us that we are
on the right track. To further help JCCs raise money
to support their use of An Ethical Start, we developed
a customizable fundraising brochure, and 29 JCCs
received grants to fund their program. We are grateful
to the Marcus Foundation, the Lisa & Ron Brill Charitable
Trust, and the San Francisco Community Endowment
Fund for making this work on An Ethical Start possible.
We are determined to maintain the continental
reputation for excellence of JCC early childhood
did you know?
JCC Association of North America
programs, so early childhood services, under the
leadership of Director Mark Horowitz, continues
to expand the services we offer to the field. The
department hosted luncheon seminars at two national
educators’ conferences—the Coalition for Advancement
in Jewish Education and the National Association for the
Education of Young Children. We coordinated a busy site-
visit schedule, spanning a wide range of topics including
educational philosophy, governance, ideal educational
environments, staff development, and more. We hosted a
phone conference for 50 participants because we know
that the field is hungry for the learning and information
they need to make their JCC early childhood programs
the very best. We are starting the planning needed for
a generational shift in early-childhood directors, which
is fast approaching, and we’re studying how to prepare
a new generation of inspired and inspiring teachers. So
much depends on the excellence and success of our JCC
early childhood centers, and we intend to be ready. l
“Our goal is that when people come
to a new community, they say, ‘we
have to find a JCC because they
have the best preschool.’”

Mark Horowitz, director, early childhood services

Peer K. Explorer®
visited over 500 early
childhood classrooms
last year and helped Communities of the JCC Movement: P S
young children learn
about Jewish values. Providence St. Louis Santa Rosa
Raleigh St. Paul Sarasota
Regina Salt Lake City Savannah
Contact lisa@jcca.org
Richmond San Antonio Scarsdale
to learn more about
Riverdale San Diego Schenectady
Peer K. Explorer and
Rochester San Francisco Scotch Plains
An Ethical Start.
Rockland Cty. San Rafael Scottsdale
Rockville Santa Barbara Scranton
10
Connecting
flights
Looking deeper into Israel
JCCs must bring
the joyfulness and
diversity of Israeli life
to North America. So
said JCC Association
Chair Alan P. Solow
at the 2008 JCCs
of North America
Biennial, and we’re
working to make
that happen. Our
office in Jerusalem
planned seminars
for a variety of JCC
groups in 2008. An
interfaith group from San Francisco
shared their experiences in a blog,
and a parent group from Manhattan
placed their children in day camp with
Israeli kids while they traveled. Groups
from Detroit to Miami visited and every
person returned with a new perception
of the Jewish state—as a modern,
vibrant society—to share with their
friends and colleagues.
Because we believe that Jews in
America and Israel need each other,
we include extended visits to Israel
in our leadership training programs.
We know that the participants will
then bring a sense of pride and
commitment to the people they
serve. Leah Garber, director of
“...the time, money, effort,
and thought put forth by the
organizers and contributors
merits more than a thank-you
note: I plan to return to Israel
within a few months to live for
a while, and to find a more
personal way to give back.”
Diana Saville
JCC Maccabi Israel/Taglit-Birthright Israel participant
From high-tech Tel Aviv to time-lost Havana, we’re
committed to building meaningful relationships
between North American Jews and all of K’lal Yisrael
our Israel office, sends a monthly
electronic newsletter to JCC
presidents and leaders to provide
a behind-the-scenes view of Israeli
life so we maintain our sense of
connection and commitment. We
make sure that Israel is a part of
everything we do. l
“What surprised
me as a first-time
visitor was Israel’s
deep involvement
in venture capital,
technology, and
innovation. Clearly,
entrepreneurship
has become part of
the Israeli DNA and
economic culture.”
Andy Shaevel
JCC Association board member
Mission to Cuba
Although the number of Jews
in Cuba has been dwindling
since the 1950s, there are
still three active synagogues
in Havana. The more than
one thousand Jews who
remain suffer the same
economic hardships as all
Cubans, and the additional
pain of being cut off from the
larger Jewish community. In
2008, JCC Association led
two humanitarian missions
to visit the Jews of Cuba,
bringing drugs, cosmetics,
medical supplies, books,
“American Jews
have always
reached out to
Jews in other
countries when
they are at risk,
politically or
economically.”
Arlene Fickler
JCC Association board member
and baseball cards for the
children. The first group,
made up of JCC Association
board members, left Miami
right after the 2008 JCCs of
North America Biennial. The
second group of JCC members
Annual Report 2008
from across North America
arrived in Havana a day after
Hurricane Paloma. Both groups
connected with Cubans in the
three congregations to let
them know that they are not
forgotten, that American Jews
know about their situation and
care what happens to them. l
11
 Jews in the military: we serve those who serve
Jewish men and women serve in all branches of the U.S.
Armed Forces in all parts of the world. Since 1917, JWB Jewish
Chaplains Council has supported these troops during peace
and war. We have sent them holiday packages, brought
messages from home, and made sure that they know that
we are behind them. The chaplains that JWB has endorsed
have provided comfort and guidance to young people in
circumstances where they feel isolated and frightened.
In 2008, we gave them the first new translation of the
Hebrew Bible Jewish military personnel have received since
1941. Thanks to the generosity of the Everett Foundation,
together with the Jewish Publication Society, we published a
pocket-sized copy of the JPS Tanakh: The Holy Scriptures
for Jewish Personnel in the Armed Forces of the United
States, one that was specially designed to fit into a military
uniform pocket.
We began work on a new edition of the Prayer Book for
Jewish Personnel in the Armed Forces of the United States.
When it is ready, this will be the first such edition to appear
since 1985, and will be the latest in a series of special editions
dating back to JWB’s inception during World War I.
We expanded our efforts to recruit more Jewish chaplains,
visiting six different rabbinical schools in the U.S. and Israel
and escalating our outreach to rabbis in the field. The result
was several new chaplains and chaplain candidates. For the
coming year, our goals include still more intensive recruiting
and providing more extensive training for our lay leaders.
Jewish service men and women look forward to receiving
our holiday package shipments. One soldier wrote, “It’s tough
being the only Jew around (that I know of) and you helped
to make my yontif a little nicer.” l

This Tanakh has since been distributed free to military

personnel throughout the world. For the first time, Jewish
enlistees can request a Hebrew Bible when they report for
active duty, just as their fellow non-Jewish enlistees have
been able to do with their own sacred texts.
In 2008, we distributed 10,000 copies of the JPS
Tanakh—the first new translation of the Hebrew Bible
Jewish military personnel have received since 1941.

Communities of
the JCC Movement: S did you know?
Seattle JCC Association offers executive search consulting to each
Sherman Oaks
JCC, ensuring you move from strength to strength in your
Skokie
most important staffing decision. Find out why 95% of JCCs
Southbury
Springfield
seeking new executives over the past eight years have turned
Stamford to us to help them locate the best candidates, and make the
Staten Island right choice. See page 6 for other consulting services.
Stoughton Contact Alan Mann at amann@jcca.org to learn more.

three major population segments of Christians in America.

We’ve always said that Our report highlights the findings that Jews uniformly score
“You Belong Here.” And the lower than all three Christian groups on all available measures
of religious belief. However, as we in the JCC field well know,
research data backs it up. Jews belong to a wide variety of religious institutions. In fact,
JCC Association of North America

their levels of belonging and participation are quite similar to

T he JCC Movement has long been the place where Jews

come to express themselves Judaically in whatever way
they want—through the arts, through Jewish education, even
the three Christian groups we examined. 

