REACHING YOUNG DONORS | VISIONARY LEADERSHIP | BIENNIAL 2012

CATCH this!Discover CATCH Early Childhood helps

JCC kids develop healthy habits

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WINTER 20125772 qrujJCCA.ORG

SUBWAY® SPOKESMAN

EXPLAINS WHY HE’S TEAMING UP WITH JCCs TO TACKLE CHILDHOOD OBESITY

JARED FOGLE

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For address correction or Information about JCC Circle contact info@jcca.org or call (212) 532-4949.

©2011 Jewish Community Centers Association of North America. All rights reserved.

520 Eighth Avenue | New York, NY 10018 Phone: 212-532-4949 | Fax: 212-481-4174 | e-mail: info@jcca.org | web: www.jcca.org

JCC Association of North America is the leadership network of, and central agency for, 350 Jewish Community Centers, YM-YWHAs and camps in the United States and Canada, that annually serve more than two million users. JCC Association offers a wide range of services and resources to enable its affiliates to provide educational, cultural and recreational programs to enhance the lives of North American Jewry. JCC Association is also a U.S. government-accredited agency for serving the religious and social needs of Jewish military personnel, their families and patients in VA hospitals through the JWB Jewish Chaplains Council.

JCC Association receives support from the JFNA National Federation/Agency Alliance, local federations and Jewish Community Centers.

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WINTER 2012 5772 qruj www.jcca.org

The JCC Movement’s Jewish SoulDedicating the Jewish Chaplains Memorial at Arlington

Yesterday’s Campers, Today’s DonorsReaching out to a new generation is easier thanks to Facebook

Teaming up with Jared FogleJCCs and C.A.T.C.H. partner with the “Subway Guy” and take aim at youth obesity

Getting Kids Moving (And Eating Right!)JCC Association’s Discover CATCH: Early Childhood helps JCC preschoolers develop healthy habits at an early age

JCC Association and your JCCOur goal: providing you with value — every day

Enhancing Professional Leadership at JCCsJCC Association Graduate Scholarships pave the way

Vision Is a Messy BusinessErica Brown on the nature of inspired leadership

Biennial 2012: You Can’t Afford Not to Be ThereWith the program we’ve got on tap for you, Jazzfest is only the second best reason to visit New Orleans this May

Your Direct Connection to IsraelYoung shlichim (ambassadors) bring Israel alive at the JCC

They Dared to Dream TogetherJewish and Dominican teens explore a shared heritage

Generation X-ecutiveA new generation of executive directors need a new set of skills

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BY AND ABOUT...Erica Brown A writer and educator, Dr. Erica Brown serves as the scholar-in-residence for the Jewish Federation of Greater Washington and consults for the Jewish Agency and other Jewish nonprofits. The winner of numerous awards and honors, Erica was a Jerusalem Fellow, an Avi Chai Fellow, winner of the Ted Farber Professional Excellence Award, and the recipient of the 2009 Covenant Award for her work in education.

Jared FogleJared S. Fogle, also known as “The Subway Guy,” became a spokesman employed by Subway Restaurants after he lost a great deal of weight by eating Subway sandwiches—minus the fattening condiments, of course—and starting an exercise regimen. Besides appearing in Subway commercials, Jared speaks regularly on weight control and fitness through his Jared Foundation.

Randy Ellen LuttermanJCC Association’s consultant on arts, culture, and ideas, Randy has over 20 years of experience in arts and education programming. For five years, she was executive director of Musical Theatre Works, a not-for-profit theater in New York City that commissioned and developed dozens of new musical theater pieces. There, she created and developed award-winning signature programming, including the MTW Resident Writers/New Works Program, and SpringboardNYC, a college-to-career arts education outreach program.

Osnat ZurOsnat Zur, JCC Association’s continental shlicha, served as the head of educational programs for the main base of the Armor Corps in the IDF. She spent five years working for the Maccabi World Union youth movement as the head of education and development, establishing 12 new branches across Israel. She provided educational programs for the JCC Maccabi Games® in Israel last summer.

jcccircle:Sr. Vice-President, and Chief Marketing OfficerRobin Ballin

Creative DirectorPeter Shevenell

Communications Manager, JCC Circle EditorMiriam Rinn

DesignPeter ShevenellLisa KaplanJeremy Kortes

OnlineChris Strom

Honorary ChairsEdward H. KaplanAnn P. KaufmanJerome B. MakowskyMorton L. MandelLester PollackDaniel RoseAlan P. Solow

Vice-ChairsLisa BrillMarvin Gelfand Gary JacobsVirginia A. MaasNoreen Gordon

SablotskyPhilip Schatten Andrew Shaevel

SecretaryDavid Wax

Associate SecretariesDana EgertLinda Russin

President & CEO Allan Finkelstein

ChairPaula L. Sidman

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The JCC Movement has a Yiddisheh neshoma, a Jewish soul, no matter what the identity may be of an individual JCC member or if a JCC is open or closed on Saturdays. This

truth deeply affected me as I listened to the dignitaries speak so movingly at the dedication of the Jewish Chaplains Memorial at Arlington National Cemetery.

