Edlavitch DCJCC

It's been a big week in our Preschool! Yesterday, we were thrilled to celebrate our graduates in the Yanshoofim class 🎓 Today, we had a blast at the last Shabbat of the year in a glow in the dark party 🎉

We're counting down the days until our block party celebrating the launch of the new Youth Action Institute! Students ages 11-18 are invited to come party with our DJ, play games, have fun in the 360 photo booth - and start earning those SSL hours for the upcoming school year with a drop-in volunteer project.
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Don't miss it! RSVP today ➡ https://edcjcc.co/3YsxTOY

🎒 Celebrate the start of the school year with our close partner organization, Housing Up! We’ll distribute backpacks and school supplies and play games to get ready for the upcoming school year.

Register now for free ➡ https://edcjcc.co/4dp9Bd8

Camp EDCJCC 💙💛🖤💚❤ the Olympics! Our campers have had a blast over the last two weeks winning medals in paper airplane throwing, running, swimming, and more.

Registration is now open for the fall session of our Hebrew and Yiddish classes. Plus, new this session, come learn about Yiddish through song in our new Taste of Yiddish classes.

Our teachers are native Hebrew speakers, classes are open to learners of all levels, and learning is all from the comfort of your own home.

Sign up today ➡ https://edcjcc.co/4dAeJep

Back in 2021, we were thrilled to have Distant Cousins join our Preschool families for a special project to create an original song celebrating and thanking our teachers at the virtual spring gala.

Now, we invite you to hear their new single Dimati (my tears), from their upcoming EP Out of the Darkness. On October 8, the Cousins began working on this poignant compilation that combines Hebrew and English with many direct quotes from Psalms. Emotions were raw, but also the beginning of the healing process the three of them went through.

Out of the Darkness will be released in mid-August.

"Dimati" - Distant Cousins Recorded and filmed in Nashville, TN Written 10/9/23Words from Tehillim, PsalmsDon't turn awayDon't leave meHear my prayerListen to my tearsRescue meLift me ...

Come celebrate the launch of our new Youth Action Institute with a block party! We'll have a DJ, games, 360 photo booth, and more - plus a drop-in volunteer project to start earning those SSL hours for the upcoming school year.

Don't miss it! RSVP today ➡ https://edcjcc.co/3YsxTOY

This week, in partnership with the Youth Action Institute, Camp EDCJCC worked on a service project to create care packages for patients undergoing cancer or radiation treatments at GW Hospital and Sibley Hospital. With the help of our CITs (Counselors-in-Training), we were able to assemble thoughtful and supportive packages filled with items that will bring comfort and joy.

This summer, our campers have been having a blast playing outside and inside, making slime and doing art projects, and of course making new friends! ☀

This month, EntryPointDC is gathering all our Shabbat Clusters participants (and friends!) for a mid-season happy hour. Come on out and learn more about the program, meet our coordinators, and enjoy snacks and games!

Sign up today ➡ https://edcjcc.co/3XPoQao

Our Monday mood... when we remember it's another week of summer fun with all our camp and preschool friends at the EDCJCC! 😎

We'll take "how to beat the heat" for $500! Join EntryPointDC for our annual themed trivia night where we'll challenge your knowledge of all things Jew-ish pop culture. Come with a team or let us match you to one, and work together to win fun prizes.

Sign up today ➡ https://edcjcc.co/4eJJbUC

Registration is now open to join the EDCJCC's Refugee Resettlement Team!

This is a group for volunteers who are interested in opportunities to help refugees, migrants, and asylum seekers. The team's biggest project is stocking and setting up apartments for arriving refugee families about 3 times per year, but additional opportunities are available on a bimonthly basis.

Registration is only open until the end of this month, so make sure to sign up today! Learn more ➡ https://edcjcc.co/3xAFXC6

Next week, join us for a pizza dinner and an evening of volunteering! We'll assemble pencil packs for our partner organization Community of Hope, which distributes 1500 backpacks with essential school supplies to their clients each fall.

Sign up ➡ https://edcjcc.co/45LcWjV

Comics artist Rachel Scheer's debut graphic novel tells the story of her grandfather's escape from Poland during the Holocaust, explores her family's Yiddish history, and dives into her own experiences growing up as the granddaughter of a survivor.

This weekend, she'll join us for a conversation about her work and a workshop to create our own comics about our family stories. Sign up today ➡ edcjcc.co/4aFqHRS

This past weekend, eight volunteers from our Refugee Resettlement Team set up an apartment for a recently-arrived family of four from Venezuela. Thank you to everyone who volunteered furniture, decorations, or their time to turn this apartment into a home!

There are so many different ways to tell our stories.