In this area, Jews’ relatively high scores stand in sharp

through playing basketball with other Jews. JCCs welcome
everyone, and give everyone the opportunity to belong in their
own way. We’ve always known how valuable that open and
welcoming environment is to the whole Jewish community,
and now there is data from JCC Association-Florence G.
Heller Research Center to support that perception. Earlier
this year, the Pew Research Center’s Forum on Religion &
Public Life released two of three main reports from its massive
study, the U.S. Religious Landscape Survey. The questions
in this survey covered a broad range of matters of religious
belief, behavior, and belonging. To highlight Jews and issues
of interest to JCCs, we used this data set as the foundation
12 of a report, Belonging Without Believing, comparing Jews to
contrast with their low levels of conventional religious belief.
Thus, they may believe like the religiously unaffiliated,
but they belong like the religiously committed Christians,
information that’s critically important to JCCs.
We also published AAA Membership Practices, a study of
effective membership practices. Membership growth is the
lifeblood of any institution, and JCCs are no exception. We
are currently working on a three-part study of JCC day camp
staff, parents, and directors. This multi-piece study will help
us better understand the potential and challenges facing
JCC day camps in regards to providing high-quality Jewish
education for their campers. l
 Communities of
T W
“... we want to thank you for a great the JCC Movement:

four days. Our board members couldn’t Tarrytown Walnut Creek

have been more complimentary. Our Tenafly Washington, DC
Toledo Washington
delegation is already sharing with their Toronto Township
peers that they can’t afford to miss Tucson Wayne
going to Atlanta in 2010.” Tulsa West Bloomfield
Vancouver West Hills
Buddy Sapolsky, executive director, JCC of Greater Baltimore

Southern After attending Biennial 2008 in Miami, Jewish

leaders from throughout North America returned
exposure home energized by much more than the Florida sun

A ll the months of planning and

preparation paid off. The 2008
JCCs of North America Biennial in
Miami was overwhelmingly designated
the best ever—and the greenest.
Delegates raved about the seminars,
the speakers, the sense of unity, the
learning, and everything else about the
conference, and they enthusiastically
recycled their binders, papers, and
badges, determined to save energy,
save trees, and save the earth.
Biennial Chair Noreen Gordon
Sablotsky deserves much of the
credit for making the Biennial a great
success. With the support of the Dave
& Mary Alper JCC, Michael-Ann Russell
JCC, and Miami Beach JCC, she did her
cosmopolitan city proud.
Getting the Biennial back to basics,
President of the University of Miami
Donna Shalala focused in her keynote
speech on the complex and reinforcing
relationships of economically stressed
families, a reliance on unhealthy fast
foods, the lack of exercise in schools
and their dependence on snack-food
companies, and the health care crisis
affecting America. All of these issues
are critically important to JCCs, a
point that was reinforced by Rear
Admiral Steven K. Galson, the acting
U.S. Surgeon General, at the Jewish
Peoplehood Plenary when he urged
JCCs to work with the government to
slow the increase in childhood obesity.
“I personally identify with the mission of
The AVI CHAI Foundation,” said Morton
L. Mandel at the Inspiring Jewish
Journeys Plenary, when he presented
the eponymous Jewish Educational
Leadership Award to the organization
that supported TAG®, Lekhu Lakhem,
Hemshekh, Chizuk, and other JCC
Association Judaic leadership training
programs at JCC resident camps. “It
is especially meaningful to accept this
from Mort Mandel,” said AVI CHAI’s
director, Yossi Prager, explaining
that the foundation was gratified
by how much richer Judaically the
environment of JCC camps had become
through the efforts of the Mandel
Center for Jewish Education.
Ronald L. Leibow presented the Frank L.
Weil Award to Edward H. Kaplan, former
JCC Association chair, for distinguished
contributions to the JCC field. “The
real honor is that you have allowed me
to serve the movement,” said Kaplan
graciously. “I’ll always be here for you.”
The Florence G. Heller Award, which
recognizes the contributions of staff
to the JCC Movement, went to Avrum
Cohen, the retiring director of the JCCs
of Chicago, and Solomon Greenfield, the
former associate executive director at
JCC Association.
At the Leadership Plenary, JCC
Association Chair Alan P. Solow
bestowed the JWB Jewish Chaplains
Council Military Leadership Award on
Major General Ronald David Silverman,
Commander of the Third Medical
Command. Solow also recognized the
program at the JCCs of Chicago that
reaches out to Jewish recruits at the
Recruit Training Center at Great Lakes
Naval Base. For the first time, JWB held
its meeting for chaplains and military lay
leaders concurrently with the Biennial,
and the presence of so many men and
women in uniform powerfully reminded
delegates of the importance of the work
of Jewish chaplains in the armed forces.
The Biennial found time to celebrate
Israel’s sixtieth birthday in a big way,
too, with a theatrical performance and
a knockout concert by international
singing star Noa. Substantive,
inspiring, and festive, the 2008 JCCs
of North America Biennial in Miami
was maravilloso. l
Annual Report 2008

“I was really scared to death to be the president of our JCC,

but it was one of the most exhilerating times in my life.
Being the president was not about me; it was about
turning people on to the work of the JCC.”
Steven Dorsky, chair, Professional Development Services Committee
13
 Communities of
the JCC Movement: W Z

West Orange
West Palm Beach
Whippany
Wilkes Barre
Wilmington
Windsor
Winnipeg
Woodbridge
Worcester
Wynnewood
York
Youngstown
JCC Association of North America

14
Donors
JCC Association Endowment and Capital Funds
Launched in the fall of 2005, the Meeting the Challenge: SECURING JEWISH FUTURES campaign is making it Work Stations
possible for JCC Association to achieve a tripartite goal: Mandell L. Berman
• Creating and endowing the new Merrin Center for Teen Services, to benefit both Jewish teens throughout Marshall B. Coyne Foundation, Inc.
North America and the professionals in JCCs who work with them; Deena and Jerome A. Kaplan
I. E. Millstone
• Enhancing the JCC Association general endowment, to enable us to meet the rising costs of our current
Barbara and J. Victor Samuels
initiatives, maintain the quality of our signature programs, and to respond flexibly to new JCC needs as they
Irene and Philip M. Shiekman
arise; and
• Meeting the capital expenses of our relocation to new offices, necessitated by the changing real estate President’s Office and
market in New York. Our new headquarters are providing a fiscally responsible, cost efficient, technologically Senior Staff Office Mezuzot
sophisticated home with room for growth in the years ahead. Dana Egert
The Redwoods Group, Inc.
We thank the donors whose commitment and generosity have helped us achieve more than two-thirds of our Shirley and Allan Solomon
$12,000,000 goal at the midpoint of this five–year campaign*: Roberta and Allan Weissglass
Mezuzot
The Merrin Center Conference Rooms and Department Suites
Harriet and George Blank
for Teen Services Noreen Gordon Sablotsky
Ruth and Michael Fletcher
Anne Heyman and Seth Merrin Ann P. and Stephen M. Kaufman
Debby and Hal Jacobs
Evelyn and Jerome B. Makowsky
The Jerri-Ann and Gary Jacobs Judith and Lester Lieberman
Geri and Lester Pollack
Family Conference Center Fani Magnus Monson and Michael A. Monson
Paula L. Sidman
Jerri-Ann and Gary Jacobs Alan and Janet Mann
Andrea and Alan P. Solow
The Irene and Ronna and Michael Segal
President’s Office Amy and Andrew J. Shaevel
Edward H. Kaplan Lobby
Betty and Norton Melaver Charlene and Jack G. Shaffer
Irene and Edward H. Kaplan
Senior Staff Offices Deferred Gifts
The Barbara and Morton Mandel
Bonnie and Allan Finkelstein Stephen Fitzsimmons
Executive Suite
Sharon and Stephen Seiden Cheryl Fishbein and Philip Schatten
Barbara and Morton Mandel
Sharon and David Wax Linda and Jerome Spitzer
Program Services Suite
Management Team Offices Nonspecific Gifts
Joan and Irwin Jacobs
Irene and Philip M. Shiekman Myrna Block
David Sterling Ronald M. Katz
Staff Lounge Laura Rubin and Leonard Rubin z”l
D’vora Tager and Robert Dietz Toby and Robert Rubin
Sandra Saltzman
Professional Team Doris and David Yorysh
and Consulting Staff Offices
Michael Ostroff, The Ostroff Group *As of January 25, 2009
Carol and Lawrence Zicklin For information about contributing to the Meeting
Guest and Visiting the Challenge: SECURING JEWISH FUTURES
Personnel Suite Campaign, or to learn about naming opportunities in
Virginia A. and Francis Maas the new JCC Association continental headquarters,
please contact Fani Magnus Monson, Vice-President of
Entryway Mezuzah Development, by email at FaniMM@jcca.org
Barbara and Edwin Goldberg or by telephone (212) 786-5135.