Thanks to the tireless efforts of our JWB Jewish Chaplains Council and many other Jewish and non-Jewish communal organizations, these 14 Jews who had died in service to their country were finally

The JCCMovement’sJewish Soul

Pictured, from left: Paula L. Sidman; Allan Finkelstein, president & CEO of JCC Association; Noreen Gordon Sablotsky, chair of the armed services committee; Gary S. Lipman, COO, JCC Association

Jewish Chaplains Memorial at Arlington National Cemetery

accorded the honor and respect they so richly deserve. Members of the military, members of Congress, and so many proud veterans of our country’s armed forces were there on that sunny October day to welcome these men home. I felt very proud that JCC Association had been instrumental in seeing that these Jewish chaplains finally joined their comrades on Chaplains Hill, and was reminded once again of just how much our Jewish sons and daughters in the U.S. Armed Forces today need our care and attention.

I also feel the impact of the Jewish soul in our new statement of principles, as I hope everyone who reads it will as well: “The vision of the JCC Movement is to create a vibrant and welcoming Jewish environment that encourages people to lead engaged lives of meaning and purpose.” Lives of meaning and purpose is the goal of all segments of the Jewish community, even when we might differ on what gives our lives meaning and on the purpose to which we are dedicated. The JCC is a central meeting place where everybody can gather and exchange their interests and concerns. It is diverse enough to encompass the great variety of Jewish thought and experience we share and open enough to welcome all who enter. May that Jewish soul continue to keep our JCC Movement vibrant for now and always.

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Paula L. SidmanChair | JCC Association

B’shalom,

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Yesterday’s Campers, Today’s DonorsYoung professionals step up to help make the experiences they treasure available to a new generation of campers

By Miriam Rinn

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When Alex Budnitsky, the executive director of the Edith & Carl Marks Jewish Community House of Bensonhurst, in Brooklyn, New York, wanted to

find alumni of the JCH’s camp programs, he knew where to go to look. After all, they’re called the Facebook generation for a reason. “I was a camp director here for years,” Budnitsky said, and he’d been part of the very first JCH delegation to the JCC Maccabi Games in 1998. He knew that many of his former campers and Games participants were now making a good living in the financial services and IT areas, and he also knew that an army of people under 30 were not contributing to the JCH. As an exec who serves a primarily Russian-speaking community with many needs, Budnitsky wanted to disprove the notion that Russian Jews don’t donate in the same way as American Jews.

“We have lots of supporters who admire the J for what it does. They were ready to make an impact on someone else’s life,” Budnitsky said of the young adults he invited to an informal breakfast. A group of seven people offered their time to put a camp reunion together and immediately established a Facebook page.

(l to r) Masha Zarankina, Alex Zeltser, Anna Khenken, Ilya Gleikh

ENGAGING YOUNG DONORS

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Within days, they had dozens of people posting photos and sharing happy reminiscences of their days at camp.

As plans for the reunion went forward, Budnitsky suggested a Facebook campaign to raise funds for camp scholarships. “It’s not a random ask,” he emphasized. His reunion committee had told him clearly that they wanted to help other children in the neighborhood benefit from the same wonderful camp experiences they had enjoyed. “They said they wanted to know where their money was going and that they were making a difference. I wanted to design a campaign with a clear, measurable goal.”

The campaign called 18 on the 18th launched on April 18, with the goal to raise $18,000 before the start of the camp season. Budnitsky set up a mechanism so contributors could donate through the Facebook page. Within five days, they had received 26 contributions, and Budnitsky quickly realized the campaign would succeed.

The money raised helped more than thirty children go to camp and to the JCC Maccabi Games. In fact, one donor paid the total fee for a family’s children to attend camp. “It created a buzz in the community,” Budnitsky said. “People give to people they trust. We invited them to see what their money did, and they showed up.” For next year, they are starting earlier and doubling their goal.

Budnitsky is strategic in his outreach. “We’re talking about a generation that directly benefited from the institution. While it’s fresh in their memory, these people have to be engaged.” He’s involving them in a variety of ways—one day during the summer, they come back to camp to be counselors. Many of them still live in the community, and if they don’t, their parents and grandparents do. “We just need to do a better job of educating them on giving back. They want to know that they’re making a difference. They look at this as an investment. They’re investing in someone else’s life so they can be successful.”

(l to r) Members of the reunion committee, Irina Archipova, Alec Dvoskin, Alla Azarova, Alina Bitel, Alex Budnitsky, Nataly Yusim; (above) Mike Grinman

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WHY IS THIS MAN SMILING?Jared Fogle is going to end childhood obesity. And JCCs are going to help him do it.

JARED Fogle became famous as the spokesman for SUBWAY® restaurants after shedding 245 pounds in one year through increased exercise and a diet comprised mainly of Subway sandwiches.

In 2004, he established the Jared Foundation, an organization dedicated to helping reverse the epidemic of childhood obesity by espousing education and physical activity for young people.

Jared recently chose CATCH — the Coordinated Approach to Child Health developed by the University of Texas — to be the official child-wellness program of his foundation.

CATCH is an affordable, evidence-based program that has been proven to reverse childhood obesity. More than 8,500 schools in the United States and abroad are using it, making it the most widespread coordinated school health program in the world.

Now, Jared is partnering with JCC Association to extend the benefits of CATCH to JCCs throughout North America, through a new initiative, Discover CATCH: Early Childhood.

We spoke to Jared recently about his goal to give every child a love of physical activity and healthy eating habits — and how JCCs can help make it happen.

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What is the status of childhood obesity in North America?

