Can you feel it? I’m feeling it more recently than I have since arriving in Louisville four years ago. I see it in our youth, in our JCC membership, among our generous donors and throughout the staff. I’m talking about pride in our Jewish community. Pride in setting a vision and then aligning our resources, partners and stakeholders to achieve it.
Cases in point: 94 new or returning donors who didn’t participate in the Jewish Federation of Louisville Campaign last year have made a 2015 pledge, and we would love to add more. Levels of youth involvement in BBYO not seen in decades. Early Learning Center classrooms and Summer Camp offerings filled to capacity. And, sell-out attendance at last Saturday evening’s Million Dollar Dinner (see story, page 1) where we came together and celebrated our community and our successful efforts to build Jewish identity among our next generation of leaders.
Our agencies and congregations are collaborating more than ever before in stretching our precious community resources further. We are talking each other up, encouraging participation in the variety of events available to our community, and recognizing the need to work together to build and sustain a community that fulfills not only our needs, but the needs of the next generation, and those who choose to move here to join us. And while our agency has led certain of these efforts, these successes are not due to just the JCL – they are due to a collective effort to reduce barriers and foster communication and cooperation.
As we enter the year 2015, the year marking the 125th anniversary of the founding of Louisville’s Young Men’s Hebrew Association, the precursor to Louisville’s JCC, let’s pause for a moment and take pride in all this Jewish community has accomplished since then. Also, if you haven’t been in to the JCC since the upgrades have been completed (story in CenterPiece page 1), perhaps a visit is warranted. You might leave with a renewed sense of pride in our facility that has served us so well for the past 60 years.
However you choose to feel it, I hope you do share in our pride, and will join us as we build on in 2015 and beyond.
