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Staunton Farm Foundation Grant will Broaden Inclusion at JCC Camps

Posted by Rachael Speck on November 30, 2018

We are excited to announce that JCC camps, Emma Kaufmann Camp and James and Rachel Levinson Day Camp, received Beyond an Inclusion Policy: Ensuring Children and Adolescents Reach Their Developmental Potential, a $100,000 two-year grant from The Staunton Farm Foundation. Our overnight and day camps will utilize the grant to pilot an innovative community project to broaden inclusion at both camps, and also to define …

This Chanukah, Celebrate the Community We Aspire to Build

Posted by Rabbi Rob Symons and Melissa Hiller on November 28, 2018

Redefining neighbor from a geographic term to moral concept On Sunday night, members of the Jewish community around the world will begin our annual celebration of Chanukah. It is the time honored commemoration of the victory of the Maccabees in the 2nd century BCE over the Assyrian Greeks and their allies who wanted to create a homogeneous cultural and religious community in which diversity was neither tolerated …

Life & Legacy: Linda Simon’s Story

Posted by JCC Pittsburgh on September 13, 2018

The Jewish Community Center of Greater Pittsburgh recently sat down with Linda Simon, a JCC board chair from 2004-2007 and hands-on volunteer who has held an almost uncountable number of leadership positions at the JCC. JCC: Linda, you have been an active part of our JCC for years, contributing and leading in so many ways. What got you started? LINDA: I grew up in Philadelphia and came …

Our Kids Deserve Our Respectful Debate

Posted by Brian Schreiber on July 20, 2018

These are extraordinary times. As noted in the Jewish Chronicle’s June 21, 2018, opinion piece, “The purpose of a newspaper,” the more polarized opinions become, the more we need lively, respectful debate over issues that are important to us. I couldn’t agree more. Respectful debate between people seems harder and harder these days. A 2016 NORC Center for Public Affairs Research study found that that 74 …

I Need Shabbat This Week

Posted by Rabbi Ron Symons on June 22, 2018

I need Shabbat this week because all I have heard is people talking over and through each other. I need Shabbat this week because all I have seen are images of children separated from their parents. I need Shabbat this week because all the values about family and human dignity I thought were foundational to our American way of life are being challenged. I need Shabbat this week …

JCC Spotlight Newsletter

Posted by JCC Pittsburgh on June 8, 2018

Summer 2018 Our new Mission Statement tells the story of the JCC: NURTURING PEOPLE: Early Childhood When will the cocoons become butterflies? Tatum, 4, and Piper, 3, are guided by their teacher Shardaya to observe, experiment and discuss this as part of a typical day in the JCC’s Early Childhood Development Center. Exploring nature is just one aspect of the child-led learning that educators nurture in our ECDC program—inspired by …

International Day of Youth Service: J-Serve

Posted by Maddie Herrup and Lili King on March 15, 2018

The International Day of Youth Service, J-Serve, is meant for Jewish (and non Jewish) teens from across each participating community to join together with other teens to volunteer at places within the community. The teens learn not only about ways to get involved, but also why it is a crucial aspect of life in their hometowns. J-Serve Pittsburgh this year occurred on Sunday, March 11, and had …

Celebrating the Lunar New Year

Posted by Rabbi Ron Symons on February 16, 2018

You might be wondering why the JCC opens its doors to the Lunar New Year celebration. Let me begin by sharing a metaphor I just learned on a podcast by my teacher Rabbi Larry Hoffman of the Hebrew Union College – Jewish Institute of Religion. While discussing the tension between being particular (having concern for and being interested in the Jewish community) and universal (having concern …

The Conversation Continues – Immigrants’ Stories, Faithful Responses

Posted by Dr. David Saenz on November 6, 2017

While our event on Thursday came to an end, the CONVERSATION about strangers, immigrants and refugees continues. Dr. David Saenz posted this comment on the Pittsburgh Post Gazette web page and asked that we post it on the JCC website. Dr. Saenz began his life as an migrant farmer returning to the US a dozen times before gaining permanent residency. He articulates a vision of American community that …

Immigrants’ Stories, Faithful Responses

Posted by JCC Pittsburgh on November 3, 2017

Rev. Liddy Barlow speaks at Faithful Responses to Strangers, Immigrants, and Refugees Faithful Responses to Strangers, Immigrants and Refugees: A Pittsburgh Conversation - Thursday, November 2, 2017, at the JCC This event, hosted by the Center for Loving Kindness and Civic Engagement, brought together clergy, lay leaders and community members, and refugees and immigrants who shared their stories: Their Stories "When I first got here, people wouldn't talk to me because I was …

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