FY18 Annual Report

FY18 was filled with inspirational moments, both in and out of the JCC and for causes both local and far. Daffodil Project The Daffodil Project aspires to build a living Holocaust remembrance by planting 1.5 million daffodils around the world in memory of the 1.5 million children who perished in the Holocaust. In October 2017, our TASC teens planted 350 daffodil bulbs around the JCC, and in April 2018, they held a ceremony on the JCC grounds in honor of Yom HaShoah, Holocaust Remembrance Day, and the Daffodil Project. shining the light Tzedakah and Mitzvahs For the third year, our Early Childhood community partnered with the Mandy Reichman Feeding Program to help feed those in need. This included a food drive leading up to Thanksgiving, collecting, sorting and packaging cookies, snacks, fruit and drinks and going to Temple Emanu-El in Westfield to help make and pack lunches. Our Early Childhood community did not stop there. Their 2017-18 Tzedakah Challenge raised over $800; $300 was donated to the Manny L. Friedman Foundation to help animals, and over $500 went to the Innovation Africa Foundation, an Israeli organization which helps bring Israeli solar, agricultural and water technologies to rural African villages. And throughout FY18, our Kindergartners and Bridges Transitional Kindergartners gathered together with our seniors for Purim, Passover, a classroom performance dress rehearsal and regular book readings. At one get-together, the children shared one interesting fact about themselves and then the Seniors took their turns. It was heartwarming to see the sweet bonds between our youth and seniors. t h e r e ’ s s o m e t h i n g a b o u t t h i s p l a c e • t h e r e ’ s s o m e t h i n g a b o u t t h i s p l a c e • t h e r e ’ s s o m e t h i n g a b o u t t h i s p l a c e • t h e r e ’ s s o m e t h i n g a b o u t t h i s p l a c e • Swim for Food 2017 Barracudas swimmers Jackie and Danielle Coyne organized the 2017 Swim for Food fundraiser which took place at the JCC All-Stars Meet at the Raritan Bay YMCA. A total of 526 swimmers donated 679 pounds of food! The teams that donated the most pounds of food per swimmer were awarded prizes, and the JCC got 2nd place for 2.5 pounds of food donated per swimmer! Satellite Bicycle Ride for the Living On June 2018, JCC indoor cyclists participated in a dedicated satellite ride to support Krakow’s Jewish community and learn about the renewal of Jewish life in Poland. It was made all the more special just a year after many in our JCC community took an emotional journey from Poland to Israel and spent time at the Warsaw and Krakow JCCs. Special Needs Symposium On February 25, 2018 in honor of Jewish Disability Awareness, Acceptance and Inclusion Month (JDAIM), we hosted a free Special Needs Symposium. It was an opportunity for all connected to the Special Needs community to meet, to learn, to discuss and to laugh (thanks to keynote speaker Pamela Schuller, internationally known disability advocate and stand-up comedian). “The symposium introduced me to so many wonderful providers in our area as well as other parents of children with special needs. I even got answers to specific questions I had for years on special needs estate planning. And to top it all off, I laughed and cried with the symposium speaker who gave me all the feels.” – Lauren Pearlman