The 28th Annual Ann Katz Festival of Books & Arts returns this fall with authors, filmmakers, artists, food and conversations designed to bring people together. For nearly three decades, the Ann Katz Festival of Books & Arts has brought compelling voices and fresh ideas to Indianapolis. This fall, the tradition continues with a 2026 lineup […]

As we prepare for Rosh Hashanah, the Jewish New Year, to begin tonight at sundown, I have been reflecting on something I’ve noticed throughout the past year. People are coming back to our JCC. For one reason or another, people who were once part of our JCC stepped away. Some moved or entered a different […]

At 7:41 a.m. on Thursday, I received a text letting me know that the JCC had lost power. As inconveniences go, it was a pretty significant one. We were in the first week of camp, transitioning classrooms in our Early Childhood Education center, and navigating one of the busiest times of year for membership, aquatics, […]

I’m going to start by sharing something that makes me feel vulnerable: when I became a 28-year-old Executive Director at the JCC in Birmingham, Alabama — my hometown — I had no idea what I was doing. I had passion and cared deeply about the mission. But I was learning in real time how to […]

Everywhere I turn at our JCC lately, I see people building something together. A few weeks ago, I asked many of you to share your stories. What came back was extraordinary: stories of friendship, healing, belonging, growth, tradition, and connection. Again and again, one truth emerged. In moments when life felt fractured or uncertain, people […]

As we move toward Shabbat, I’ve been thinking about what it truly means to build community not in the abstract, but in the small, tangible ways we show up for one another. The conversations we have, moments we share, the ways we create something meaningful together, even when the world around us can feel fragmented. […]

I’m writing this at 10 p.m., on a bus back to our Disney World hotel. My son is asleep on my shoulder, surrounded by families who have just watched the evening fireworks at Magic Kingdom. We’ve spent the week at Disney World — our long-delayed trip, postponed after my husband lost his mother. If I’m […]

Our JCC has been engaged in a rigorous and deeply thoughtful strategic planning process, led by Panoramic Strategies, to guide our next chapter. This past Monday evening, our Board of Directors officially adopted the framework for that plan, which is centered around four key pillars that will shape not only what we do, but also […]

This past Saturday, I found myself around a friend’s kitchen table — coffee cups full, chairs pulled close, the comfortable hum of people who trust each other enough to say what they’re really thinking. We gather every Shabbat afternoon after synagogue services. That part wasn’t new. But this Saturday felt different. We had all woken up […]

Around dinnertime Monday evening, my phone lit up. Typically, I wouldn’t answer the phone during designated family time, but this caller was special.   It was retired US Marine General Charles Krulak, a former Commandant of the Marine Corps and member of the Joint Chiefs of Staff under President Bill Clinton. For nearly 15 years, […]