Stroum Jewish Community Center Impact Report – Summer 2021
Stories of resilience, hope, and community made possible by your support.
The Impact of Community
by Amy Lavin, SJCC Chief Executive Officer
It’s been far too long since we’ve seen many of you walk through the doors of the Stroum Jewish Community Center. Thankfully, we’ve seen thousands of faces online and hundreds daily at the J throughout this historic pandemic. There’s truly lots to be thankful for, and this Impact Report will highlight many of the inspiring, innovative, familiar, and fun ways this community has infused light into a year of too much darkness.
L.I.G.H.T. guides much of our work at the J. Here are specific examples of the L.I.G.H.T. you’ve brought into the J over the past 18 months.
Your support ensured the SJCC community stayed linked to one another, while physically apart. LINKAGE is key in creating belonging, establishing identity, building community, and perpetuating tradition. Your support kept students in our Early Childhood School connected to their teachers, adults connected to fitness, and the whole community connected to Jewish-inspired films, food, and fascinations.
COVID-19 was a time of constant change, and your support allowed us not just to respond but also to question. When circumstances demanded change, we could ask what is our role? What can the J provide that people need? Do we need to do things the way we’ve always done them, or can we change or do something better? How do we protect those who are vulnerable and how do we serve those in need? How do we create more connection points for everyone while the world is closing in around us?
INQUIRY is the “I” in LIGHT, and your support has fostered a season of exploration.
We are filled with GRATITUDE for your steadfast support over the years, and especially in a moment where the world has been shaken—and is still a bit shaky. We are grateful for a community of friends who stand by us and run alongside us as things pick back up.
Your generosity and the strides we have made instill HOPE. The post-COVID-19 world will look different. Yet, with your support, partnership, vote of confidence, and strength built through this trying year, we have hope we will be OK. In fact, not just OK. The future will be even brighter, because we have greater belief in and appreciation for our work, the community’s commitment, and our capacity to adapt.
TIKKUN OLAM (repairing the world) has been a guiding light unto itself this year. We’ve been the beneficiary and the purveyor of it. The tons of food and the pints of blood you’ve donated have measurably and significantly impacted our community, saving and enriching lives at a most-vital time. Together with community partners, we’ve carried people through dark days and this community has carried the J through some of its darkest.
L.I.G.H.T. has become the inspiration for and driving principle of so much at the J. And while it may have flickered in the past year, your support, like the Maccabees’ oil, has exceeded our hopes and expectations—a modern miracle. Thank you.
With immense gratitude,
Amy
