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The Rainbow Connection: Making Dreams Come True for
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ecisonD.4-p,
18
January 22 • 2015
metro
Grassroots from page 16
measures, building maintenance, com-
munity outreach, revenue generation
and children's programming to reach a
younger audience.
The group then divided into sub-
groups to brainstorm suggestions under
each category, with the goal of coming
up with concrete ideas to be presented to
JCC/Federation leaders. After some time
for discussion, each group reported its
findings.
Suggestions included creating a more
transparent dues structure that can be
accessed online, fundraising on social
media, reaching out to synagogues and
agencies for support, increasing rental
opportunities for JPM, improving the
facility's website and designing targeted
marketing to attract more members.
The two-hour meeting ended with
subgroup leaders tasked with turning
in ideas to Aronson and Tobin. Another
Highlights From
Second JCC
Public Forum
0
n Jan. 13, Jewish
Community Center and
Jewish Federation of
Metropolitan Detroit lay and profes-
sional leaders held a second public
forum to elicit comments about
the possible closing of the Jimmy
Prentis Morris JCC in Oak Park.
About 125 people attended.
Here are some highlights.
"We need to go back to the commu-
nity and ask for support:' said Larry
Schon of Oak Park. "When the pool
and gym were built, the JCC had par-
lor meetings throughout community
and people supported it. No one has
asked since. We are not mega-donors,
but we will give more help than you
think."
Aviva Gordon of Oak Park sug-
gested that JPM consider closing a day
or two a week or having shorter hours
on slow days to save money. She also
felt JPM could do a better job of rent-
ing space for private functions.
Dennis Nordmoe of Huntington
Woods, executive director of Urban
Neighborhood Initiatives that runs a
community cen-
ter in southwest
Detroit, who is not
Jewish, said, "I love
it here. I've made
many friends here,
but sometimes I'm
the only one here.
Patrice Morris This is a relatively
Orthodox commu-
Phillips
nity — why do you
meeting to continue the work was set for
7 p.m. Monday, Jan. 26, at JPM.
"From my own vantage point and
most in leadership, we salute a grass-
roots effort as long as it continues to be
constructive said Matt Lester, chair of
the JCC Oversight Committee. "It is cer-
tainly appropriate for the biggest stake-
holders in that area to mobilize for the
good of that facility. There were a lot of
smart, dedicated people [at the forums].
"One thing they asked for, which
was not unreasonable, was some time.
On one hand, it's entirely appropriate; it
took many years, if not decades, for the
problem to be fully realized. We have
been at it for slightly over a year. It is not
unreasonable to give some time, and we
are open to working together.
"But we have to be pragmatic and real-
istic about what we are confronted with.
This is not a small financial problem."
❑
need to be open on Saturday?"
At the first forum, Patrice Morris
Phillips of West Bloomfield spoke
about the importance of the JCC to
her family. Her parents, Lester and
Jewell Morris, gave a significant
naming gift to the Oak Park JCC in
memory of their son, Jimmy Prentis
Morris, who died in a car accident at
age 13 in 1965.
"My dad loved it here; he came
here all the time:' she said. "The day
he died he wanted pictures hung here
of my brother. This was my parents'
life. On behalf of my family, I want to
thank all of you for your support ...
And I want to thank [JPM Director]
Leslee Magidson and her staff for a
phenomenal job."
Brian Siegel,
immediate past JCC
president, was part
of the leadership
panel at the forums
and looked back at
the process.
"We want to
discuss all the great
Brian Siegel
ideas that were
offered and get a better handle on
where the process is going to go from
here',' he said. "We do have a greater
understanding of the connection and
passion people have for [JPM].
"The fundamental financial prob-
lems of the JCC still exist so that issue
has not gone away. We are charged
with balancing a budget that is still
$1 million under water. We have to
close that [gap]. We have a lot of good
ideas."
❑
Contributing Writer Barbara Lewis
contributed to this report.