Once a week, a group of us — Jewish community leaders — sits around a table. On paper, we run very different organizations.

David Sklar spends his days advocating for the Jewish community and building relationships across the civic landscape through the Jewish Community Relations Council of Greater Indianapolis. Rachel Katz leads Jewish Family Services of Greater Indianapolis, making sure people have support when life gets complicated. Evan Lubline is an entrepreneur leading Hooverwood Living, providing assisted living and memory care for older adults. Lori Halperin is shaping the next generation of Jewish learners at Hasten Hebrew Academy of Indianapolis. And leadership from the Jewish Federation of Greater Indianapolis is always thinking about the health of our community here and the Jewish people around the world.

And then there’s the Jewish Community Center of Indianapolis — where Jewish life often looks a little less formal: kids running through the hallway after swim lessons, a pickup basketball game, a spin class, camp drop-off.

From the outside, it can sometimes look like our organizations operate in silos. Different buildings. Different boards. Different missions.

But the truth is something quite different.

Every week, we sit down together to share what we’re seeing, plan where we’re going, and dream a little about what Jewish life in Indianapolis could become.

Our vantage points are different. One of us is thinking about education. Another about caring for older adults. Another about advocacy. Another about families navigating difficult moments.

But when we talk about the future of Jewish life here — the kind of community we want our kids to grow up in — the alignment is striking.

We want a community where Jewish children grow up proud.
Where people know they will be cared for when they need help.
Where Jewish life is visible, confident, and welcoming.
And where no one has to build that future alone.

Those conversations are shaping partnerships, shared ideas, and the long-term health of Jewish life in Indianapolis. And the JCC plays a unique role in all of it.

If other organizations are pillars of Jewish life, the JCC is often the front porch — the place where people walk in, bump into each other, and experience what Jewish community actually feels like. When that front porch is strong, connected, and working in partnership with the rest of the neighborhood, the whole community becomes stronger.

And sitting around that table each week, I’m reminded just how committed our leaders are to building that kind of future — together.
 
Shabbat Shalom.

Sam Dubrinsky -JCC CEO