jews d

in
the

JCC day campers enjoy a cooling dip in the pool.

continued from page 14

people and non-Jewish people in the larger community
that, in turn, creates a more dynamic Jewish commu-
nity in Detroit.”
Siegel added, “Jeff and I both believe that Jewish
people don’t live in a vacuum and that our Jewish com-
munity as a whole is enriched by its interactions with
the larger community.”

A NEW VISION

Siegel, an entrepreneur and strategic thinker at
heart, began working on a new plan for the JCC in
fall 2016. One wall in his
office is covered in white
boards, forming a major stag-
ing area for ideas, organiza-
tional charts and more.
Currently, a new mission
statement, tweaked and near-
ly finalized, is scrawled on
one board: “We exist to build
Jewish community by collabo-
rating to create world-class
education and engagement
opportunities for the mind,
body and soul throughout
Metropolitan Detroit.”
Input into the compre-
hensive plan came from co-
author Jeff Lasday, while he
was still at Federation.
“It was a pie-in-the-sky
plan,” Siegel said in retro-
spect.
After sanctioned by the JCC
board, the goal of moving the
Education Department to the
— BRIAN SIEGEL
JCC was initially approved
in January 2017 by the
Federation board, which then appointed a task force
to explore the challenges and opportunities created
by the move. Its findings were presented in spring
2017. Federation board final approval came at its
April 2017 meeting.
A few months later, on June 1, the Education
Department became part of the JCC, along with its
programs like JFamily, Opening the Doors (special
needs education), FedEd, and early childhood, congre-
gational school and day school programs, and more.
The Federation transfer of the Education
Department was made in its entirety and included
a $2.5 million budget that contains approximately
$964,000 of Annual Campaign allocation with the
remainder supported by grants, endowment income,

“The JCC is moving
toward a vision
of itself that is
not bounded
by a building or
memberships. The
new vision of
the JCC is more
customer-centric
and it’s moving
toward where the
customers are.”

16

April 26 • 2018

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