Tag: JCC Indianapolis
Your Generosity, Our Gratitude: A Thanksgiving Message
Dear JCC Indianapolis Members and Friends: As we approached Thanksgiving — grounding ourselves in gratitude, reflection, and the simple act of gathering — I thought about what it means to pause and truly take stock of our blessings. During the month of November, those blessings showed up at our JCC in ways I didn’t expect, […]
What a Fitness Class Taught Me About Gratitude
My first job at a JCC was as a group fitness instructor. More specifically, I taught cycling classes. While I hung up my clip-in cycling shoes several years ago, I am often reminded of the power of group fitness classes. Just last week, Hand in Hand Co-Chair Katy Cantor and I attended the Aqua Aerobics group’s […]
Roll Tide Meets Go Hoosiers: Send Help
The truth is I didn’t know what to expect. I thought — and confidentially, I hoped — that college football was behind me. Ever since I was growing up in Birmingham, AL, I was the oddball among my friends and family — the girl who had no interest in college football, never greeted people with […]
A Week Filled with Meaning, Connection, and Heart
On Thursday evening, I slipped into the back of the Laikin Auditorium just before one of our Ann Katz Festival of Books & Arts authors began to speak. As people found their seats, I noticed two members — one who has been part of our JCC for decades and another who just joined this year — […]
The Power of Return
Dear JCC Indianapolis Members and Friends, In recent days, we have witnessed images of hostages returning home — scenes that have gripped the Jewish world and stirred something deep within all of us. The faces of those coming back to their families after two years of living in hellish captivity remind us that return is […]
Celebrating a Year of Growth, Together
Exactly one year ago today, I walked into our JCC for my second day as CEO. One year later, I am just as energized — though a little less nervous — as I was then. What excites me most isn’t just the work we do, but the way our JCC continues to be shaped, strengthened, […]
A Sweet New Year, A Renewed Purpose
Rosh Hashanah, the Jewish New Year, a time when tradition teaches us that the world itself is renewed, begins this evening. Ten days from now we will gather again for Yom Kippur, the Day of Atonement. The days that connect the two are known as the Days of Teshuvah, which literally translates to “return.” Teshuvah […]
Shabbat Shalom from Sam: The Weight We Didn’t Know We Carried
Do you know that feeling of relief when a weight lifts off your shoulders — a weight you didn’t even realize you were carrying? That’s exactly how I felt last night at dinner with Jewish community leaders Beth and Steve Klapper and two of their daughters. JCC Board Chair David Katz, our spouses, and me […]
Shabbat Shalom from Sam: What the JCC Shares with a 90s Boy Band
It was at a Backstreet Boys concert that I realized just how much in common the JCC community has with a 90s pop boy band fanbase. Stay with me. I promise I’ll connect the dots.This past weekend, I saw the Backstreet Boys in concert. The five-member boy band, who really broke onto the scene in […]
Shabbat Shalom from Sam: The Secret Ingredient is Relationships
“Would you like your hamburger medium-well or well-done?” is a question that I asked numerous times a day during my college years. I worked at my family’s restaurant as a server for about three years. At the time, I couldn’t imagine how my job serving hamburgers and corned beef sandwiches would contribute to my ultimate […]