The community gathered on Wednesday, May 3 to celebrate the Simon Family JCC with One Night of Israeli food, wine, and music. The fundraising event, hosted by John Stein of Baker’s Crust, featured Israeli chefs Guy Marom and Nir Margalith of the travel and catering company Puzzle Israel. Floral arrangements were donated by The Wandering Petal.
Seven courses flowed to the table by way of the Baker’s Crust Hilltop staff. The strength of the community was felt not only through the generosity of Stein and Baker’s Crust, but also through the donations made by attendees which will allow local children to experience a week of leadership development, confidence building, problem-solving, and friendship at Camp JCC and JCC youth athletic programs.
With globe lights hanging over head and greenery decorating every table, Jay Klebanoff, president of United Jewish Federation of Tidewater, spoke about the upcoming year of the Simon Family JCC saying, “Our community leaders and professional staff work hard to ensure that the Simon Family JCC has the resources needed to provide the programs wanted and needed by both the Jewish and greater community. Everybody is welcome at the JCC. So that’s why we’re here tonight to have some fun and support the Simon Family JCC and all it provides and represents.”
The One Night dinner served as the launch of the 2018 JCC Campaign. Fundraising will continue through the summer for all of its programming including Camp JCC, Kids’ Connection, and the educational series Israel Today, which brought Puzzle Israel to Tidewater. This campaign and the community’s altruism is what makes it possible for the Simon Family JCC to promote the Jewish values of education, tolerance, diversity, kindness, and health and wellness.
Of the fundraising event, Martha Glasser says, “It was so generous of John Stein to make this amazing event possible. Bringing Israel to us through food and culture and offering such a sense of community, you could feel it in the air. There’s nothing like sharing food together. It creates a welcoming place of conversation and comradery. I look forward to more events like this in the future.”
– Erin Dougherty