JCC Association is ranked as a 4-Star Charity

We are proud that Charity Navigator has awarded JCC Association its 4-star rating for four years running. This coveted
designation compares the ratio of donated dollars that go directly to support the work of the agency vs. dollars spent
on fundraising, and other markers of sound fiscal management. Only 7% of rated charities have received four or more
consecutive 4-star evaluations; this stamp of approval indicates that JCC Association is a worthy and deserving recipient of
donated funds.

Annual Report 2008 15

 Endowment Funds:
Beyond 2000
JCC Association is grateful to the Harry and Jeanette Weinberg
Foundation of Baltimore, and proud to have partnered with it in this
successful campaign, which enhanced our endowment by a total
of $5,100,000. We thank the following donors whose generosity
in contributing $3,600,000 made it possible to meet the Weinberg
Foundation’s $1,500,000 challenge grant:
Visionary
Harry and Jeanette Weinberg
Foundation, Inc.
Founders
Edgar M. Bronfman
Irene and Edward H. Kaplan
Evelyn and Jerome B. Makowsky
Benefactors
Jane Gellman
Ann P. and Stephen M. Kaufman
Arlene and Robert Kogod
Jacqueline Blatt and
Ronald L. Leibow
Merle and L. Michael Orlove
Geri and Lester Pollack
Syril Rubin and
Leonard Rubin k”z
Noreen Gordon Sablotsky
Paula L. Sidman and
Edwin N. Sidman k”z
Carol Brennglass Spinner
and Arthur C. Spinner
Lee and John M. Wolf, Sr.
Builders
Estate of Matilda Blendes
Bonnie and Allan Finkelstein
Betty S. and Norton Melaver
Anne S. Reich & Henry and Anne
Reich Family Foundation, Inc.
Cheryl Fishbein and
Philip Schatten
Linda and Jerome Spitzer
Roberta and Allan Weissglass
Patrons
Anise and Ronald Belz
Ruth White Brodsky and
Joanne and Donald Brodsky
Marvin Gelfand
Barbara and Edwin Goldberg
Virginia A. and Francis Maas
Phyllis and Philip Margolius
Marvin J. Pertzik
Aliki and Peter Rzepka
16 JCC Association of North America
Patrons, cont’d.
Barbara and J. Victor Samuels
Barbara and Norman Seiden
Judith Shiekman k”z and
Philip M. Shiekman
Sharon and Edwin Toporek
Linda Cornell Weinstein and
Sherwin Weinstein
Barbara and Douglas Bloom
Barbara and Daniel Drench
Annette and Lionel Goldman
Tillie Mazor Foundation/Judith
Lieberman
Judith and Mark Litt
Estate of Mary Litt
Children and Grandchildren
of Jerome B. Makowsky, 1998-
2002 Chair, JCC
Association, in his honor
Lynn and Gerald Ostrow
Patricia and Stephen R. Reiner
Shirley and Allan Solomon
Andrea and Alan P. Solow
Estate of Henrietta Weil
Friends
Wendy and Warren Blumenthal
Eleanor and Edward Epstein
Laura Rubin and
Leonard Rubin k”z
Charlene and Jack G. Shaffer
Randi and Ian Sherman
Peggy and Philip Wasserstrom
Visionary: $1,500,000
Founders: $250,000 and above
Benefactors: $100,000 and above
Builders: $50,000 and above
Patrons: $25,000 and above
Sponsors: $10,000 and above
Friends: $5,000 and above
Endowment Funds:
Endowing Today for Tomorrow
The following individuals made a leadership commitment to JCC Association’s
Endowment Fund to assure that the work of the JCC Movement continues in
perpetuity. We give them our special thanks. These gifts were received prior to the
inception of the Beyond 2000 Endowment Campaign.
Founders
Joan and Jesse Feldman k”z
Florence G. Heller Memorial Fund
Florence G. Heller Trust
Mary and Solomon Litt k”z
Barbara and Morton L. Mandel
Samuel Morganroth
Geri and Lester Pollack
Esther Leah Ritz k”z
Guardians
Lili and Max M. Hahn
Syde Hurdus
Sam Sulsten
Lee and John M. Wolf, Sr.
Benefactors
Beatrice and Irving Edison
Henry Kaufmann Foundation
Evelyn Goodstein and
Jacob Goodstein k”z
Irene and Edward H. Kaplan
Frances and Joseph Kruger k”z
Judith and Lester Lieberman
Minnie Nathanson k”z
Janet and Irwin Jay Robinson
Arlene and Leonard Rochwarger k”z
Joanna and Daniel Rose
Charlene and Jack G. Shaffer
Judith Shiekman k”z and
Philip M. Shiekman
Jeanne and Milton Zorensky
Builders
Jean Adler and Robert L. Adler k”z
Hyman J. Cohen
Bonnie and Allan Finkelstein
Leo and George P. Frenkel
Yetra Goldberg and
Israel Goldberg k”z
Ann P. and Stephen M. Kaufman
Judith and Mark D. Litt
Evelyn and Jerome B. Makowsky
Joan and Martin E. Messinger
Anne S. Reich & Henry and Anne Reich
Family Foundation, Inc.
Syril Rubin and Leonard Rubin k”z
Muriel Russell
Helen Zimman and
Harold O. Zimman k”z
Patrons
Ella and Gerrard Berman k”z
Elayne and Julian Bernat
Patrons, cont’d.
Shirley and Roy Durst
Edwin A. Hochstadter
Bea D. Katcher k”z
Charles R. Katz
Lynne and Charles Klatskin
Arthur Kokot
Jacqueline Blatt and
Ronald L. Leibow
Norma and Alfred W. Levy
Betty S. and Norton Melaver
Susan Mintz and Donald R. Mintz k”z
Merle and L. Michael Orlove
Pesses-Sachs Family
Evelyn S. and Shaol L. Pozez
Anne S. Reich and Henry S. Reich k”z
Barbara and Norman Seiden
Geraldyn and Henry Sicular
Roseann and Alan Simberloff
Linda and Jerome Spitzer
Sponsors
Gerry and Charles Aaron k”z
Dinerman Family
Barbara and Daniel Drench
Andrew L. Eisenberg
Linda Fischer k”z and Robert Fischer
Annette and Lionel Goldman
Alvin Gray
Dolores and Solomon Greenfield
Anise and David A. Kaplan
Janet Kaplan and Leonard Kaplan k”z
Clara Larner and Martin L. Larner k”z
Lynn and Gerald Ostrow
Marvin J. Pertzik
Harriet L. and William Rosenthal
Anita Rotman and Arthur Rotman k”z
Eugenia and Irving Ruderman
Milton A. Shorr
David Sterling
Muriel and Myron Strober
Sharon and Edwin Toporek
Peggy and Philip Wasserstrom
H. S. Weil Estate
Linda Cornell Weinstein and
Sherwin Weinstein
Roberta and Allan Weissglass
Founders: $250,000 and above
Guardians: $150,000 and above
Builders: $50,000 and above
Patrons: $25,000 and above
Sponsors: $10,000 and above
 Endowment-Funded Program Support
Merrin Center for Teen Services
JCC Association is grateful to Anne Heyman
and Seth Merrin whose generosity established
the Merrin Center for Teen Services, which
is dedicated to enhancing the work of teen
professionals and providing programming for
the youth they serve.
Support of JCC Association Israel Office
Judith and Mark D. Litt
Jewish Education Programming
Geri and Lester Pollack
JCC Association Scholars Fund
Syril Rubin and Leonard Rubin k”z
Lenny Rubin Israel Education Fund
This fund, named in honor of Lenny Rubin k”z
upon his retirement, supports the continuation
of Israel education for JCC Association staff. We
thank the generous donors who contributed to
this fund in 2008:
Kate Obstgarten Private Foundation
Laura Rubin
In addition, we thank the many people of the JCC
Movement—lay and professional—who contributed
to the fund to honor Lenny Rubin’s memory.
Esther Leah Ritz Next Generation
Memorial Fund
To honor the memory of Esther Leah Ritz,
former continental chair and founder of the JCC
Association Endowment Fund, we established
the Esther Leah Ritz Next Generation Memorial
Fund. Proceeds of this endowment underwrite
the cost of the Next Generation program, which
supports the development of lay leadership for
Jewish Community Centers.
We are grateful to the donors to this
endowment fund:
Judith and Joseph D. Hurwitz
Irene and Edward H. Kaplan
Ann P. and Stephen M. Kaufman
Carol and Leonard Lewensohn
Philanthropic Fund
Barbara and Morton L. Mandel
Evelyn and Jerome B. Makowsky
Melanie Katzman and Russell Makowsky
Geri and Lester Pollack
Laura Rubin and Leonard Rubin k”z
Endowed Scholarships
JCC Association scholarships enable students
who plan to make careers in the JCC Movement to
pursue their education at the master’s level. We are
grateful to the donors of these scholarship funds:
Robert L. Adler Memorial Scholarship Fund
Alumni Scholarship Fund
Ella and Gerrard Berman Scholarship Fund
Elayne and Julian Bernat Scholarship Fund
Harold Dinerman Memorial Scholarship Fund
Shirley and Royal H. Durst Scholarship Fund
Joan and Jesse Feldman Scholarship Fund
Frances and Samuel Finkelstein Memorial
Scholarship Fund
Frenkel Memorial Scholarship Fund
Israel Goldberg Memorial Scholarship Fund
Goodstein-Kleitman Memorial Scholarship Fund
Edwin Hochstader Scholarship Fund
Irene and Edward H. Kaplan Scholarship Fund
Philip R. Kaplan Memorial Scholarship Fund
Bea D. Katcher Scholarship Fund
Charles R. Katz Memorial Scholarship Fund
Mary and Solomon Litt Scholarship Fund
Minnie and Louis Nathanson Memorial
Scholarship Fund
Pesses-Sachs Scholarship Fund
Evelyn S. and Shaol L. Pozez Scholarship Fund
Henry S. and Anne S. Reich Scholarship Fund
Joanna S. and Daniel Rose Scholarship Fund
Syril and Leonard Rubin Scholarship Fund
Michael-Ann Russell Memorial Scholarship Fund
Fedgie and Hy Schultz Memorial
Scholarship Fund
Geraldyn and Henry Sicular Scholarship Fund
Diana S. Simberloff Memorial Scholarship Fund
Avraham Soltes Memorial Scholarship Fund
Sam Sulstan Memorial Scholarship Fund
Olga F. and Oliver B. Winkler Scholarship Fund
Helen and Harold O. Zimman Scholarship Fund

