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Five Years and Counting: So Much More Kindness To Do

Posted by Rabbi Ron Symons on July 1, 2022

It has been five years and counting since we launched the Center for Loving Kindness and Civic Engagement (CFLK) at the JCC of Greater Pittsburgh. While our work was accelerated in the immediate aftermath of the 2017 Unite the Right Rally in Charlottesville, VA, we had started planning for the Center for Loving Kindness during 2016 as we became acutely aware of the changing nature …

Center for Loving Kindness – Standing in Solidarity on Juneteenth

Posted by Rabbi Ron Symons on June 15, 2022

As our neighbors celebrate Juneteenth, we stand in solidarity as we work to redefine “neighbor” from a geographic term to a moral concept. We invite you to virtually attend this event in Atlanta on June 17 and revisit our north star framing of how we work for civil rights for all. View the virtual event here. Throughout the 125 year history of the Jewish Community Center of Greater …

Father’s Day Pledge

Posted by Rabbi Ron Symons on June 14, 2022

While the punch line has changed over the years, the joke (and the underlying societal impression) is unfortunately still the same. While we were growing up, when we were asked what we would be getting Dad for Father’s Day, we always answered, “A tie.” Inevitably, that tie was either store bought with intentions of either meeting, stretching, or countering Dad’s fashion sense; or homemade out …

Ready, Set, Vote!

Posted by Rabbi Ron Symons on April 29, 2022

Even though our democracy is only 246 years old, we can look back in Jewish values from 2,000 years ago to guide our understanding of what so many of us understand as the ‘sacred right’ (or is it ‘sacred rite’; or both) to vote. Hillel, an early architect of rabbinic thinking who lived in the first century before the turn of the era commented "Al tifros …

Why We Focus on Recovery

Posted by Jennifer Goldston on April 28, 2022

Recovery… to regain, rehab, repair, self-care: all fitness industry buzzwords. However, if you’ve taken Group Centergy at the JCC then you’ve heard the importance of Recovery countless times. The yoga, pilates-fusion based class ends with 5-10 minutes of guided meditation grounded in the philosophy that what you do after a workout, is as important as what you are doing during one. But what is Recovery? Is it only …

Spotlight

Posted by Annie Schroeder on March 29, 2022

In our new Spotlight blog, we will be highlighting some of our lovely JCC members, community, and their amazing stories. Billy Carney - "B'man" Being inclusive and welcoming to people of all abilities is at the forefront of what we do. Seventeen-year-old Bill Carney, better known as B'man, has cerebral palsy. B'man and his family moved to Pittsburgh four years ago to get medical attention after complications stemming from …

ECDC Children Learn and Explore Through Art

Posted by Gina Crough on February 17, 2022

The JCC’s Early Childhood Development Center (ECDC) adopts an approach for the education of young children which is inspired by the ideas and practices in Reggio Emilia, Italy. The principles of the Reggio Approach resonate with the JCC’s mission to create an environment that nurtures people and connects community each day, through every age, inspired by Jewish values. The Arts are a core component of ECDC’s …

Loving Kindness and Civic Engagement – Faith and Politics – Our Fifth Calendar Year

Posted by Rabbi Ron Symons on December 28, 2021

December 2021 “I believe that our faith could influence our civic engagement.” I am hoping that for some of us, the above statement raises at least one eyebrow. After all, we know each other well enough to understand how precious I hold the rights explicated in the First Amendment of the Bill of Rights that prevent Congress from making “…no law respecting an establishment of religion, or …

The JCC’s Second Floor Teen Department Promotes Mental Wellness

Posted by Sarah Pesi on October 29, 2021

Initiatives include The Second Floor Wellness Room and Virtual Teen Resource Room The Second Floor Teen Department at the JCC has made teen mental health and wellness a much larger priority in an effort to curb the teen mental health crisis that has emerged over the last several years. Through the generosity of the Jewish Healthcare Foundation, The Second Floor Teen Department hired a part-time Director …

The imperative to preserve and safeguard life – Why two JCCs announced vaccine requirements

Posted by Brian Schreiber and Dava Schub on September 10, 2021

The mitzvah of preserving life taking precedence over other Jewish laws has been at the forefront of our minds these past weeks It has not been an easy ride for the JCC field these past 18 months. Mandated closures, partial re-openings, staff layoffs, workforce shortages, capacity limitations, new operating protocols, contract tracing, mask requirements and mandated quarantines—a journey no JCC has faced on this scale for …

Squirrel Hill

5738 Forbes Avenue
Pittsburgh, PA 15217
P 412-521-8010

South Hills

345 Kane Boulevard
Pittsburgh, PA 15243
P 412-278-1975

The JCC is open and accessible to everyone, regardless of age, race, religion, national origin, sexual orientation, gender identity, gender expression or special need by welcoming individuals of all backgrounds, embracing their uniqueness and diversity under our communal tent.