JCF Grants-in-Action #37: 6 Superb Initiatives Serve SNJ

What do a sensory friendly theater performance, community-wide professional development, and a Yom Ha'atzmaut celebration have in common?

These initiatives, among several others, all occurred in recent months and were funded all or in part by JCF Grants, and have been recapped below. Following that, please refer to details about our Fall 2025 JCF Grants Cycle at bottom.

Thank you to all who were involved in launching these new and innovative programs and services to enhance our Southern New Jersey community, the JCF is proud to have supported them with seed funding.

1.

Congregation Beth El

Rabbi Nogah Marshall, Educational Director at Congregation Beth El in Voorhees, shared the following about Cafe 77 (pictured) for Yom Ha'atzmaut (Israel Independence Day):

"The evening began with a Yom Hazikaron ceremony where students from both Beth El Religious and Kellman Brown Academy closed by singing the song Chai. Following the ceremony which consisted of remarks from the Beth El Clergy and the JCRC everyone was invited to join the celebration. The celebration included Israeli dancing, Israeli food for sale, Israeli crafts, and two mitzvah projects. The two projects were: Sensory Cards for patients at Adi Negev Rehabilitation Center and Healing Art Kits for Children in Israel."

An estimated 300 people attend the program, which was the second year in a row that a JCF Grant was provided to Beth El to celebrate the holiday.

Visit the Congregation Beth El Facebook page to view photos from the festive event.

2.

Congregation Sons of Israel

Congregation Sons of Israel of Cherry Hill recently completed a website overhaul to create a more user-friendly self-service website which is easier to navigate for members, the community, and staff for such activities as registering for events, accessing information, and connecting community members with one another. Thanks to Ilana Weiss, past President at SOI, for stewarding this project and providing the update.

3.

Jewish Federation of Southern New Jersey

Stacey Unterlack, Director of Early Childhood at the Katz JCC, submitted the following recap of the Jewish Federation's Community-Wide Professional Development which was held at Congregation Kol Ami and attended by 130 Jewish educators in the South Jersey early childhood centers and religious schools:

"The teachers that attended the program were so grateful to all come together. They hadn’t done this since before Covid. They also felt very much appreciated from the lovely dinner and dessert to the SWAG, free books and other surprise goodies. They enjoyed the conference-like style of sessions and learned a lot from the speakers in the sessions as well as each other  Thank you so much for this support. It elevates the whole community when we can provide quality professional development to our educators and elevate the learning opportunities for our students. This is a program that impacts students, teachers and our community!"

4.

Katz JCC

The Katz JCC Disability Services team, led by Nina Staiman, shared the following overview of a theater performance for children (pictured, right):

"Polkadots: The Cool Kids Musical, presented by the Walnut Street Theater of Philadelphia, was a sensory-friendly theater performance attended by 40 individuals during the Passover break! Polkadots: The Cool Kids Musical is based on the book by Melvin Tunstall III. The show followed Lily Polkadot’s move to the “Squares Only” town of Rockaway! As the first Polkadot in an all Square school,

Lily faced the almost impossible task of gaining acceptance from her peers.

Inspired by the events of Little Rock 9, this musical serves as a fun history lesson

as well as an important message on what it means to be inclusive. The children

audience members were deeply engaged through song and story in this

interactive live theater experience."

5.

Kellman Brown Academy

Director of Student Services Shira Weinstein at Kellman Brown Academy offered the following "tasty" description of their Hot Lunch Program Expansion grant:

"With the start of our new parent & grandparent healthy lunch program in 24-25, KBA quickly saw some basic equipment item needs for the kitchen. As part of this effort, KBA purchased a mixer and a food processor vegetable chopping machine. This was used by our volunteer cooking staff to help make hot lunches that have varied by semester and included homemade vegetable soup, chopped sweet potatoes, bourekas, rice, lentils, salad with homemade dressings, breakfast for lunch and so much more. The food is delicious and approximately 200 students and staff benefit daily from the expanded hot lunch program. Additionally, we are hosting an end of year Better Together lunch at KBA bringing our Lions Gate friends to dine with us for a special feast! We have also begun using the equipment for special class cooking programs. Thank you to the JCF for helping us with this special program!"

6.

Kellman Brown Academy

Another recap shared by Shira Weinstein of KBA revolves around their Middle School New York Trip, click here for pictures on Facebook:

"In April 2025, KBA took our 6th & 7th graders on a Jewish historical trip to New York City. As part of the trip, students visited the Statue of Liberty & Ellis Island, took a Lower East side walking tour that included a visit to the Bialystoker synagogue, Pickle Guys, Economy Candy, and the Forward Building. Students also visited the Anne Frank Exhibit at the Center for Jewish History and attended a Broadway show. This special trip was part of the incredible experiential learning that makes a KBA Jewish education so special. Thank you to the JCF for helping us with this special program that taught our students more about the early Jewish experience in this country! We could not have done this without your support!"

Interested in applying for JCF Grants? Mark your calendars! The Fall 2025 JCF Grants Cycle will launch later this summer, please note the following two dates:

• Thursday, September 4 at 9 am: JCF Grants Workshop for prospective applicants (hybrid meeting). RSVP to Mike Staff for full details.

• Friday, October 24 at 4pm: Deadline to apply.

Thank you to all make South Jersey such a wonderful community!