The National Federation/Agency Alliance is a partnership that provides a significant

amount of funding to nine national agencies including $1,625,886 to JCC Association of
North America in FY 2008/2009. This year the Alliance additionally awarded $65,500
in funding specifically to support GesherCity, JCC Association’s signature outreach and
networking program to engage the next generation. The national agencies that make up the
Alliance engage in critical work to build capacity and support the work of the federations
and their local affiliates. They also help advance the federation system’s goals on a national
and international stage. While mindful of its role in evaluating and monitoring the national
agencies, the Alliance works to promote deeper relationships and create synergy between
the national agencies and the federations.

Annual Report 2008 17

 JCC Association 2008 Annual Funds
CENTERS OF EXCELLENCE
Mandel Center for Excellence in
Leadership and Management
JCC Association is grateful to the
Mandel Foundation for its annual
renewable grant, which created
and sustains the Mandel Center
for Excellence in Leadership and
Management.
JCC Association thanks Irene and
Edward H. Kaplan for their support of
a program within the Mandel Center
for Excellence in Leadership and
Management dedicated to helping new
and emerging Jewish communities to
create Jewish Community Centers.
Mandel Center for Jewish Education
JCC Association is grateful to the
Mandel Foundation for its annual
renewable grant, which created and
sustains the Mandel Center for Jewish
Education.
JCC Association also thanks the
following for their support of programs
within the Mandel Center for Jewish
Education:
The AVI CHAI Foundation:
Lekhu Lakhem: Jewish and Educational
Journeys for JCC Camp Directors, a
senior fellows program; and Hemshekh:
an alumni program for cohort I of
Lekhu Lakhem
George S. Blumenthal:
TAG: Jewish Values Through Camping®:
Touching Torah
Goodman Family Foundation:
The Goodman Family Institute:
Yisrael Sheli (My Israel)
18 JCC Association of North America
Annual Fund 2008
JCC Association gratefully
acknowledges the following
donors who have made generous
contributions to the 2008 annual
support program:
Leadership Circle
Jerri-Ann and Gary Jacobs
Irene and Edward H. Kaplan
Platinum Plus Club
Joan and Martin E. Messinger
Geri and Lester Pollack
Barbara and J. Victor Samuels
Gold Plus Club
Lois Rosenthal
Sharon and Stephen Seiden
Cheryl Fishbein and Philip Schatten
Paula L. Sidman
Shirley and Allan Solomon
Jeffrey and Lynda Solomon Foundation,
in honor of Lenny Silberman
Andrea and Alan P. Solow
Silver Plus Club
Fern and James Badzin
Anise and Ronald A. Belz
Lisa F. and Ron Brill
Bonnie and Allan Finkelstein
Ruth and Michael Fletcher
Ann P. and Stephen M. Kaufman
Jacqueline Blatt and Ronald L. Leibow
Judith and Mark D. Litt
Virginia A. and Francis Maas
Evelyn and Jerome B. Makowsky
Betty S. and Norton Melaver
Irene and Philip M. Shiekman
Linda and Jerome Spitzer
Sherry and Doron Steger
Sharon and David Wax
Roberta and Allan Weissglass
Michael Wolfe
Bronze Plus
Tanya and Stephen A. Bodzin
Joanne F. and Donald W. Brodsky
The Eric Brown Foundation, Inc.
Marcella E. and Neil Cohen
Lori and Stephen Dorsky
Dale T. and Edward Filhaber
Freddi and Marvin Gelfand
Jane Gellman
Bronze Plus (cont’d)
Barbara and Edwin Goldberg
Roslyn and Ricky Haikin
Mary Anna and Michael D. Kaplan
Judith and Lester Lieberman
Millie and Lawrence Magid
Janet and Alan Mann
Marilyn and Alvin Mars
Fani Magnus Monson and
Michael Monson
Marvin J. Pertzik
Rose B. Robinson
Enid and David Rosenberg
Wendy and Steven Rubin
Linda and Barry Russin
Noreen Gordon Sablotsky
Lori Barnet and Jeffrey Savit
Debra and Gerald K. Schwartz
Ronna and Michael Segal
Super VIP Associate
Anonymous
Elizabeth Schiro and Stephen L. Bayer
Harriet and George Blank
Barbara and Douglas Bloom
Wendy and Warren Blumenthal
Barbara and Daniel Drench
Dana Egert
Jeanne and Donald Epstein
Arlene Fickler
Marilyn and Sam Fox
Maxine and Jay Freilich
Sandra and Arnold P. Gold
Robin Frederick and Michael Gold
Rita and Lawrence Gotfried
Sharon and Barry S. Kantrowitz
Ronald M. Katz
Jeannie and Brian Kriftcher
Beth and Todd Leonard
Laurie F. and Paul Lieberman
Barbara and Sidney F. Miller
Scott A. Menaker
Leonard M. Robinson
Nancy and Lawrence I. Rosenberg
Jane Tzinberg Rubin and
Kenneth Rubin
Toby and Robert Rubin
Amy and Andrew J. Shaevel
Randi and Ian Sherman
Carol Brennglass Spinner and
Arthur C. Spinner
David Sterling
Muriel and Myron Strober
Carol and Robert Wertheimer
Super VIP Associate (cont’d)
Mary Rita and Norman Weissman
Lee and John M. Wolf, Sr.
Jessica and Eric Zachs
VIP Associate
Anonymous
Julian Bernat
Joshua Bernstein
Marjorie and Morley Blankstein
Ruth Brodsky
Jane and John C. Colman
Ann F. and Robert Eisen
Janet S. and Doron Elam
Carol and Howard F. Fine
Florence and Barry Friedberg
Ellen B. Gaber
Alan Goldberg
Joyce and Neil Goldstein
Amy and Barnard Kaplan
Lori and Ron Kasner
Carole and Morton H. Katz
Lowenstein Brothers Foundation
I. E. Millstone
Lynn and Gerald S. Ostrow
Amy and David Posner
Joan Karlin and Paul Resnick
Janet and Irwin Jay Robinson
Barbara and Martin Rosen
Harriet L. and William Rosenthal
Daniel Rubin
Laura Rubin
Marcia and Martin J. Satinsky
Charlene and Jack G. Shaffer
Linda S. and Kenneth Simon
Johanna and Arnie Sohinki
Jeanne and Jordan Tobin
Enid and Barrie M. Weiser
Linda Cornell Weinstein and
Sherwin Weinstein
Nannette and Michael Wien
Anita and Earl Winestock
Executive Associate
Anonymous
Robin and Bob Ballin
Haya and Steven Becker
Renee and Gary J. Bomzer
Cheryl and Hal Bordy
Nancy and Irving Chase
Marion Lev Cohen and Steven M. Cohen
Marian Edelstein
Judith Corn and David Fried
Robert Fischer