What we’re seeing is a polarization. You have a good amount of kids who are very healthy, fit, and active. They’re exercising and doing the right thing. But on the other end of the spectrum you have kids who don’t care at all. Kids who want to play video games all the time, sit on the couch, and eat junk food — even more so than when I was their age. And the gap is continuing to widen.

Is the percentage of kids who are overweight growing?

Yes, definitely. A big part of what I do when I’m traveling with Subway, and for the Jared Foundation, is to go into schools and speak to kids at general assemblies. And I can actually see the growing number of kids today who are overweight, the number of kids who are obese, the number of kids who are already morbidly obese… it’s very scary.

What effect does being overweight have on children’s lives?

Obesity affects kids in so many ways. My grades suffered in school. You get picked on a lot more by other kids, and of course, we know that bullying in school is a big issue. There’s definitely a correlation; the obese kids are much more at risk of bullying — I know I was.

Your self-confidence is very low, as is your self esteem, and that ripples through every part of your life. It becomes a vicious cycle. The more I ate, the less I wanted to move and be around people. And the more bored I became, the more I wanted to eat. My life completely unraveled around me.

Hence your passion to help other people avoid the situation you found yourself in.

Yes. I don’t have the medical background or the scientific background, or anything like that, but what I do have is the personal background from living through it; living in those shoes. And so it’s something that gives me a unique perspective.

I started the Jared Foundation to help kids who might be in the same situation I was in. And to take it a step further by being proactive, to help kids avoid going down the road I went down. Let’s try to nip it in the bud early.

How did you choose CATCH to be your official child-wellness program?

First of all, CATCH has documented results. It has been around for 20 years, and it works. And it’s so multi-faceted, between the physical education component, the in-class component, the school-lunch component, the food-service component, the administration component, the family component, the community component — there’s no other program out there that has it all together like CATCH does.

The Jared Foundation aims to eliminate Childhood Obesity by raising awareness and developing programs that educate and inspire kids to live healthier, happier lives.

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The price per kid is also very good. Once an organization like the JCC owns the CATCH packaging and curriculum, they own it forever. So even though there’s an up-front cost, it can be spread over many, many students, and many, many years of educating kids about it. When you start breaking down how many kids can be reached per dollar spent, it’s really hard to beat.

CATCH also has years worth of results data. Was that part of the decision making process?

Absolutely. When you’re trying to raise money, you have to have a great program. People want to see concrete results, concrete data — and CATCH offers that. They’ve really been very

good at tracking the results, and providing the data. It helps people to get behind supporting the program.

So now you’ll be working with JCC Association to help bring Discover CATCH: Early Childhood to JCCs. How did that partnership come about?

JCCs mean a lot to me. My family belonged to the Indianapolis JCC since I was a little kid—my dad is currently on the board. The JCC was woven into my childhood. As a kid, I played basketball and soccer at the JCC, and went to summer camp as well.

The fact that we can now touch these same kids who are in the JCC programs from early childhood on is just going to be fantastic. Starting at the early childhood level gives you the opportunity to be proactive, and to take a stance and not let it become a problem in the first place.

I’m very proud of what JCCs are, what they stand for, what they offer, and what they do around the country. Teaming up with the JCCs means a lot to me personally, and means a lot to my family as well. I couldn’t pick a better initial partner for this than the JCCs.

Jared shows off a pair of the 60" waist jeans he wore before losing 245 pounds.

JCC Association, Jared Foundation, and CATCH/Flaghouse team members, working together to end youth obesity. (l to r) Mark Horowitz, Kathy Chichester, Steve Becker, Jared Fogle, Joy Brand, Russ Taylor.

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GETTING KIDS

(and eating right!)

By Peter Shevenell

It’s much easier to create good health habits than it is to change bad ones. That’s the simple premise behind Discover CATCH: Early Childhood, the new child wellness program from JCC Association that seeks to bring the gift of healthy habits to the very youngest members of the JCC community—and their families.

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he Jewish value of Sh’mirat HaGuf instructs us to take care of our bodies. And yet, as the obesity epidemic in North America shows, it’s clear we face greater challenges than ever in pursuing this value.

Sedentary lifestyles and poor nutritional choices are taking their toll, and not just on adults with desk jobs. For the first time in generations, life expectancy is dropping, and obesity is one of the key contributing factors. In the U.S. alone, the cost attributable to obesity-related diseases is estimated at $100 million a year.

The problem is spreading to younger demographics. More children in the U.S. are overweight than ever before, with the number tripling since the late 1970s. And the earlier kids start putting on excess weight, the more likely they are to face issues associated with obesity.

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Consequences of youth obesityOverweight children tend to develop diabetes and other chronic-disease risk factors later in life, such as high blood pressure and high cholesterol. They are more likely to become obese and morbidly obese as adults, often triggering a myriad of social problems, from low self-esteem to job discrimination.

Poor eating habits are often established during childhood. More than 60 percent of young people eat too much fat, and less than 20 percent eat the recommended five or more servings of fruits and vegetables each day.

Getting a head-start on healthIn three to five year-olds, however, we have the opportunity to teach good habits before unhealthy ones take root. That’s why JCC Association has sought a coordinated way to bring positive education about exercise and eating right to the 35,000 children across North America who participate in early childhood programs at JCCs.

So when CATCH (Coordinated Approach to Child Health) unveiled a version of its platform specifically for preschoolers, we knew we had found a match.

