JCC Manhattan

Some might say that the Jewish Community Center in Manhattan (JCC) is a “no brainer” for being innovative simply due to the fact that it stands in the midst of one of the largest Jewish communities in the world: the Upper West Side of Manhattan. However there is nothing lax about the JCC’s approach to serving 55,000 people annually through 3,600 high quality programs, and to building community through the values and relationships it infuses into each interaction. While it does have one of the best fitness centers in the system, members and non-members alike are also drawn to the JCC’s holistic and transformative educational programs that focus on mind, body and spirit. 

This past January, the JCC launched R & R, a series of free programs on Shabbat afternoons. From April through November, community members of “multiple identities and relationships within Jewish tradition” can select from a myriad of art performances or sessions that include meditation, a capella and Jewish text study. The range of programs is particularly appealing to unafiliated Jews looking for an alternative to traditional Shabbat activities. Elsewhere in the building, the Dobkin Family Foundation continues to make possible the innovative work of Ma’yan: The Jewish Women’s Project and its Koach Banot: Girl Power! program, identifying and addressing the needs of Jewish girls and professionals working with Jewish teens in the community. On the horizon, the JCC is in conversation with the NYU Medical Center to establish a pilot wellness program for early onset Parkinson’s patients who, research suggests, do better in programs at community centers than in hospitals. If successful, the JCC will explore new models of community-based support for those living with Alzheimer’s and other life-altering illnesses. 

While the idea of a JCC itself is not innovative, what is happening within this JCC’s building is definitely “innovative and inclusive.” Another evaluator comments, “Since Joy Levitt took over [as Executive Director], the institution is looking at the whole person” and embodying a “new paradigm for JCCs around the country” to emulate.