Executive Associate (cont’d)
JoAnn and Paul Gillis
Cathy S. and Charles Glaser
Emily G. and James Holdstein
David Jacobs
Jerome A. Kaplan
Hannah King
Brian Krost
Sherry and John Kulman
Richard David Levin
Jeanmarie and Gary S. Lipman
Saul H. Magram
Phyllis and Philip Margolius
Garth Potts
Patricia and Stephen R. Reiner
Marcia Reisman
Fred M. Richman
Sidney and Lois Robbins
Francine and Steven Rod
Miriam and Harold Robinson
Susan and Alan Sataloff
Brian Schreiber
Elizabeth and Edward Schreiber
Marilyn and B. Lee Skilken
Jennifer Tobenstein and David Polson
Sharon and Edwin Toporek
Ricki and Howard Wasserman
Charlene and Steven Wendell
Jerry Wische
We thank the myriad federal
employees who supported JCC
Association through contributions to
the Combined Federal Campaign.
Leadership Circle: $25,000 and above
Platinum Plus: $18,000 - $24,999
Gold Plus: $10,000 - $17,999
Silver Plus: $5,000 - $9,999
Bronze Plus: $2,500 - $4,999
Super VIP Associate: $1,800 - $2,499
VIP Associate: $1,000 - $1,799
Executive Associate: $500 - $999
Program and Project Support
JCC Association gratefully acknowledges the following
individuals and foundations who have made generous
contributions in 2008, making these programs and
projects possible:
Camping /The Legacy Heritage Fund Days of Caring
and Sharing in Day and Resident Camps
The Legacy Heritage Fund, Ltd.
Early Childhood Initiative/An Ethical Start®
The Lisa and Ron Brill Charitable Trust
The Marcus Foundation
San Francisco Jewish Community Endowment Fund
Young Adult Initiative/GesherCity
The National Federation/Agency Alliance
JCC Maccabi Experience
JCC Maccabi Arts Fest
JCC Maccabi ArtsFest is presented with support from
the Legacy Heritage Fund Ltd. We also thank the
following donors for their generous support:
The Budd and Nanette Mayer Support
Foundation, Inc.
Feldman Family Supporting
Foundation, Inc.
Jerri-Ann and Gary Jacobs
Barbara and J. Victor Samuels
Ronna and Michael Segal
Sherry and Doron Steger
David Stone
JCC Maccabi Games
JCC Association thanks its collaborative partners in
presenting the JCC Maccabi Games:
Maccabi Canada
Maccabi USA/Sports for Israel
Maccabi World Union
We also thank the following donors for their support:
Lisa Altman
Jewish Federation of South Palm Beach County
Jewish Sports Foundation
Support of Continental Youth Sports
Programs in JCCs
Jr. NBA/Jr. WNBA Program Initiative
National Basketball Association
JCC Association/NFL Youth Partnership
National Football League Youth Football Fund
National Football League Players Association
NHL Street
National Hockey League
Scholarship Programs
We gratefully acknowledge the generous supporters
of the JCC Association Scholarship Program, which
enables students who plan to make careers in the JCC
Movement to pursue their education on the master’s
degree level.
Elizabeth Schiro and Stephen L. Bayer
Ed Lee and Jean Campe Foundation
Crown Family Foundation
Shirley and William L. Grossman
Israel Goldberg Memorial Scholarship Fund
Louis and Anita Perlman Family Foundation
Barbara and J. Victor Samuels
JWB Jewish Chaplains Council
We thank B’nai B’rith International for its extraordinary
financial support that helped provide Passover
necessities to Jewish military personnel, and for their
collaborative efforts that led to the creation of the
B’nai B’rith Buddy Bear/Chanukah Hug program in
support of children of Jewish military personnel.
JCC Association gratefully acknowledges the individuals
and organizations supporting the work of JWB Jewish
Chaplains Council with contributions of $500 or more:
Ari Berenson
Harvey J. Bloom
Jeffrey Braverman
Alan J. Broder
B’nai Israel Congregation, Rockville, MD
Buffalo Grove, IL, Auxillary No. 89
Estate of Benjamin Bernstein
The Federation of Jewish Women’s Organizations
of Maryland
Congregation Beth Israel, Worcester, MA
Congregation Emanu-El of the City of New York
Covenant B’nai B’rith, CA, Unit 2215
Lora Friedman
Gavlin Family Foundation
Ruth Herman
Hillel: The Foundation for Jewish Campus Life
Jewish Federation of Greater Middlesex County, NJ
Michael M. Katz
Rhonda Shelzi Kugelman
Martin S. Lasky
Norman S. Lipson
The New Kalman Sunshine Fund
Max Rochkind
Aliki and Peter Rzepka
Harold Z. Scheinman
William Seligman
Jennifer Turner
New York Metropolitan Region - United Synagogue
of Conservative Judaism
Annual Report 2008 19
 JWB Jewish Chaplains Council (cont’d)

United Way of New York City Corporate Sponsors

Robert A. Waldman We thank and acknowledge Loeb & Loeb LLC for providing pro bono legal
Nathan Wasserstrum services regarding intellectual property for JCC Association’s signature
Randi and Barry Weiss programs.
Etan Zellner
We gratefully acknowledge the following companies who provided support
Military Chaplaincy Rabbinical to JCC Association continental programs:
School Scholarship
JCC Association thanks the following donors of scholarships for rabbinical JCC Maccabi ArtsFest
students committed to entering the Unites States Armed Forces: The Coca-Cola Company
Just Born, Inc.
Rabbi Phillip Silverstein, in memory of his wife, Adina Silverstein
Jerry Weinstein, in memory of his uncle, Irving S. Weinstein JCC Maccabi Games
The Coca-Cola Company
Florence G. Heller-JCC Association CIBC World Markets Miracle Day
Research Center Just Born, Inc.
We thank the following donors whose generous contributions support the
Florence G. Heller–JCC Association Research Center’s practice-oriented JCCs of North America Biennial 2008
research for Jewish Community Centers and YM-YWHAs: AAA Flag & Banner Mfg. Inc.
American Friends of Magen David Adom
Marion Lev Cohen and Steven M. Cohen The Coca-Cola Company
Sandra Gold Just Born, Inc.
Marvin Israelow Commerce Bank
Michael D. Kaplan cMarket
Ferne Katleman Sterling & Sterling Inc.
Ronald L. Leibow Network Services Company
Judith Lieberman Subway
Mark D. Litt Staples
Bernard Marcus The Redwoods Group, Inc.
Norton Melaver The Renfrew Center of Philadelphia
Barbara Rosen
Toby Rubin JCC Circle
Stephen Seiden JCC Association thanks the following company whose contribution
Andrew J. Shaevel is earmarked to the publication of JCC Circle:
Shirley Solomon
Carol Brennglass Spinner Kades Financial, Inc.

