J Blog

Dear Friends,

Shana Tovah!

At times, I found myself pausing and turning the calendar back a year and trying to remember what happened in the days immediately following Hurricane Harvey. I think about what I was doing, progress on the remediation at the J and renovation plans going forward.

We are grad students from UH, writing as part of a community healing through storytelling initiative. We will be offering free workshops centered on telling the story of Meyerland--your stories of Meyerland, tracing your experiences from your first arrival through the storm and to the present day. Community members can share their storm stories and learn how to help their neighbors share their storm stories, as well as their own unique perspectives on this unique neighborhood. The process is both a healing act and a mode of community documentation, a chance for those affected by the storm to shape their neighborhood’s story.

The 27^th Annual Children’s Scholarship Ball is coming up Saturday, March 4, 2017. There is nothing more important to us at the Evelyn Rubenstein JCC than making a lasting impact on the lives of children in our community. Each year, 300 children at the J benefit from scholarship assistance, but the need is great year round.  This is why the Children’s Scholarship Ball benefitting the Irvin Kaplan Children’s Scholarship Fund was created to ensure that all children from six-week-old infants to teenagers, of all religious and ethnic backgrounds, and with different abilities, can participate in our early childhood programs, preschools, special needs programs, holiday events and J Camps.

“Before I was a Foster Grandparent I had a routine. I picked up my grandchildren from school, I cooked and I cleaned. That was my routine. Now, by volunteering in the Foster Grandparent program, I have a life! Last year I met with a young girl who told me she wanted to commit suicide. Her father was in prison, and she was having a really bad time. I saw her in the halls last week and stopped to talk with her...”