J Blog

We have some good news to share in today's update. We have generators running and have AC and electricity in parts of the Weingarten Building. We are working area by area to check the mechanical systems. We've already had one air handler motor catch fire and burn out. We will have a much better idea in the next few days when we can re-open the Weingarten Building. We estimate it will be at least another 7+ days as we are waiting on ...

Shabbat Shalom from the J The world is a very different place than it was a month ago. A month ago, the J did not have each department successfully running programs without a building. We did not have a free two-week day camp created in partnership with Greene Family Camp. Our entire staff and teachers, along with our Board and community members, never gathered for Shabbat in the Tennis Center where we shed tears of joy and sadness while ...

As we continue to recover from Hurricane Harvey, our staff has worked diligently to get programs back up and running, both in the short term with the limited facilities available, and for the future as we get buildings operational. Today we wanted to provide you with an update on the programs we are currently running and looking forward to in the near future. We hope that you'll come out to show your support for the J at one or several of these ...

Program Updates Our staff continues to find facilities to open their doors for our programs. Four different gymnastic gyms are providing space for our competitive gymnasts to train. Congregation Brith Shalom that hosted our concert this past Sunday is providing space for our children and teen theater productions to rehearse, and Shlenker Day School is hosting our KidZone program. Our staff is amazing. They have been working under very ...

Facilities Update As many schools prepare to open on Monday and businesses start to re-open, I wanted to provide you with updates on the Evelyn Rubenstein JCC facilities. We are working this week to set up temporary generators to get electricity to the Weingarten building and operate temporary chillers that will provide air conditioning. We will also bring in a temporary boiler to have hot water available in restrooms, showers and heat water ...

Shabbat Shalom from the J It is difficult to describe to those outside of Houston what life is like here right now. Families displaced from their homes, the contents of a life piled up on countless front lawns, each day hazily blending into the next. These past two weeks have proven themselves beyond our wildest imagining, and we are utterly exhausted. Exhausted from tearing apart houses, from conversations with FEMA, from shuttling kids to ...

Boot Camp at Godwin Park We're bringing fitness to you! Our fitness instructors and personal trainers are holding a free boot camp in Godwin Park every Monday, Wednesday and Friday at 6:00 AM. This is a free class to anyone in the community who wants to get back into a workout routine. "We had 11 members out there yesterday, and it just felt so good. Folks were happy to see one another, and most importantly they were just so happy to get a ...

J Meals on Wheels As we all assess the damage in our lives, those of our family and neighbors, and work through the physical and emotional toll of recovery and relief, there’s another population that we don’t see at the J collecting donated supplies and water. Our homebound seniors who cannot get out of their homes to get to supplies are also in desperate need. We’re happy to report that J Meals on Wheels is back up and ...

We have several updates to share with you today. Remediation In Progress Remediation work continues, and we are assessing the damage to the central plant to determine how we will provide electricity and air conditioning to the Weingarten Building. We are continuing clean up work at the Merfish Teen Center and Bertha Alyce Early Childhood School. All three pools at the main campus are closed indefinitely as we assess repairs needed. We are ...

It’s been a long and difficult week for so many in our community and across Greater Houston and beyond. Along with the Jewish Federation and other Jewish Agencies, the J has been host to a massive recovery and relief effort. We’ve collected supplies and distributed to those in need since Hurricane Harvey pressed on to the east. We even had the Houston Texans and the JJ Watt Foundation lend a hand with additional supplies and ...