Preferred Vendors
The following companies provide preferential continental account status or services to affiliated JCCs and/
or financial support to JCC Association programs:
Accrisoft Corporation First Data Oracle Precor
Adolph Keifer & Associates FreeMotion Fitness The Redwoods Group, Inc.
Advecor, Inc. Iron Grip Barbell Company, Inc. Retention Management
Am-Finn Sauna & Steam Inc. iTech Fitness Sheletron, Ltd.
American Council on Exercise Landscape Structures Staples
Balanced Body Inc. Les Mills West Coast, Inc. Star Trac Program Partners
cMarket Matrix Fitness Systems Corp. Sterling & Sterling, Inc.
Club Resource Group Mondo STOTT Pilates American Council on Exercise
CSI Software Network Services Company Strive Enterprises, Inc. Hobby Quest
Cybex The Ostroff Group Inc. Take It Off International Council on Active Aging
Expresso Fitness Personal Training on the Net Technogym USA Corp. Silver Sneakers
Fabiano Designs Power System, Inc. XerGames Technology, Inc. T.G.I. Healthworks, Inc.

20 JCC Association of North America

 2008-2010 Officers
Chair
Alan P. Solow
Vice-chairs
Lisa Brill, Atlanta, GA
Donald Brodsky, Houston, TX
Cheryl Fishbein, New York, NY
Gary Jacobs, San Diego, CA
Virginia A. Maas, Los Angeles, CA
Stephen R. Reiner, New York, NY
Toby Rubin, San Francisco, CA
Stephen Seiden, Livingston, NJ
Paula Sidman, Boston, MA
2008-2010 Board of Directors
James Badzin, Leawood, KS
Arlene Barron, New Orleans, LA
Stephen L. Bayer, W. Hartford, CT
Alvin Berkun, Pittsburgh, PA
Harriet Blank, Bridgewater, NJ
Douglas Bloom, Detroit, MI
Warren Blumenthal, Milwaukee, WI
Stephen Bodzin, Alexandria, VA
Gary Bomzer, No. Miami Beach, FL
Lisa F. Brill, Atlanta, GA
Donald W. Brodsky, Houston, TX
Nancy I. Brown, Alpine, NJ
Edward Cohen, Boca Raton, FL
Marcella E. Cohen, Washington, D.C.
Stephen Dorsky, Birmingham, AL
Dana Egert, Boca Raton, FL
Julius Eisen, Bergen Cty, NJ
Andrew L. Eisenberg, Boston, MA
Donald Epstein, Cranbury, NJ
Arlene Fickler, Philadelphia, PA
Dale T. Filhaber, Boca Raton, FL
Howard Fine, San Francisco, CA
Cheryl Fishbein, New York, NY
Ruth Fletcher, San Jose, CA
Robin Frederick, Stamford, CT
Maxine Freilich, Stamford, CT
Marvin Gelfand, Los Angeles, CA
Jane Gellman, Milwaukee, WI
Sandra Gold, Englewood, NJ
Edwin Goldberg, Louisville, KY
Joyce Goldstein, Essex Fells, NJ
Lawrence Gotfried, West Orange, NJ
Roslyn Haikin, Houston, TX
Emily Holdstein, Worcester, MA
David Jacobs, W. Hartford, CT
Gary Jacobs, San Diego, CA
Barry Kantrowitz, Rockland Cty, NY
Secretary
Shirley Solomon, Boca Raton, FL
Associate Secretaries
Enid Rosenberg, Cleveland, OH
Michael Segal, Miami, FL Andrew J. Shaevel, Buffalo, NY Ann P. Kaufman, Houston, TX
Michael Wolfe, Salt Lake City, UT
Amy Kaplan, Voorhees, NJ
Edward H. Kaplan, Washington, DC
Ron Kasner, North Brunswick, NJ
Morton H. Katz, New Orleans, LA
Ronald M. Katz, Indianapolis, IN
Ann P. Kaufman, Houston, TX
Stephen M. Kaufman, Houston, TX
Peter Knobel, Evanston, IL
Brian Kriftcher, Stamford, CT
Ira Kronenberg, Clifton, NJ
Sherry Kulman, Toronto, ON
Ronald L. Leibow, Los Angeles, CA
Laurie F. Lieberman, Chicago, IL
Gary Lipman, Stamford, CT
Virginia A. Maas, Los Angeles, CA
Larry Magid, Searingtown, NY
Jerome B. Makowsky, Memphis, TN
Morton L. Mandel, Cleveland, OH
Betty S. Melaver, Savannah, GA
Dr. Scott Menaker, Charlotte, NC
Dr. Sidney Miller, Columbus, OH
Marvin J. Pertzik, St. Paul, MN
Geri Pollack, New York, NY
Lester Pollack, New York, NY
Ronald Prehogan, Ottawa, ON
Stephen R. Reiner, New York, NY
Paul Resnick, Palo Alto, CA
Leonard M. Robinson, Fairfield, NJ
Rose Robinson, Boca Raton, FL
Daniel Rose, New York, NY
Enid Rosenberg, Cleveland, OH
Lawrence I. Rosenberg, Baltimore, MD
Howard Rosenbloom, Lutherville, MD
Lois Rosenthal, Scarborough, NY
Daniel Rubin, Tenafly, NJ
Jane Tzinberg Rubin, St. Louis, MO
Steven Rubin, St. Paul, MN
Treasurer
Edwin Goldberg, Louisville, KY
Associate Treasurers
Stephen Dorsky, Birmingham, AL Edward H. Kaplan, Washington, DC
Doron Steger, Bridgewater, NJ
Toby Rubin, San Francisco, CA
Linda Russin, Rockland Cty, NY
Noreen Gordon Sablotsky, Miami, FL
J. Victor Samuels, Houston, TX
Alan Sataloff, Palo Alto, CA
Martin J. Satinsky, Philadelphia, PA
Jeffrey Savit, Boston, MA
Philip Schatten, Brooklyn, NY
Brian Schreiber, Pittsburgh, PA
Gerald K. Schwartz, Miami, FL
Michael Segal, North Miami Beach, FL
Stephen Seiden, West Orange, NJ
Andrew J. Shaevel, Buffalo, NY
Jack G. Shaffer, Denver, CO
Cheryl Sherman, Staten Island, NY
Ian Sherman, Ottawa, ON
Philip M. Shiekman, Philadelphia, PA
Paula L. Sidman, Boston, MA
Philip Silverstein, Columbia, SC
Linda Simon, Pittsburgh, PA
Shirley Solomon, Boca Raton, FL
Alan P. Solow, Chicago, IL
Carol Brennglass Spinner, New York, NY
Jerome Spitzer, New York, NY
Doron Steger, Bridgewater, NJ
Jeanne Tobin, Cleveland, OH
Howard Wasserman, Brooklyn, NY
David Wax, San Diego, CA
Allan Weissglass, Staten Island, NY
Mary Rita Weissman, Dayton, OH
Robert Wertheimer, Baltimore, MD
Michael S. Wien, Marietta, GA
Anita Winestock, Vancouver, BC
Michael Wolfe, Salt Lake City, UT
Eric Zachs, Hartford, CT
President
Allan B. Finkelstein
Honorary Chairs
Jerome B. Makowsky, Memphis, TN
Morton L. Mandel, Cleveland, OH
Lester Pollack, New York, NY
Daniel Rose, New York, NY
Honorary
Board
Members
Julian Bernat, El Paso, TX
Daniel Drench, MetroWest, NJ
Irwin L. Elson, Detroit, MI
Gilbert S. Fox, Nashville, TN
Hugh W. Greenberg, Detroit, MI
Gordon R. Gross, Buffalo, NY
Henry Kohn, New York, NY
Mark D. Litt, Larchmont, NY
I.E. Millstone, St. Louis, MO
Gerald S. Ostrow, Pittsburgh, PA
Rabbi Emanuel Rackman, Israel
Irwin Jay Robinson, New York, NY
Harriet L. Rosenthal, MetroWest, NJ
Irving Ruderman, Rochester, NY
Norman Seiden, Palisades, NJ
Myron Strober, Palm Beach, FL
Henry Taub, Tenafly, NJ
John M. Wolf, Sr., Pittsburgh, PA
Annual Report 2008 21
 Staff and Services
Please note that if you are in our telephone
system through the main switchboard
(212) 532-4958, you can contact additional
staff members via their extensions (Last
four digits of their number below). Staff
members can also be reached directly at
their telephone numbers listed below.
Administration
Allan Finkelstein
President
Tel: 212-786-5082 | E-mail: jccal@jcca.org
Yael Lubofsky
Coordinator of Board Relations
Tel: 212-786-5084 | E-mail: yael@jcca.org
Rabbi Alvin Mars
Senior Consultant to the President,
Educational Development
Tel: 603-292-6205 | E-mail: amars@jcca.org
Community Services consults with all
communities to enhance the functioning
of JCC boards, executives, and staff.
Provides JCCs with ongoing training in
areas such as lay leadership development,
staff development, programming, finances,
etc. Helps JCCs improve their services by
conducting research, gathering statistical
data, and strategic planning studies,
developing annual work plans, and providing
seminars for management and lay leaders.
Community Services sends a bi-weekly
electronic communication packet to
executive directors and presidents to share
resources, information, and trends. Research
& statistical data provided by Florence G.
Heller-JCC Association Research Center.
Mandel Center for Excellence
in Leadership and Management
in Jewish Community Centers
transforming the field by allowing JCCs to
assess their management effectiveness and
leadership needs, to be more responsive
to difficulties as they arise, and develop a
practical approach towards continuous self-
improvement over time. MCELM is helping
JCCs meet the challenges of the future with
confidence and proficiency.
Alan Mann
Executive Vice-President, JCC and
Community Services; Director, Mandel
Center for Excellence in Leadership and
Management
Tel: 212-786-5138 | E-mail: amann@jcca.org
Gladys Goldman
Executive Assistant
Tel: 212-786-5088
E-mail: ggoldman@jcca.org
22 JCC Association of North America
Community Consultants
Ann Eisen**
Vice-President, Community Services;
Consultant on Leadership Development
Tel: 504-866-5090
E-mail: anneisen@jcca.org
Brandi Young-Kin**
Southern Office Administrative Assistant
Tel: 504-866-5090
E-mail: byoung-kin@jcca.org
Janet S. Elam*
Vice-President, Community Services;
Consultant on Emerging Communities
Tel: 512-241-1118 | E-mail: janetelam@jcca.org
David E. Posner
Vice-President, Community Services
Tel: 212-786-5125 | E-mail: DPosner@jcca.org
Mandel Center for Excellence in
Leadership and Management in JCCs
Alan Goldberg
Vice President, Mandel Center for
Excellence in Leadership and Management
and Community Services
Tel: 212-786-5122 | E-mail: gold@jcca.org
Deann Forman
Director of Benchmarking for JCC Association
Tel: 212-710-6432
E-mail: dforman@jcca.org
Kay Mitchell
Manager of Information Resources
Tel: 212-786-5109
E-mail: kmitchell@jcca.org
Lana Ifraimova
Program Associate, Mandel Center for
Excellence in Leadership and Management
and Community Services
Tel: 212-786-5145
E-mail: LIfraimova@jcca.org
Florence G. Heller-JCC Association
Research Center
Prof. Steven M. Cohen
Director, Florence G. Heller-JCC Association
Research Center
E-mail: scohen@jcca.org
Lauren Blitzer