Developed at the University of Texas, CATCH is an evidence-based, multi-faceted school health program that seeks to create enduring positive behaviors by teaching children that eating healthy and being physically active every day can be fun. The initial CATCH program covers kids from first through eighth grade, has been implemented in thousands of schools and after-school organizations across the U.S. and Canada, and has documented proof of success.

Discover CATCH: Early Childhood comes to JCCsNow JCCs will be in the forefront of implementing CATCH’s new program designed especially for three to five year-olds. We modified it for use in JCC early childhood classrooms, incorporating it into Discover, our total wellness strategy for JCCs. The resulting program, Discover CATCH: Early Childhood, is currently piloting at four JCCs and will expand to several more in the coming weeks.

Discover CATCH: Early Childhood is based on Jewish values. Sh’mirat HaGuf refers to the physical body, but also reflects the idea that our bodies are holy because they house the soul. Sh’mirat HaGuf teaches that the body, as a gift from God, should be treated with the utmost care and respect.

Children learn to have fun while exercising and developing locomotor, non-locomotor, and manipulative skills in a series of age-appropriate, non-competitive activities. They learn to differentiate between “go” foods (healthy) and “whoa” foods (less healthy—approach with caution), and explore where the food in their lunch boxes came from, which ties in well with JCC gardening initiatives.

On the administrative side, Discover CATCH: Early Childhood’s unique cross-disciplinary format brings together JCC staff in a cohesive method of working and training together. It breaks down departmental silos between sports & wellness, early childhood, administrative, and camp staff, as well as Jewish educators, and connects them all with parents in the community.

Together, through Discover CATCH: Early Childhood, we can do something to help put the JCC’s youngest members on a lifelong path of health and caring for their bodies.

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Discover CATCH: Early Childhood’s easy-to-adopt programming suite helps create an environment where physical activity, health education, and healthy eating behaviors are valued and taught. How does it happen?

STAFF TRAINING• Training from JCC Association to help your staff to become experts in

Discover CATCH: Early Childhood

JEWISH VALUES• A PowerPoint presentation and guide to presenting the Jewish values

behind Discover CATCH to JCC staff and families

PHYSICAL EDUCATION ACTIVITIES• More than 150 activities to choose from aimed at promoting movement

so that children can meet the recommended 30 minutes of moderate-to-vigorous physical activity (MVPA) per day

• Suggested variations extends the total number of ready-to-use activities into the hundreds

NUTRITION AND PARENT TIPS• Educational tips designed to promote healthy eating and behaviors in

young children and their families

• Your JCC will receive these tips electronically on a regular basis so they are readily available for you to use with staff and families

SPECIAL NEEDS• We have also included an adaptive learning component to meet the needs

of children with physical or learning disabilities

To learn more about Discover CATCH: Early Childhood, and how to bring it to your JCC, contact Steve Becker at steveb@jcca.org.

What’s in it for your JCC...

Stepping into healthy habits: A Discover CATCH Early Childhood session at the Harry & Rose Samson Family JCC in Milwaukee, Wisconsin.

North American Jewish life is changing, growing more diverse and more diffuse. But the JCC is still at the heart of the Jewish community, welcoming everyone and filled with Jewish experiences and ambience.

Jewish Community Centers across the United States and Canada turn to JCC Association of North America for guidance, innovative and contemporary programming and management consultation as they face the challenge of inspiring Jewish journeys and securing the Jewish future.

JCC Association has been working with JCCs for decades to build strong, successful institutions. Our expertise is broad and deep. We offer a wealth of programs, materials, and services to help JCCs do what they do best.

We facilitate excellence in JCC leadership and management by developing assessment tools, creating training opportunities, identifying indicators of JCC success and failure, and devising opportunities for interaction, sharing and learning among lay and professional leadership. We provide consulting and support services as well as consulting for specific departments such as wellness, early childhood, and marketing. Our Mandel Center for Excellence in Leadership and Management, funded by the Mandel Foundation, has allowed us to expand our consulting services in other key areas of JCC operation.

JCC Association: Providing value to every JCC, every day.

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• Our community consultants are all former JCC executives who provide expert advice and counsel on all aspects of JCC operation

• We offer signature programs like the JCC Maccabi Games®, JCC Maccabi ArtsFest®, An Ethical Start®, Lenny Krayzelburg JCC Swim Academy, and TAG: Jewish Values Through JCC Camping®

• Our JCC Excellence: The Benchmarking Project gives JCCs concrete data and a path to excellence in operations and programming

• We provide professional development opportunities to hundreds of JCC staff each year, through in-person and distance training

• Our leadership development offerings include board assessments, governance manual, the Esther Leah Ritz Emerging JCC Leaders program, and the JCCs of North America Biennial

• Through our JWB Jewish Chaplains Council, we are a U.S. government-accredited agency for serving the religious and social needs of Jewish military personnel and their families

• We facilitate conversation, networking, and the sharing of information between JCC professionals

JCC ASSOCIATION GRADUATE SCHOLARSHIPS

Recognizing that visionary and well-trained future professional leadership for JCCs and camps is critical to sustaining and enriching the Jewish community, JCC Association allocates

resources to training and ongoing professional development. We sponsor annual institutes, seminars, webinars, and conferences for early childhood educators, youth professionals, camp directors, and sports and wellness staff on most aspects of leadership and program management.

JCC Association’s graduate scholarship program is designed to support advanced professional development for women and men who have chosen to pursue careers in JCCs. Full time students enrolled in graduate education programs in Jewish communal service, nonprofit management, business administration, sports management, Jewish studies, social work, early childhood education, and other allied fields are eligible for grants of up to $10,000 per year (one or two years).

