Building Hours:The Jewish Community Center of the Lehigh Valley is gearing up for another school year, coming on the heels of record enrollment in both our early childhood and summer camp programs. This year, we will be focusing on incorporating our agency’s updated mission and values into the work we already do, and creating new programs to reach even more community members.
This past year, our board of directors voted to update the JCC’s mission: The Jewish Community Center of the Lehigh Valley brings people together to build connections and enrich lives through Jewish values. Additionally, we selected four Jewish values that form the foundation for our work: kehilla (community and belonging), l’dor v’dor (connection across generations), limmud (lifelong learning), and hachnasat orchim (welcoming). These values are the common thread connecting our programs and bringing our community together.
Among our many programming initiatives this year, we are excited to add a full-time staff position dedicated to Jewish education and engagement, with the support of funding from the Jewish Federation of the Lehigh Valley. Recent data from the Jewish Federations of North America shows that newly engaged or re-engaged community members are most likely to seek out JCCs as their first entryway into Jewish life. Through this initiative, we aim to engage this group of community members, ultimately expanding the number of people connected to all of our many agencies.
We wish you and your families a g’mar chatima tova this High Holiday season, and we hope to see you at the JCC for a program or event soon.
