Something happened earlier this week that might have sounded ordinary to most people in the room where it happened, but it didn’t feel ordinary to me. I was at the annual JCC CEO Conference in Atlanta where Barak Hermann, CEO of the JCC Association of North America, was speaking about inclusion across our movement. In […]

This week, I walked past a wall I’ve passed every single day since I started at the JCC in the fall of 2024. And for the first time, it was empty. The photo above shows that wall — blank as of earlier this week — but for more than a year it held the faces […]

Growing up Jewish in the Deep South teaches you something that never really leaves you: nothing is far away. This week, I read about the arson at Beth Israel in Jackson, Mississippi — a synagogue set on fire, Torah scrolls destroyed — and I felt it in my body. Not because Jackson is close to […]

As we all settle into the rhythm of a new year, I’ve been reflecting on how generosity has a way of multiplying — how one act of caring so often inspires another.Several weeks ago, I wrote about an incredible mother-daughter duo who gave a collective $150,000 gift to provide access to JCC childcare services for […]

New year, new routines—and a perfect time to build momentum you can actually keep. At JCC Indianapolis, the first few weeks of the year bring a mix of wellness, community, and events that make showing up feel easy (and fun).

It is 4:00 p.m. on December 31, 2026, one year from now, and I am sitting at my desk.  The JCC has quieted in that familiar end-of-year way — the hum of the fitness floor fading, a few last goodbyes exchanged at the front desk, staff slipping out into the cold to begin their New Year’s […]

This past Sunday — just hours before Chanukah began — our world woke up to devastating news. At least 15 Jews were murdered, and many more injured, at a Chanukah celebration on a beach in Sydney, Australia. Within that same window of time came news of another mass shooting — this one at Brown University, […]

As we prepare to begin Chanukah — a holiday that celebrates the power of small lights to push back great darkness — I’ve been thinking a lot about where light shows up in our community. Not only in the menorah we light in Celebration Plaza on campus, but in the daily acts of dedication, kindness, […]

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, […]

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 […]