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Helping the best and brightest grow their JCC careersJCC Association donors support graduate education and training for future JCC professional stars

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It was a powerful message to me early on in my career that the JCC Movement recognized my potential and was ready and willing to invest in my graduate school education.

And over the past decade I have seen it as my honor and my responsibility to pay back that commitment through my work—building stronger Jewish communities and supporting staff early on in their careers to find a fulfilling professional “home” in the JCC.

Dava Schub associate executive director for programs, JCC in Manhattan

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ENHANCING PROFESSIONAL LEADERSHIP AT JCCs

JCCs need strong professional leaders. With your help, the best and brightest will be ready to meet tomorrow’s challenges.

We are now seeking new and greater support to increase the number of Graduate Education Scholarships for the JCC Movement.

Help us prepare the next generation of great JCC professionals to keep JCCs at the center of Jewish life.

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I felt strongly about my Jewish identity, but I did not know what to do with it.

In 1993, I was fortunate enough to be interviewed for a camp position; the executive director saw the potential in me and recommended that I go to graduate school. He suggested I speak with JCC Association.

I never considered a JCC career, and I knew that I could not afford graduate school. JCC Association gave me more than the financial assistance I needed — the JCC Association Graduate Scholarship laid the foundation for my entire career.

Fourteen years after completing my degree, I have become an executive director of a JCC.

Barak Hermann executive director, JCC of Central NJ

JCC Association graduate scholars complete a field placement at a JCC during their studies, and participate in our JCCs of North America Biennial and Professional Conference during their period of study. Recipients agree to work in the JCC Movement for two years post graduation.

The combination of classroom learning, internships, professional development seminars and networking opportunities help prepare these students to become effective and successful JCC professionals. Many of today’s JCC leaders are past Scholarship Program award recipients.

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OST PEOPLE today would use the loose term “vision” to answer that question,

believing that a word so hard to define would be lofty enough to satisfy eager listeners. Leaders need a vision, don’t they?

In the index of Warren Bennis’ classic, On Becoming a Leader, vision enjoys more citations than any other idea or concept. Bennis, one of the most popular thinkers today on the subject of leadership, believes that vision is the “first basic ingredient” of leadership.

“The leader has a clear idea of what he wants to do – professionally and personally – and the strength to persist in the face of setbacks, even failures. Unless you know where you’re going, and why, you cannot possibly get there.”

Bennis reminds us of the wisdom of Alice’s Cheshire cat: “If you don’t know where you’re going, any road will take you there.” In this picture, without a guiding vision, leaders meander and get lost quickly.

The problem with this logical piece of advice is that leadership is rarely linear or logical. Leaders meander and get lost predominantly because when they enter the messiness of leadership all of their carefully made plans must get rethought; the path is not straight, the destination is not always realistic, and they forgot about all the politics they would have to negotiate along the way.

If you don’t believe me, just open the Book of Numbers. For the first ten chapters, we organize the camp. Moses conducts a census. The tribes are placed in formation around the Tabernacle at the camp’s heart. Those responsible for transporting the Tabernacle are outlined. Flags are created for each tribe for demarcation. And then there are a few chapters that help us understand who is and who is not in the camp.

But then the text moves from a description of the organization to an actual narrative. Once they move, it all begins to fall apart. It’s not that they made a mistake with their planning; it’s that you

What does a leader need to inspire followers?

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Erica Brown will be a keynote speaker at the JCCs of North America Biennial in New Orleans May 6–9, 2012.

can never be fully prepared for all exigencies. And that’s where vision so often fails, because it begins with a view of the human condition and organizational life that is much more rational, normal and linear than life really is. The Israeli professor of psychology Dan Ariely wrote a book called Predictably Irrational to describe the forces that guide and determine our decisions. The title alone is depressing. How do you lead for irrationality?

The answer in the ancient world of the Israelites may have been in a clear and simple goal, rather than in getting bogged down with administration and preparation. Moses had one task: Get the people to the Promised Land. He had, in the words of two other writers, Chip and Dan Heath in their book Switch, a destination postcard, a picture of what life would look like in an ideal world that he held up to his followers and said, “This is where we’re going.” Today, a lot of strategic planning is focused on what we’re not doing without creating a tangible picture of where we want to be and what it will actually look like if we get it right.

In the universe of JCCs, a spinal cord of peoplehood in every Jewish community, there is a lot of re-

imagining taking place among lay and professional leaders. Whatever the JCC once was when I was a kid is not what it is now, and most likely not what it will be a few decades from now. We can hold on to a picture of the past and say we’re not moving. Or we can look around at the “new normal,” which is no longer so new and has never really been normal, and tell ourselves that we need a vision of what this amazing network of organizations can become in a complex and ever-changing world.

Rather then perseverate on what is not working, it’s time to look beyond and create a clear and simple idea that can motivate followship and empower leadership. More than vision, we need a new “destination postcard.”

If you don’t know where you’re going, any road will take you there.

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You Can’t Afford NOT to Be There

I just returned from a planning meeting in New Orleans, and I wanted to share the good news: New Orleans is back!

The weather was perfect, the streets were full of people, there was music everywhere. The Superdome has been renamed the Mercedes Benz Superdome, and the Saints rolled to another big win. The city was really clean—a big accomplishment for a place once voted the dirtiest city in America!

