Youth Organizations

The Young Men's Hebrew Association and the Young Women's Hebrew Association (YM–YWHA or often simply "Y") are part of an organization called the Jewish Community Centers Association of North America (JCCA). Jewish community centers are established by residents of a city with a large Jewish population to provide leisure and educational activities for their members. The aim is to strengthen Jewish family life, foster Jewish living in a democratic society, and provide shared experiences for all age groups.

Program

Center programs are multifaceted, flexible, professionally directed, and designed to meet the needs of the community where the center is located. Program activities stimulate personality development, leadership, participation in community affairs, and each member's sense of his or her Jewish identity. Extensive programs for health and physical education, camping, and outdoor recreation afford the opportunity for acquiring new skills and developing friendships. Many Jewish community centers also offer courses in music, arts and crafts, dance, drama, literature, and Jewish studies, in addition to lectures, concerts, art exhibits, theatrical performances, poetry and fiction readings, and cultural festivals.

The JCCA provides to local centers a variety of program materials dealing with all aspects of community center work, and it organizes and conducts regional and national conferences, institutes, seminars, competitions, and intercenter activities. The JCCA also recruits, orients, and places staff in Jewish community centers and oversees scholarship programs for their continued training.

Jewish community centers throughout the United States and Canada offer day care and early childhood educational services for Jewish children ages three to six. Jewish community centers also offer programs for Jewish senior citizens, permitting elderly men and women the chance to socialize, become involved with their community, and stay mentally and physically fit.

The JCCA and YM–YWHA chapters also offer Jewish athletes a chance to train and compete at local, national, and international sporting events through their sponsorships of Macabbi USA and Macabbi Canada. Every year approximately 6,000 young Jewish athletes compete at JCCA Macabbi Games. The best athletes compete at the World Macabbi Games, a two-week international competition held every four years in Israel. In 2001 Macabbi USA sent 360 athletes representing thirty-nine states to Israel to compete in the world games.

The JCCA and YM–YWHA work in cooperation with twenty-two resident camps throughout the United States and one in Ontario, Canada. Most camps offer day, short-term, and long-term camping programs where young people can learn swimming, canoeing, horseback riding, archery, and other outdoor activities. Many camp programs also include cultural and creative activities, such as jewelry making, wood sculpting, pottery, dance, and theater. Some resident camps organize family camping events. In addition, many local Jewish community centers run their own day-camp programs.

Through the Jewish Welfare Board Chaplain's Council, the JCCA serves the religious and social needs of Jewish military personnel and their families. Regional consultants and national United Service Organizations (USO) staff provide services to stateside USO clubs and councils and to small, isolated Jewish communities serving Jews in nearby military installations.

Organization and Membership

The JCCA includes 275 affiliated community centers in thirty-nine states, the District of Columbia, and ten Canadian cities. The JCCA is also affiliated with a Jewish community center in Hong Kong. Together, the JCCA-affiliated centers have a membership of more than 1 million people. Most centers and Ys make membership available to anyone in the community, regardless of religious affiliation. Financial support is derived from membership dues, course and programs fees, fund-raisers, corporate sponsorship, and foundation and private donations.

History

The first Young Men's Hebrew Association (YMHA) was founded in 1854 in Baltimore, Maryland, to provide services and support for Jewish immigrants. By 1884 approximately seventy such agencies had been organized. They served as libraries, settlement houses, cultural centers, and helped new Jewish immigrants adapt to life in America by offering instruction in the English language and the American way of life. In 1913 the National Council of Young Men's Hebrew and Kindred Associations (YMH&KA) was formed to unite the disparate YMHAs into a national association. The national Jewish Welfare Board (JWB) was founded in 1917 to meet the religious needs and improve the morale of Jewish men in the armed forces. In 1921 the YMH&KA merged with the JWB, making the JWB the national association for Jewish community centers and YM–YWHAs. During the 1950s and 1960s many Jewish-Americans moved to the suburbs, and new community centers were established to serve the needs of this more affluent community. The centers began to expand their services to include day camps, travel camps, performing arts, day-care centers, sports programs, adult education, and services for senior citizens.

During the 1970s and 1980s, pride in Israel flourished in the American Jewish community, and many young people became interested in their Jewish roots. In response, Jewish community centers began to sponsor cultural events related to Jewish heritage and history, including Jewish film festivals and celebrations for Hanukkah, Israeli Independence Day, and other Jewish holidays. Many Jewish community centers also organized trips to Israel. The Jewish Welfare Board changed its name to the Jewish Community Centers Association of North America in 1995.