Looking Forward:
Mission
The MJCC is an inclusive and welcoming hub for a diverse community, fostering lifelong wellness and providing dynamic social and educational experiences, grounded in Jewish values and culture.
Vision
The Mittleman Jewish Community Center envisions a thriving, diverse Jewish community, and embraces a central role in welcoming all to gather, connect, learn and celebrate life.
Dear Friends of the MJCC,
We are pleased to present the Mittleman Jewish Community Center’s Annual Report for the 2022-23 fiscal year. This has been an exciting year for the MJCC with the development and implementation of a new strategic plan. This report highlights the priorities in our new plan as well as some of the first action steps that we have taken toward its realization. Our ability to support our community with new and existing, high quality programs and services is entirely dependent upon the generous philanthropic support of our members and extended community. We are deeply grateful to each one of our donors.
A primary focus of our new strategic plan is on the engagement of youth and families. Our summer camp program is the keystone in these offerings, and our 2023 summer program brought together a talented, experienced staff team to provide engaging and innovative programming to a diverse array of about 400 campers. Our afterschool offerings are expanding, as are our family programs, especially in connection with our assumption of oversight for PJ Library programming in the Portland community. Membership continues to grow, and we are excited about our many new offerings, ranging from specialized exercise classes to pickleball.
We’ve also had numerous opportunities to gather for community events during the past year, especially our Community Celebration and “Day for the J.” Programs that celebrate Jewish culture and strengthen Jewish identity remain at the core of our mission. Our Yom Ha’atzmaut celebration brought together nearly 700 members of our community, and our films, concerts, authors, exhibitions, and holiday celebrations allow us to celebrate the “J” in MJCC.
Membership, program, and rental revenue cover only a portion of the J’s operating budget, and we depend upon our generous donors to enable us to offer our wide range of programs and services. Support from the community remains critical to allow us to purchase new equipment, update our facilities, offer financial assistance for membership and camp, and launch new initiatives. We are especially grateful to our event sponsors and to the members of our Friends of the Center Society who make these programs – and so much more – possible for our community. We also extend a special thanks to the members of the MJCC Legacy Society. Legacy gifts help to build our endowment, ensuring that the MJCC will continue to serve our community for generations to come.
Thank you, once again, for your strong commitment to the MJCC. We look forward to the continued implementation of our new strategic plan and are excited to continue to serve and strengthen our community.
B’Shalom,
Steve Albert
Jason Zidell Executive Director Board President
Priorities of the Strategic Plan
Reimagine MJCC Summer Day Camp
Increase revenue, parent satisfaction, and enrollment in an expanding range of camp programs through strategic communication and additional offerings.
Art Camp
This past summer, we incorporated Art Camp into the two weeks before and after our day camps for our K-6 participants. Campers experimented with and expanded their knowledge of different media, learned new techniques, and brought their projects home with them at the end of camp. Each day focused on completing a different art activity which involved sculpting, playing with color, drawing and more. We had over 30 campers participate in Art Camp during its inaugural year!
Training + Communication
To best deliver our Jewish summer day camp programs, we added counselor training in professionalism, discipline and behavior management, and effective communication with parents. To increase our communication with families, we hosted an informational night before the beginning of camp and utilized our text management service through Daxko to deliver important updates and information to parents.
CIT Levels
We achieved our goal of dividing our CIT program into Junior CIT and Senior CIT levels. By dividing our CIT program into two levels, one for our younger CITs and one for the older, we were able to provide future leadership advice to the Senior CITs who plan to apply to be counselors, along with creating an incentive for the Junior CITs to return next summer to be Senior CITs. This summer, we had a high and consistent level of CIT registrants from the start to finish of camp.
Expand Youth Programs
Invest in a significant expansion of our portfolio of youth programs including afterschool, enrichment, aquatics and sports to increase participation and revenue.
Aquatics Programs Expansion
We have expanded our aquatics programs for infants/toddlers ages 6 months to 2 years and youth, ages 3 to 12. We offer both group swim lessons and individual lessons where our youngest learn water entry, bubble blowing, kicking, floating, and underwater exploration. As students complete lessons they move up in skill level and begin learning more advanced techniques like how to enter and exit the water, submerge face, exhale underwater, explore floating, and move with support.
After school Activities
Our new after school activities include rockclimbing, where students learn the basics of rock wall climbing in a safe and structured environment while building confidence and motor skills; flag football, where we play non-tackle football mini-games to improve running, catching, passing, and other skills; and volleyball where we learn all aspects of the game through drills and exercises that focus on passing, setting, hitting and serving.
Strengthen the Pipeline for Young Families
Develop creative programming for young families including an increase in preschool programs and connections with PJ Library.
PJ Library
PJ Library is now run through the MJCC! You can find our PJ Library reading nook downstairs at the MJCC. This space is for families looking for a calm space to read with their children, and it offers free PJ Library books for those that would like to expand their library. We offer exciting events for our families, such as Jewish storytelling events and musical performances as well as much loved events such as our annual “Pizza in the Hut” celebration of Sukkot.