New Orleans ranks high on the list for friendliest people. Despite the ravages of Hurricane Katrina and a battered economy in recent years, New Orleanians, according to Travel and Leisure’s survey-takers, still walk on the brighter side of life. Maybe a collective sense of optimism springs from the city’s laid-back attitude, and laissez les bons temps rouler* spirit.

Or perhaps the city’s old-fashioned hospitality can be traced to pride in its rich cultural heritage—from its gracious architecture and chicory-laced coffee to the strains of hot and cool jazz that drift from doorways. Whatever the answer, New Orleans is a uniquely exciting and welcoming city, and is ready to greet us with open arms in May for the Biennial.

*let the good times roll!

By Robin BallinBiennial Director

BIENNIAL IN NEW ORLEANS

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”Since I was at the Biennial I am much more open-minded and I feel free to go ahead with new things and change some paradigms at my JCC.

Michael Marciano, Hebraica JCC, Venezuela

BIENNIAL BONDING

The Biennial provides an opportunity to bond with your delegation in a way that could never happen in your board room. Be creative. For instance, the Houston delegation has a Biennial “pajama party” where they debrief at the end of the long days of learning, sharing and having fun together.

The Biennial really does offer something for everyone: veterans get reenergized and young leaders get inspired and “juiced” by the whole experience. Execs return to their JCCs invigorated and excited to develop and implement the strategies they have learned.

At this Biennial, experts will enlighten you with new ideas in marketing, fundraising, and governance. You will be challenged to think about innovation, competitive advantage and how new media can expand your JCC’s ability to build community.

We will introduce a new statement of principles for the JCC Movement to guide you in your planning for the future of your JCC. It is the responsibility of leaders like yourself to share your experience—successes and failures—for the betterment of other

JCCs. The Biennial is your best chance for exposure to the JCC Movement, and the

big picture of what is happening at JCCs all over North America.

PARTY TIME

The New Orleans JCC will extend some famous Southern hospitality

through their many volunteers and at a fabulous evening of fun, food and music at

legendary Tipitina’s in the French Quarter. You will meet people from 100 cities in a dozen countries who will

BIENNIAL IN NEW ORLEANS

Keynote Speakers

Donniel Hartman, president of the Hartman Institute in Jerusalem, will dare us to rethink the relationship between Jews in Israel and those outside, as he examines and redefines the notion of Jewish Peoplehood.

Erica Brown, one of the foremost Jewish educators of our time, will help you retool your board room by taking practical approaches to building strong Jewish communities.

Scott Cowen, president of Tulane University, will guide you to think about how to transform your community through the power of service. Have you noticed how more and more businesses are coupling their products with opportunities to do good? You will learn how to become a change agent in your community.

23

REGISTER NOW: biennial.jcca.org

Rethink. Retool. Transform

share personal stories of their own Jewish journeys.

This is your chance to make the JCC Movement—and your JCC—the best it can be. Start planning your participation at the 2012 Biennial right now. Talk to your board and committee members about bringing a large delegation—the Biennial experience is better in a crowd!

You will go home prepared to look at how you work as a board, with a renewed connection to Israel, and

with tools that will enable you to keep up with the times. Even more importantly, you will go home enriched, motivated, inspired—and

proud of being Jewish.

See you in New Orleans!

24

By Osnat Zur

Your Direct Connection

to IsraelWhy You Should Bring a Young

Shaliach (Ambassador) to Your JCC

25

On a beautiful, sunny Sunday in May, over one thousand people streamed toward the Shaw JCC in Akron, Ohio. As they approached, the first thing they saw was a big sign in English

and Hebrew congratulating the State of Israel on Yom Ha’azmaut. In the background, they heard upbeat Israeli music and smelled the aroma of barbecue. Kids and teens ran around everywhere.

As they reached the pool area, which had just opened the same day, they felt as if they were visiting the city of Eilat at the southern tip of Israel. Walking farther, they reached the Dead Sea and learned about its special properties. They filled small bottles with colorful sand to take home as souvenirs. They crawled into a Bedouin tent to eat fresh pita and enjoy the peaceful desert.

When they felt adventurous, they tried to guess their way through a huge maze based on Israeli high-tech innovations. Wanting to chill with their friends and family, they ambled over to the Tel Aviv area for coffee.

After a few hours, the music stopped and the crowd began to sing the Israeli national anthem, “Hatikvah”. Then everybody began to dance in big circles. All the major Jewish organizations in the community were there, but if you looked for the two Israeli shlichim who had planned it all, you wouldn’t find them anywhere. On their way to the JCC, Jenny and Oz Naor were in a car accident and couldn’t make it to the beautiful celebration they had worked on for so many months. Luckily, they weren’t hurt, but Oz was disappointed not to have “the opportunity to see our true influence on the community. The fact that such a big event that we had been working on for so many months and involved the entire community went off perfectly even when we were not there,” he says, “showed us the true power of the shaliach—connecting the community, all around one major theme, love for Israel.”

To illustrate how far Israel is from America, Daniel Sonnenschein, the shaliach at the JCC Rockland in West Nyack, explains to toddlers that he ate three meals on the flight from Israel.

