2017 Fall Program Guide

315-445-2360 | www.jccsyr.org
Our Jewish Community Center
You must have heard us howling
The following was adapted from Marci
Erlebacher’s remarks given at the JCC’s
Annual Meeting & Gala on June 4, 2017.
I have recently been reading a series of
books on wolves and I have to tell you that
I have become fascinated with a wolf’s
howl and why they howl. Wolves howl to
make their presence and territory known.
They are making the statement, “We are
here, this is our territory.”
For the past several weeks
when thinking of what to
say to you this afternoon, I
haven’t been able to get this
concept out of my head. And
then I realized that this is
exactly how I have felt this
past winter. I have wanted to
howl. Now some of you must
be thinking, “Where is she
going with this?” Why am I
attracted to wolves howling and what does
it have to do with the JCC?
I am going to assume that everyone
here knows about the JCC surviving three
threats last winter. Two were bomb threats
and one was a possible shooter threat.
Thankfully none of these came to fruition.
Many of you have heard me say that
living through a bomb threat wasn’t the
difficult part. When a threat happens, our
well-trained team goes on autopilot. We
were prepared. We followed our protocol.
Law enforcement really saw us through
these terrible events. With the assistance
of Dewitt Police, State Police, Onondaga
County Sheriffs and the FBI we were kept
safe. And I must give a special thank you
to the Federation’s community security
Marci Erlebacher
JCC Executive Director
liaison, Susan DeMari. Susan helps to
coordinate all of the players and is beyond
amazing at her job.
It is not the event itself but the
aftermath that can cripple you. Post
traumatic stress disorder was on our
doorstep. It has taken months to find
our “new normal.” And yes, I cannot
lie, part of finding wellness again had to
do with finding the perpetrator of these
events. Thus, we were able to
start breathing again. And
although we recently just
started to get the rhythm
of our breathing back, the
excellence of our programing
never wavered.
Yet we have been
wounded. We lost significant
business because of the bomb
threats. While many JCCs in
dense Jewish communities
did not experience a significant drop in
enrollment, we at the Sam Pomeranz
Jewish Community Center did. We have
lost tens of thousands of dollars in our
childcare programs, which are our bread
and butter. It may take a couple of years to
find our balance and bring our numbers
back up. Luckily, camp enrollment has
been strong. But I will not sugar coat this
experience. We are hurting. However,
thanks to the amazing support from the
Jewish Federation of Central New York,
we will be able to weather these difficult
times. They have been extremely sensitive
to our situation and thanks to the success
of the Federation campaign we are
receiving one of the largest allocations that
I can ever remember.
So what does this have to do with
wolves? A wolf that howls to say I am here
is exactly what I feel like doing right now.
Howl… we are here. We have survived.
This is who and what we are. We serve
our community proudly—do you hear
our howl? We care for our children and
are one of the safest childcare facilities in
Onondaga County. We care for our senior
citizens in body and mind. We offer a
home away from home for many. Is my
howling loud enough? We are a landlord
and a home for our Jewish community.
Perhaps we should all howl on that one.
There are many that understood
the significance of our survival in
this community and they have been
unbelievably supportive. Look around you,
look at this unparalleled attendance, and
look at our ad book—the most successful
one that we have ever produced. You must
have heard us howling.
Here is what I have learned this year.
Bomb threats will not stop us. They will
only make us howl louder and stronger.
I thank all of you who are here today
because you have joined us in this song,
in this howl. Please continue with your
support. More importantly, let us support
each other. Let us all support our Jewish
agencies and our congregations. Why is
it that on some level we only remember
to support our Jewish community when
a crisis happens or threatens us? Let us
support our temples and agencies with
loud and melodious howls that will tell one
and all, “We are here.”
Marci Erlebacher
Got your JCC membership card handy?
Providing a safe and welcoming environment
is a top priority of the Sam Pomeranz Jewish
Community Center. That’s why we’ve constructed
a new secured entrance inside our
main lobby (see photo at right) to add another
layer of security. Thus, JCC members will
soon need to use their membership card to
enter through this new entrance. This should
be fully in place by mid September. So JCC
members, get ready to use your membership
card for easy building access during regular
business hours. Don’t have a card yet? Stop by
the Fitness desk to get one at no cost. Visitors
will still be able to enter the building after signing
in at the front desk. For more information,
call the JCC at 315-445-2360.
4 JCC of Syracuse | 2017 Fall Program Guide