As the Jewish Federation of Broward County we are proud to allocate your generous dollars to our Community Partners that we know are making a real impact in our community. This Shabbat we want to give you the opportunity to hear from one of these partners, the David Posnack Jewish Community Center.
Thank you for your continued commitment to our community, we are creating impact, one story at a time.
Shabbat Shalom,
Michael Balaban
The David Posnack Jewish Community Center has the privilege of presenting this week’s Shabbat Shalom message. It is a wonderful opportunity to speak to how we are accomplishing our purpose of “enriching lives by connecting people,” and explain how much these few words benefit so many.
This summer we are connecting 700 children enrolled in our Camp Kadima with the opportunity to make new friends and lifetime memories; to explore new experiences and embrace their Jewish heritage; and to learn sensitivity, sportsmanship and teamwork.
Of the 700 campers, 150 (ages 3 to 22) are campers in Giborim, the special needs division of Camp Kadima. Giborim has a 26-year history, beginning in 1991, with just 15 campers enrolled. Thanks to scholarship dollars from the Jewish Federation of Broward County, we connect the families of special needs children with the financial assistance many of them need to send their children to summer camp. Judging by the emotional and heartfelt thank you letters received each year at the end of summer, Camp Giborim goes a long way to enrich the lives of these families and the children who attend.
This past spring, we launched the inaugural session of Giborim U (Gib U), our first year-round program for special needs children and adults. For children ages 8-17 and adults ages 18 plus, Gib U offered a variety of classes in sports and wellness from basketball to yoga, in socialization from dance parties to beach outings and in the arts from painting to cooking. Gib U will kick off the fall session with over 20 classes per week. Thanks to a large allocation from Federation, much-needed life skills classes will be added to the curriculum.
Weekdays in the lunch room of our adult services department, 50 to 100 seniors (ages 60+) may be found enjoying a nutritious hot meal. For many of them, this is their only opportunity to connect with others and socialize. For others, this is their only nutritious meal of the day. Throughout the week the senior lunch program also features free enrichment classes, music and entertainment. Lunch is basically free – a $2 donation is requested, but not required. We have been told by many of the participants that the lunch program is their lifeline, that without it, their lives would be unbearably lonely.
Four days a week because of a joint partnership between the Posnack JCC and the National Parkinson’s Foundation, free physical exercise classes are offered to anyone in the community with Parkinson’s. There is much medical evidence that shows that physical exercise helps slow down the progression of the disease. Classes include ageless grace, boxing, aquatic exercise, tai chi, music therapy and yoga (performed in a chair or standing).
Every day I walk our hallways and see firsthand the countless ways we enrich people’s lives. We provide activities that keep them healthy, programs that energize their mind and body and a safe, welcoming environment in which to interact with their family and friends.
I see hundreds of children in our camp, preschool and afterschool programs, whose lives are being enriched, because they have received the benefit of scholarship dollars provided by Federation to attend those programs.
Yes, it is a privilege to write this message as a beneficiary agency of an organization that enables us to fulfill our purpose of “enriching lives by connecting people,” in so many meaningful ways.
Shabbat Shalom,
Scott Ehrlich, Chief Executive Officer
Jewish Federation of Broward County 