26

YOUNG SHLICHIM

Both from Kibbutz Zikim in the south of Israel, Oz, 31, and his wife Jenny, 29, are the young shlichim for the JCC in Akron. “Jenny and Oz bring Israel to life in our community,” says Todd Rockoff, executive director of the Shaw JCC. “They spend time at each of our staff meetings educating our staff on Israel’s past, present and future. They are a constant reminder of how important it is to have Israel as a centerpiece of JCC programming.”

The Naors are there serving their second year through JCC Association’s partnership with the Jewish Agency for Israel. The Young Community Shaliach program in JCCs is coordinated by JCC Association with Areivim, the Young Shlichim Unit of JAFI. In 2011, the Jewish Agency sent more than three hundred shlichim to North America alone. In addition to JCCs, these young shlichim work closely with youth groups and Hillel student organizations to bring Israel to North American Jews, and to strengthen Jewish peoplehood. The community shaliach is a resource for Israel education and advocacy, working directly with children, youth, students and adults in the different synagogues, religious schools, and agencies throughout the Jewish community.

The young shaliach tries to impart different aspects of Jewish heritage and Israeli life, encourages members of the community to visit Israel, and fosters the development of a young local leadership. Community shlichim organize a wide range of educational activities based on the Jewish calendar cycle, and represent Israel to the general public.

Shlicha for the Marcus JCC in Atlanta, Liat Dolengiewicz says, “I find the most meaningful aspect is working with Jewish teens. During high school, you actually form your personality and opinions about life. Teens look for meaning, for guidance in a chaotic grownup world, and I feel that a young person from Israel, confident in her Jewish identity, can be a great role model for those teens.” Originally from Tel Aviv, Liat is just 24. “After every activity, they ask me questions about Israel and about being a Jew. That’s what it’s all about, touching people, changing their lives forever.”

As part of the program, Daniel created a Gadna Israeli Army simulation, where students learned about comradeship, courage, and discipline, the values of the IDF.

27

YOUR ISRAEL – JCC CONNECTION

At first, Liat struggled to find her footing in Atlanta and felt torn between the JCC and other community groups. Once a lay committee formed to support her work, she felt more comfortable. She has even formed a troop of Israel Scouts for the children of Israelis living in the Atlanta metro area, which has brought a number of Israelis into the JCC.

Now 23, the shaliach at the JCC Rockland in West Nyack, New York, was born in Caracas, Venezuela. When he was 15, Daniel Sonnenschein made aliyah (moved to Israel) with his family. ”My generation in Israel and abroad is writing the next chapter in the history of the Jewish people,” Daniel says. Daniel wanted to act as a bridge between young Israelis and Jews living in other parts of the world.

JCC Rockland is hosting the JCC Maccabi Games® in 2012. Daniel is building the Jewish and Israeli aspects of the program in advance, so he has conducted a lot of outreach into the community. He’s planning an educational program for the 200 local participants to begin now. A lay committee is working with him to develop a raft of new Israel-based activities.

Almost all JCCs have connecting with Israel as part of their mission, and JCC Association’s new statement of principles makes a powerful argument for the necessity of Israel in the JCC. But just talking about it isn’t enough. If you’re ready to take the next step into action, young shlichim can add immeasurably to your JCC. However, a successful shlichut requires planning. Communities are responsible for providing housing, spending money, and the JCC needs to provide supervision and support for the shaliach to be most effective. We can help you get the most from this wonderful program.

If you are interested in learning more, please contact Osnat Zur, JCC Association continental shlicha, at osnat@jcca.org.

Over 50 toddlers learned about Israel with Daniel during their summer experience at the J-Land Camp at the JCC Rockland.

28

They Dared to

Jewish and Dominican Teens Explore a Shared Heritage

Most days, the Jewish and Dominican residents of the Inwood neighborhood at

the northern tip of Manhattan have little contact. They move in different social circles, their kids go to different schools, they work in different fields. One place brings them together—the YM-YWHA of Washington Heights-Inwood—and no other Y program does that more deliberately than SOSUA: Dare to Dance Together.

This musical theater project, conceived by Victoria Neznansky, the Y’s chief program officer, and created by renowned composer Liz Swados, brings together 20 teenagers—10 Jews and 10 Dominicans—to give dramatic life to a little-known historical event that involves both groups. Using the differing experiences and talents of these two groups, and with the creative stewardship of Swados, Neznansky is building community beyond the walls of her JCC.

By Randy Ellen Lutterman

Dream

29

Together

Inwood and Washington Heights boast the typical New York cocktail of ethnic and religious groups, only more so. More than half of the residents were born outside of the U.S., the highest rate in Manhattan. There are Russian-speaking Jews, German-speaking Jews who have lived there since the 1940s, some Greeks, recent Irish immigrants as well as those who arrived ages ago, and many Spanish speakers from all over the Caribbean. Of the different Latino groups, people from the Dominican Republic, or DR,

predominate, making up 70 percent of the Spanish-speaking population.

“The power of art brings [together] people from all backgrounds,” says Neznansky. “This project brought these kids together.” In 2008, Neznansky took a Y group to the Museum of Jewish Heritage to see an exhibit on Jews who had found shelter in the DR just before the outbreak of World War II. Dominican strongman Rafael Trujillo was one of the very few willing to give desperate European

30

DREAMING TOGETHER

From Sosua to Washington Heights

Jews a haven, inviting 100,000 to come. Between 1940 and 1945, about 650 Jews arrived, with the support of the Joint Distribution Committee, and were sent to live in a place called Sosua on the northern coast. Hardly an altruist, Trujillo had his own sinister reasons. He wanted to “whiten” the population of the DR, which shares the island of Hispaniola with Haiti. In fact, he had ordered the massacre of 20,000 Haitians who lived near the border in 1937.