Artist Rachel Scheer tells hers through drawings and comics, including her debut graphic novel that tells the story of her grandfather's escape from Poland during the Holocaust. UNEXPECTED PASSAGES explores Rachel's family's Yiddish history and her own experiences growing up as the granddaughter of a survivor.

Next month, she'll join us for a conversation about her work and a hands-on workshop to create our own family narrative comics. Sign up today ➡ edcjcc.co/4aFqHRS

Calling all teen volunteers (or anyone with teens in their lives)! Don't miss a morning volunteer project to support newly-arrived migrants and asylum-seekers supported by SAMU First Response. We'll create over 250 meal kits, a perfect grab-and-go meal for residents of SAMU's migrant respite center.

Sign up today ➡ https://edcjcc.co/3V2rnLx

Join us for an evening of volunteering with our close partner organization, DC Central Kitchen. Volunteers will work in the professional kitchen to chop vegetables, sort fresh produce, mix salads, portion meals, and more!

Sign up today ➡ https://edcjcc.co/3x57knA

Next week, join us for a family-friendly evening of volunteering at the EDCJCC to support our housing insecure neighbors! Projects will include preparing toiletry kits and food for emergency shelters in the DC area.

Sign up today ➡ https://edcjcc.co/4dXifjR

Next week, don't miss JxJ's screening of THE BIG PAYBACK in honor of Juneteenth.

The film follows the first-ever successful passage of a tax-funded reparations bill targeted for Black Americans, in Evanston, IL - while Congresswoman Sheila Jackson Lee fights for a national reparations bill in Congress.

The screening will be followed by a panel discussion with film subject Robin Rue Simmons and national reparations activist Nkechi Taifa, moderated by racial justice activist and leader Linda Adams.

Tickets available now ➡ jxjdc.org/juneteenth

📚️ Story time is our favorite time! Join our JFamily neighbors at the Capital Jewish Museum to celebrate Shavuot with PJ Library books, a holiday craft, and time to explore the museum with your little one.

Register for free ➡ edcjcc.org/calendar/story-time-at-cjm-6/

This weekend, don't miss a fun-filled family concert from DC kid + indie band ! We'll celebrate Shavuot and Pride outdoors with music, dancing, crafts, face-painting, and so much more.

Free to attend, but please RSVP in advance ➡ edcjcc.co/4e25Uek

🌈 Happy Pride! 🏳‍🌈

Join the EDCJCC and our partners for a month of celebrations, including our annual Shabbat service, happy hour, and of course dancing through the streets at the Pride Parade! Check out edcjcc.org/pride for more information on everything we have coming up.

Doom scrolling? Try Torah scrolling instead!

In anticipation of Shavuot, where we celebrate the receiving of the Torah, don't miss this hands-on workshop all about the Torah scroll. We'll learn how they are made, explore traditions, and practice wrapping and lifting a Torah - and of course enjoy Shavuot treats.

Sign up today ➡ https://edcjcc.co/3X2SwAC

As the end of AAPI Heritage Month and Jewish Heritage Month approach, we're excited to highlight members of the Asian Jewish community.

Playwright and author Primrose Madayag Knazan tells us about how her Filipina and Jewish heritages overlap with one of the most important ways to express cultural pride: FOOD!

See Primrose's matzah ball sopas recipe (and more!) in her book LESSONS IN FUSION.

Our staff are all over the local news this week! Click through below to check out Washington Jewish Week's feature on Jesse Bordwin, our new Chief Experience Officer. Learn more now about his path to the EDCJCC and what he's looking forward to most in this role.

🔗 https://www.washingtonjewishweek.com/jesse-bordwin-you-should-know

Jesse Bordwin...You Should Know Washington, D.C., resident Jesse Bordwin took a winding career path — from working in education to becoming a management consultant — before moving into the D.C. Jewish communal space in April as the chief experience officer at the Edlavitch DCJCC. Bordwin worked for two years as an assistant pr...

We're so lucky to have Rabbi Atara leading our Jewish Life and Learning program! Click through to hear from her about building intergenerational community, her passion for Talmud, and how her perfect day in DC looks.

🔗 https://gatherdc.org/2024/05/29/meet-rabbi-atara-teacher/

In honor of Juneteenth, don't miss JxJ's screening of THE BIG PAYBACK.

The film follows rookie alderman Robin Rue Simmons in Evanston, Illinois, as she leads the successful push to pass a tax-funded reparations bill targeted for Black Americans. At the same time, Congresswoman Sheila Jackson Lee is fighting to pass HR 40, a national bill to examine reparations for slavery to African Americans.

JxJ's screening will be followed by a panel discussion with Robin Rue Simmons and national reparations activist Nkechi Taifa, moderated by Linda Adams, a leader and racial justice activist in the DMV’s Jewish community.

Tickets available now ➡ jxjdc.org/juneteenth