Assistant Director, Florence G. Heller-JCC
Association Research Center
Tel: 212-786-5121 | E-mail: LBlitzer@jcca.org
Financial Resource Development
is responsible for JCC Association’s
fundraising efforts, including annual
support and designated giving, JCC
Associates, grant-seeking, corporate
Finance and Administration Services sponsorship and preferred vendor
oversees management of financial and programs, special events and the MEETING
human resources record keeping, financial THE CHALLENGE: Securing Jewish Futures
reports, and information technology. Assists capital and endowment campaign.
JCCs in developing data-processing plans
and in conducting financial reviews. Fani Magnus Monson
Vice-President of Development
Bob Kimsal Tel: 212.786.5135 | E-mail: Fanimm@jcca.org
Chief Financial Officer
Tel: 212-786-5141 | E-mail: bkimsal@jcca.org Ziva Davidovich
Director of Annual Funds
Accounting Tel: 212.786.5099 | E-mail: zivad@jcca.org
Rita Niyazova
Controller Elaine Vasquez
Tel: 212-786-5132 Financial Resource Development
E-mail: Rita_Niyazova@jcca.org Administrator
Tel: 212.786.5136
Irina Abromov E-mail: evasquez@jcca.org
Accounting Assistant
Tel: 212-786-5133
JCC Association’s Israel Office
E-mail: IAbromov@jcca.org represents the interests of North American
JCCs and provides services for them in
Human Resources Israel. It also implements Israel-based
Irina Khomina Jewish educational programs including
Manager, Human Resources training seminars for JCC professional
Tel: 212-786-5131 staff and lay leaders, JCC Maccabi
E-mail: ikhomina@jcca.org Israel® experience programs for teens,
Taglit-Birthright Israel for young adults,
Information Technology partnership initiatives between JCCs and
Andy Zhang community centers in Israel, and creates
Manager of Information Technology specialized Israel trips for JCC members.
Tel: 212-786-5103 | E-mail: andyz@jcca.org
Leah Garber***
Jason Blackstone Director, Israel Office
Associate, Information Technology 011-972-2-625-1265
Tel: 212-786-5094 E-mail: lgarber@jcca.org
E-mail: jblackstone@jcca.org
Sara Sless***
Production Program Director, Israel Office
Franklin James 011-972-2-625-1265 | E-mail: ssless@jcca.org
Production Supervisor
Tel: 212-786-5118 | E-mail: fuj@jcca.org Avigail Barkai ***
Secretary, Israel Office
Donald Credle 011-972-2-625-1265 | E-mail Israel@jcca.org
Production Assistant
Tel: 212-786-5113 | E-mail: dcredle@jcca.org
JWB Jewish Chaplains Council
D’wayne Haywood is a US Government-accredited agency
Shipping and Receiving to serve the religious, educational, and
Tel: 212-786-5107 morale needs of Jewish personnel in the
E-mail: D’wayne_Haywood@jcca.org armed forces, their families, and patients
in VA hospitals. Its Council Advisory Group
Reception consists of Conservative, Orthodox, and
Jamella Hall Reform rabbis and active-duty Jewish
Receptionist chaplains, a cooperative and successful
Tel: 212.532.4949 venture in Jewish pluralism.
E-mail: Jamella_Hall@jcca.org
Rabbi Harold Robinson
Director, JWB Jewish Chaplains Council;
Director, Armed Forces and Veterans
Services
Tel: 212.786.5119
E-mail: hrobinson@jcca.org
Rabbi Barry Baron
Deputy Director
JWB Jewish Chaplains Council
Tel: 212-786-5137 | E-mail: bbaron@jcca.org
Janine Acevedo
Program Associate,
JWB Jewish Chaplains Council
Tel: 212-786-5090
E-mail: Janine_Acevedo@jcca.org
Mandel Center for Jewish
Education has as its mission to infuse
the people, experiences and programs of
the JCCs of North America with Jewish
content, learning, and values, and thereby
to enhance and elevate every Jewish
person who is part of a JCC community.
Dr. David Ackerman and trains professionals across the
Director, Mandel Center for Jewish
Education
Tel: 212-786-5110
E-mail: dackerman@jcca.org
Rabbi Jennifer Tobenstein
Assistant Director, Mandel Center
for Jewish Education
Tel: 212-786-5123 | E-mail: jennifer@jcca.org
Melanie Levav
Program Director, Mandel Center
for Jewish Education
Tel: 212-710-6434
E-mail: mlelanie@jcca.org
Lana Ifraimova
Program Associate
Mandel Center for Jewish Education
Tel: 212-786-5145
E-mail: LIfraimova@jcca.org
Marketing and Communications
maintains consistent brand image for the
JCC Movement and provides strategic
marketing training to JCCs to increase
their effectiveness in image building,
advertising, communications , public
relations, digital and interactive marketing
and branding, as well as accommodating
the in-house needs of JCC Association.
Robin Ballin
Sr. Vice-President,
Marketing and Communications
Tel: 212-786-5112 | E-mail: robin@jcca.org
Peter Shevenell
Creative Director
Tel: 212-786-5101 | E-mail: peter@jcca.org
Miriam Rinn
Communications Manager
Tel: 212-786-5092 | E-mail: miriam@jcca.org
Jeremy Rosenstein Kortes
Sr. Graphic Designer
Tel: 212-786-5143 | E-mail: jeremy@jcca.org
Dan Hertzberg
Graphic Designer
Tel: 212-786-5087
E-mail dhertzberg@jcca.org
Chris Strom
Interactive Marketing Specialist
Tel: 212-786-5117 | E-mail cstrom@jcca.org
Alina Cherny
Marketing Administrator
Tel: 212-786-5096 | E-mail: alina@jcca.org
Professional Development
recruits, refers for placement, counsels,
continent. Extends scholarships to
qualified college graduates interested in
JCC careers and offers training seminars
as well as study seminars in Israel.
Steven Rod
Vice-President, Professional Development
Tel: 212-786-5085
E-mail: steverod@jcca.org
JoyAnn Brand
Associate Director of Professional
Development Services
Tel: 212-786-5114 | E-mail: joy@jcca.org
Lonny Friedman
Coordinator of Recruitment
and Scholarship Programs
Tel: 212-786-5111
E-mail: lfriedman@jcca.org
Tory Holland
Program Associate and Conference Registrar
Tel: 212-786-5086 | E-mail: Tory@jcca.org
Program Services provides JCCs and
camps with program assessment and
resources to help them maintain creative,
innovative programming in arts and culture,
early childhood education, adults, teens,
individuals with special needs, fitness,
recreation, and camping. It also coordinates
GesherCity, an initiative for young adults
and the JCC Maccabi Experience, which
includes JCC Maccabi Games®, JCC Maccabi
Israel®, and JCC Maccabi ArtsFest®.
Merrin Center for Teen Services creates
programs and resources for teens and the
professionals working with them to help
JCCs inspire the next generation to embark
on its Jewish journey.
Arnie Sohinki
Sr. Vice-President, Program Services
Tel: 212-786-5097
E-mail: asohinki@jcca.org
Adults Jason Silberfein
Patricia Cipora Harte Coordinator, Sports and Athletics
Vice-President, Program Services JCC Maccabi Games
Tel: 212-786-5130 | E-mail: pcharte@jcca.org Tel: 212.786.5081 | E-mail: silberfeinj@jcca.org
Jason Silberfein JCC Maccabi Israel
Director, Young Adult Initiatives Jessica Trosterman
Tel: 212-786-5081 Coordinator, JCC Travel
E-mail: silberfeinj@jcca.org Tel: 212-710-6435 or 1-800-732-1266
E-mail: jtrosterman@jcca.org
Early Childhood Education
Mark Horowitz Ran Butbul
Director, Early Childhood Education Shaliach, JCC Maccabi Experience
Tel: 212-786-5098 | E-mail: mark@jcca.org Tel: 212-786-5139 | E-mail: ranb@jcca.org
Lisa Litman Rachel Klechevsky
An Ethical Start® Coordinator Program Associate for Merrin Center for
Tel: 610-668-1656 | E-mail: Lisa@jcca.org Teen Services, JCC Maccabi Experience,
Camping, Early Childhood Education
Health and Wellness Tel: 212-786-5129
Steve Becker E-mail: rklechevsky@jcca.org
Director, Health and Wellness Services
Tel: 212-786-5105 | E-mail: steveb@jcca.org Leona Strassberg Steiner
Program Associate for Program Services,
Anthony Slayen Adults, Sports and Wellness
Fitness and Wellness Coordinator Tel: 212-786-5125 | E-mail: leona@jcca.org
Membership Consultant
Tel: 212-786-5128
E-mail: anthonys@jcca.org
Merrin Center for Teen Services
Aaron Selkow
Vice-President, Program Services,
Director Merrin Center for Teen Services
Director JCC Maccabi Experience
Tel: 212-786-5144 | E-mail: aselkow@jcca.org
Camping
Charlene Wendell
Consultant on Camping & Youth Services
Tel: 212-786-5126 | E-mail: cwendell@jcca.org
JCC Maccabi ArtsFest JCC Association Regional
Arlene Sorkin
Director, JCC Maccabi ArtsFest
Offices:
Tel: 212-786-5089 | E-mail: arlene@jcca.org
*Southwestern Services Office
P.O. Box 30372
Adinah East
Austin, Texas 78755
Community Engagement Coordinator,
Tel: 512.241.1118
JCC Maccabi ArtsFest
E-mail: janetelam@jcca.org
Tel: 212-786-5091 | E-mail: Easta@jcca.org
Lonny Friedman **Southeastern Services Office
8200 Hampson Street, Suite 200
Program Coordinator, JCC Maccabi ArtsFest
Tel: 212-786-5111 New Orleans, LA 70118
E-mail: lfriedman@jcca.org Tel: 504.866.5090
Fax: 504.866.8164
JCC Maccabi Games
E-mail: anneisen@jcca.org
Michele Korntreger
Assistant Director, JCC Maccabi Games ***Israel Office
Tel: 212-786-5116 | E-mail: michelekc@jcca.org Solomon and Mary Litt Building
12 Moshe Hess Street
Jason Kromirs
Jerusalem, 94185, Israel
Host Community Coordinator,
Tel: 011.972.2.625.1265
JCC Maccabi Games
Tel: 212-786-5102 | E-mail: jason@jcca.org Fax: 011.972.2.624.7767
E-mail: israel@jcca.org
Annual Report 2008 23
24
JCC Association of North America