Amazingly, the mostly Austrian and German Jews adapted to an agricultural life and established a successful farming cooperative on the abandoned banana plantation. Many of the young men married Dominican women, as Trujillo had hoped, but after the war ended, most of the Jews moved to New York or Miami. Some families remained, however, and there is still a synagogue in Sosua and a Jewish museum.

When Neznansky got a three-year grant from UJA-Federation of New York to develop a program that brought her community together, she immediately thought of Sosua. “It seemed natural to bring the exhibit to life.” Neznansky approached Swados to create a musical theater project based on the material, and when Swados agreed, they sent flyers to local public and private schools to solicit equal numbers of Dominican and Jewish teens. There were many differences between the two populations, and it took a while before they began to treat each other with respect. Learning about a shared history of which they’d been previously ignorant led to a breakdown of barriers.

As part of her teaching the values of respect and compromise, Swados insisted that the teens be treated as professionals and paid for their work. While not a large honorarium, the gesture seems to have had the intended effect. The teens researched and wrote their monologues and three songs. One Dominican boy in the original group, Jordan Hoepelman, discovered that his father was the child of German Jews. Jordan is now in his third year with the production, but other teens have moved in and out of the

cast, so that 40 different kids have worked and performed on SOSUA. And the eclectic group has been privileged to work not only with

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DREAMING TOGETHER

Swados, but with a series of creative arts professionals personally sourced by Swados to be a part of the growing team who have invested in this dynamic and unusual artistic process.

Neznansky has used Sosua as a way into her teen community. “We noticed that generally, Jewish teens were not present here,” she says, so the Y has created ways to extend and deepen the experience for Sosua participants by developing other programs and services for the teens to keep them engaged. One of these programs is SAT prep, which provides a framework for students to begin thinking beyond high school. And they have created job opportunities for the emerging artists as well. “This group will not come if it isn’t free,” Neznansky says, so the Y is providing different opportunities for the Latino teens to work as counselors. She has proven without a doubt that once the community invests in these kids, the same kids work to give back to the community. According to YM-YWHA of Washington Heights-Inwood Executive Director Marty Englisher, the program has had a great impact on the teens. Three participants have gone on to the Tisch School of the Arts at NYU.

And all the teens have experienced the thrill of performance. In addition to presenting the show at the JCC of Manhattan, they have performed at the Schomburg Center for Research in Black Culture in Harlem and as part of the Latino International Theater Festival of New York. A recent performance took place at the Time Warner Center when the American Jewish Committee honored New York Attorney General Eric Schneiderman, who originally arranged for the exhibit to come to the Museum of Jewish Heritage. In January, they are scheduled to perform at the United Nations to commemorate International Holocaust Remembrance Day.

Early in the process of the show’s development, Neznansky reached out to documentary filmmaker Renee Silverman, who in turn brought in Peter Miller, who has produced documentaries for PBS. They now have 80 hours of footage that documents the creative and emotional growth of the show and of the participants, and they are actively seeking funders to complete the film.

One of the songs in the show asks “Who are these people?” and that question underscores the impact the project has made on the participants. Teens who would never have met have gotten to know each other, and the Y. As Englisher puts it, “I thought this is great because it connects the majority/minority of [our] community to us.”

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There will be many vacant executive positions at nonprofit organizations in the next decade, and JCCs are no exception. As the huge baby boom generation moves into retirement, the generations following are considerably smaller. In addition, research shows that the nonprofit sector overall does not invest a lot of time or resources in developing its own leadership group. Proof of that is that one-third of new nonprofit leaders come from within the organization while almost two-thirds of new leaders in the for-profit sector are promoted from within.

Where will the new JCC executives come from?

JCC Association has been working on this challenge for several years. Arnie Sohinki, senior vice-president, professional and lay leadership programming, says, “We do it through the Merrin Teen Fellows Program, which is already creating an impressive group of JCC executives and potential execs.” Former Merrin Teen Fellows are now assistant execs at five JCCs and execs at four. A new professional-development program with the Jewish Theological Seminary is aimed at enhancing the Judaic background of middle-level JCC professionals to prepare them to lead vital Jewish institutions. For the first time, we have asked sitting execs to recommend people who would make good executives from their professional and social circles. About half of new JCC executive directors now come from outside the JCC Movement.

By Miriam Rinn

Generation

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Generation X-ecutiveWhat are some of the qualities that a good executive director should have?

The first is excellent people skills, the ability to interact with a wide range of personalities, to make people feel valued and welcome.

Just as important are strong management skills. A JCC is a large, complicated business, employing many people. A good executive director should be comfortable with budgets, understand financial documents, and have good organizational skills.

Today, all nonprofit executives are fundraisers. An effective JCC exec should be able to explain why the JCC merits financial support and should be capable of persuading people to offer that support.

A JCC is a Jewish institution, and its director should have a solid grounding in Jewish values and a familiarity with the richness of Jewish culture and heritage.

Because the world is changing more quickly all the time, an exec needs to be flexible, innovative, and creative. She should be willing to take risks in programming, outreach, fundraising, personnel, and all the other aspects of running a JCC.

Perhaps most important, a JCC exec must be a builder of community, someone who can inspire and encourage people to come together to create vibrant and meaningful communities.

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