Chai Baby
Chai Baby offers families of newborns a connection to the Jewish community at a pivotal time in their lives. Our Chai Baby Indoor Playground events provide space for children under 5 to play in our Sportsplex, meet friends, run, have snacks, sing, and listen to stories.
Drop-in Childcare
The MJCC provides child care services for our members who can drop their child off while they work out or attend other programs. This past year we lengthened our morning drop-in sessions by one hour, Monday through Friday. Our childcare services, which provide opportunities for reading books, playing games, coloring and more, have been rated in the top 5 for the PDX Parent pick for the category of Best Workout with Onsite Child Care.
Launch Signature Events
Increase the MJCC’s profile in the Jewish community and beyond by launching Day for the J and offering new holiday programs.
Day for the J
The Day for the J is a one-day celebration of the MJCC, where participants spend the day participating in a wide range of events at the J. This is a family event with children joining as ‘Kids for the J”. Day for the J was a success this year, with people participating in a variety of sports and games including swimming, pickleball, racquetball (doubles tournaments), and a “Walk for the J.”
Israel’s 75th Birthday
In April of this past year, we celebrated Yom Ha’atzmaut alongside community partners IAC, Keruv Levavot, Israel 360, Neveh Shalom, PDX Hillel, Jewish Federation and JCCA. This celebration of Israeli Independence was attended by over 600 people. The event included Israeli food, dancing and trivia, as well as an Israeli music sing-a-long, a photo contest, and a special ceremony honoring Israel’s 75th birthday.
Arts and Culture Events
We are reviving our Arts and Culture event series post-COVID with more in-person events. We hosted “A Kaddish for Bernie Madoff”, the Hanukkah Fair, and quarterly PDX Business Series events. The lobby gallery exhibited photographer Erez Kaganovitz’s ‘Humans of Israel’ photography series, showcasing Israel’s diversity, multiculturalism, and vibrant civil society.
Empower the Board of Directors
Increase engagement by the Board of Directors in all aspects of philanthropic activities and revitalize the development committee to support these efforts.
The Development Committee
The Board has re-established its Development Committee to help support the J’s philanthropic efforts. This committee will meet once a month to work on growing our donor base through the Friends of the Center Society, our planned giving “MJCC Legacy Society”, soliciting sponsorships for our events, and our Annual Appeal. The committee will create and adhere to a fundraising calendar that will guide the achievement of annual fundraising goals.
Philanthropic Expectations
This past year we have reset the philanthropic expectations for the MJCC Board of Directors in order to increase participation. The Board of Directors has been tasked with the leadership of development events and hosted our 2023 Friends of the Center Society Dinner, our annual thank you event for the MJCC’s top donors.
Refresh Fitness + Wellness
Refresh fitness offerings in ways that accentuate our position as a welcoming and inviting wellness community.
Facility Upgrades
This past year saw facilities upgrades to our studios and workout spaces. We painted our second floor studio as well as our downstairs workout room. Since we began implementing our Strategic Plan, we have replaced much of our older workout equipment. We purchased a total of 9 new machines, including 4 new treadmills, an assault runner, an ab machine, a nustep machine and a lateral elliptical.
New Group Ex Classes
New Group Exercise classes were added this past year, and we are now proud to offer Happy Power Hour, a fun class aimed at building up the body and a sense of community at the same time. We also now offer a series of classes that focus on building core strength for participants of every level, including seniors.
Personal Training
The J offers personal training sessions with coaches who take individualized approaches to each member’s fitness goals. We brought on six new trainers, all of whom are dedicated to providing one-on-one training and expertise, motivation, and encouragement along the way.
As we emerge from the pandemic, the MJCC’s sources of revenue continue to shift back toward our traditional model rather than including substantial government grants. In 2022-23, 73% of MJCC revenue came from membership, program fees, and rental revenue. We continue to move toward a return to a balanced operating budget based on traditional sources of revenue.
Financials Expenses
Revenue
We are extraordinarily grateful to our donors for making it possible for us to
100% Board Participation in the Annual Campaign
3,421 Bagels sold in the Cafe at the J
150+ Community members who met with Design Team about Campus Plan
95 Hours per week the MJCC is open!
1,101 PJ Library Families
$437,089 Spent on upgrading facilities $
65 Total Group Exercise classes per week
9 New Fitness Machines
Our Donors
We are incredibly grateful to each and every community member and organization that supports the Mittleman Jewish Community Center. The donors who gave during the 2022-2023 fiscal year helped us to recover from the pandemic and continue to offer quality programs to our community. This list reflects only new gifts to operations. It does not account for previous pledges or pledge payments. We have made our best effort to ensure the accuracy of this list. If you find an error, or if you would like information about making a tax-deductible donation, contact Bess Butterworth, Development, Events and Community Programs Manager, at 503.452.3427 or bbutterworth@oregonjcc.org.