to values
committed
A LOOK We’re developing new initiatives to help
JCCs address economic challenges and
AHEAD deliver service­—in 2009 and beyond

Distinctive program offerings
will be more essential than
ever in the coming years.
We’re partnering with
Olympic Gold Medalist Lenny
Krayzelburg to bring his
innovative and effective
SwimRight learn-to-swim
method exclusively to JCCs.
Building connections with
Israel and Jewish communities
around the world is threatened
by a tough economy.
We’ve formed a partnership
with Oranim Educational
Initiatives to bring worldwide
travel opportunities to JCC
members—at competitive prices.
The key to navigating the
unpredictible economic climate
in coming years is strong
leadership.
We’re tailoring Biennial 2010
to adapt to the unprecedented
developments, and to give lay
leaders tools commensurate to
the challenges ahead.

A strong Web presence that Technology and the economy

ranks high on search engines are changing the way we
Annual Report 2008

is essential for reaching new market JCCs—and the

members and users.
We’re developing a Web site to
attract potential participants—
and direct them to JCCs through-
out North America. Look for it in
2009 at DiscoverJCC.com.
importance of messaging has
never been greater.
Keep abreast of current
approaches—and their
application for JCCs—with our
JCC marketing e-news, IDEALS.

25
 NON PROFIT ORG.
US POSTAGE
PAID
JEWISH COMMUNITY
JCCs of North America CENTERS ASSOCIATION
OF NORTH AMERICA

Jewish Community Centers

Association of North America
520 Eighth Avenue
New York, NY 10018
www.jcca.org