Stroum Jewish Community Center Programs
J Explorers
Share the spirit of the Stroum Jewish Community Center with your child! Together, dads and their kids build, play games, learn new skills, and enjoy the great outdoors.
This program, created at the SJCC, is designed for children entering kindergarten to third grade. This program is designed to further develop the father/son/daughter relationship and instill Judaic values and the community of the SJCC. We have age-based groups from kindergarten through grade 3. Some J Explorer programs include a spring campout as well as a fall Sukkah under the Stars campout.
SJCC Camps: more options for fun and adventure
SJCC Summer Camp has been a defining experience for thousands of campers for the last five decades. Campers have had adventures on hiking trails, in local lakes and on stage. They've learned to play soccer, to tie dye and to grow their self-confidence. They've built rockets and lifelong friendships.
In 2012, the SJCC expands our adventure-loving experience with new camps, providing our kehillah (community) with exciting summer choices. We are proud to offer 37 unique camps and to welcome campers at the Seattle Jewish Community School in north Seattle to bring our camp experience beyond our Mercer Island campus.
For children entering kindergarten, Camp Katan (small) allows our youngest campers the opportunity to explore a wide variety of traditional camp experiences. Camp Kef (fun) gives campers in grades K-8 all the sports, arts and crafts, science, nature, cooking, and Judaic enrichment they can get.
New in 2012, we take kids into the world of computer animation with new camps in iPad® Animation and Lego® Animation, where they can take their dreams into a new dimension
Recent Successes and Current Challenges
The new SJCC Kesher Community Garden, which opened in spring 2011, is already a national-award winning project. The Jewish Community Center Association honored the Garden with a Kol Ha Kavod Award (translated as “all the respect”), recognizing it as an “exemplary initiative” that other JCCs in North America should look to as a model for community involvement and engagement.
The mission of the SJCC Kesher Community Garden is to connect people with one another and the Earth by working land, growing food and enhancing Jewish values. Our vision is to be an all-encompassing destination for the Jewish community: a therapeutic space for gathering, outdoor education, stewardship, and sustainability.
A vital component to the Garden is establishing enduring partnerships with our community. By partnering with the Jewish Farm School (training and programming), Hazon, the Kavana Cooperative, Jewish Family Service of Seattle (food donations), Guerrero Farms (to create a SJCC Farmers Market), and Oxbow Organic Farm and Education center (Jewish owned and operated community supported agriculture), we have set a standard for building community. We aim to engage many more agencies in this endeavor.
In 2011, the garden started with 16 gardening beds, a children’s learning space, and an outdoor fire pit gathering area. The gardening beds were quickly rented by members, neighbors and friends, with an additional waiting list of families who wanted to join the project. In 2012, the gardens again have a waiting list. We will also plant a small orchard area to continue Northwest fruit-loving agricultural traditions. Expansion plans include an outdoor classroom that can be used as everything from a yoga studio to an art studio to a location for holiday celebrations.