FY17 Annual Report

While there was so much to celebrate and enjoy in FY17, it also held one of the greatest challenges we have ever faced. On the morning of Wednesday, January 18, 2017, the JCC received a telephone bomb threat. This threat was one of many received by JCCs all over the country. On that day, the staff came together to ensure that everyone – infants, seniors, preschoolers, swimmers, exercisers – were safely guided out of the building. The next day, it was so emotional to see cars pulling into the JCC lot, children being dropped off at school, members coming for their favorite group exercise class or people just coming to check on us. Until the suspect was arrested in March, there was concern and fear, questions, apprehension and anxiety. NOW IS THE TIME THAT WAS A MOMENT. . . Our heartfelt thanks go to our local, county and state law enforcement. Their actions that day and in the weeks and months that followed, reinforced our strong partnership and gave us a sense of security and calm. Our year could have been defined by that call in January, but it wasn’t. Instead it was defined by our collective resilience, commitment and strength. Amidst a difficult and trying time, the community rallied around us. People joined. People stayed. People asked what they could do. We knew that was our time to come together, to rally, and we rallied around Now is the Time . We went a step further and turned that rallying cry into a fundraising campaign to support new security measures and to give our members and community a way to support us and acknowledge our strength, importance and place in our community. In just weeks, we secured five matching donors and raised a total of $26,101 in online donations. We also got a very generous one-time donation of $50,000 from the Jewish Federation of Greater MetroWest New Jersey which enabled us to add dedicated security personnel in FY17.