$100,000 & above
Jewish Federation of Greater Portland
Ralph Miller
$20,000-$99,999
Friendly Rosenthal Fund of OJCF
State of Oregon
OCF Joseph E. Weston Public Foundation
$5,000-$19,999
Anonymous
Ellie and Dan Albert
Anonymous - A Fund of OJCF
Anonymous - A Senior Program Fund of OJCF
Alice Graham and Joel Newman
Ellen Lippman and Steve “Rosy” Rosenberg
Robert and Rita Philip Family Fund of OJCF
Sarah (Richter) Ritchie Fund of Oregon Community Foundation
Gayle and Paul Romain
Harold and Arlene Schnitzer Family Fund of OJCF / Jordan Schnitzer
Lois Schnitzer
Sandra Schnitzer Philanthropic Fund
Richard Weil
Deborah Yaeger and John Emshwiller
Juan Young Trust
Jason E. Zidell Foundation
Diane and Jay Zidell
$1,800-$4,999
Anonymous
Carol and John Arnsberg
Baysinger Partners Architecture / William Ruecker
Mia Birk and Glen Coblens
Max Birnbach Charity Fund of OJCF
Detwiler Family Foundation
Sarah and Jonathan Glass
Bob Gordon
IPM / C & R Property Management
The Ellen M. and Peter M. Klein Foundation Inc.
Priscilla and Tony Kostiner
OnPoint Community Credit Union
Jeff Reingold
Diane and David Rosencrantz
ShedRain Corporation
Harriet Silverman
Mardi Schnitzer Spitzer Foundation
Jerry and Helen Stern Grandchildren’s Fund of OJCF Robert P. Weil Fund of OJCF / Dana Hunt / Marlene Weil-Perez / Sharon Weil
$500-$1,799
Anonymous
The Michael Adler and Molly Newcomer Family Fund
Steve Albert and Janie Goldenberg
Jerome Barde
Baron/Gilbert Fund of The Oregon Community Foundation
B’nai B’rith Camp
Sandra S. and William M. Bennett, MD
Karla and Barry Benson
Rosalie and Keith Berne
Mel Birge
Sarah and Marc Blattner
Amy and Doug Blauer
Henry and Gerel Blauer Family Fund of OJCF
Stanley and Judith Blauer Family Fund of OJCF
Cohen Family Fund
Congregation Neveh Shalom
Cameron and Dick Davis
Christopher Dotson
Jill and Richard Edelson
Energy Trust of Oregon
Chris and Michael Feves
Cere and Scott Fingerhut
Marilyn Q. Forse Endowment I of OJCF
Josh and Amy Frankel Family Fund of OJCF
Nadine Gartner and Ben Olds
Geffen Mesher & Co.
Beth and John Germain
Gevurtz Menashe
Lesley and Bob Glasgow
The Goodman Family
Greater Portland Hillel
The Harads
Lindsey Hefner and Eric Brickenstein
Sue Hickey and Sheldon Klapper
Jay Holzman
JCC Association of North America
Jan Jewett and Rick Nitti
Laurie Kilbourn and Ron Cobb
Lucy Kivel and Scott Howard
Joanne and Jerry Kryszek
Lora and Jim Meyer Family Fund of OJCF
Nike, Inc.
Anne and Jeffrey Nudelman
Regional Arts & Culture Council
Danelle Romain and RD Symms
Tiffany, Eric, and Ben Rosenfeld
Stan and Madelle Rosenfeld Family Foundation
Bunny and Jerry Sadis
Jonathan Singer
Linda and Gary Singer
Helen Stern
University of Oregon Foundation
$250-$499
Steve Arnsberg
Kelly and Richard Barker
The Brody Family
Ana Helena De Castro and Nicholas Reddel
The Drucker Family
Joyce and John Evans
Jennifer Gates
Merrill and Perry Hendin
Renée Holzman
Sheryl Horwitz
Janis Jaffe
Karli Kondo
Shari Levinson and Marshal Spector
Sandra Lewis and James Rosenbaum
Gail Mandel and Steven Klein
Judy Margles and Steve Wasserstrom
Elizabeth and Ruben (z”l) Menashe
Jeanne Newmark
ORA: Northwest Jewish Artists
Melanie and Jay Rathe
Eric and Tiffany Rosenfeld Fund of OJCF
Eve and Alan Rosenfeld
Rosemarie Rosenfeld
Meredith Rudof and Dan Weiss
Lisa and Mitch Smelkinson
Paul Smelkinson
Ann and Robert Sola
Linda and Larry Veltman
Sallie Weissinger and Bart McMullan, Jr.
Tamar Wyte-Lake and Josh Lake
Jennifer and Ken Zeidman
$100-$249
Anonymous (3)
Rebecca Barkin and Ronald Sharrin
Howard Beckerman
Laura and Floyd Bodner
Lynn Burgin
Edith Dorsen
Jeanne and John Esler
Bridget Fahrland and Stephanie Portman
Fred Meyer
Marni Glick and Hank Kaplan
Henry Haimsohn
Intel Foundation
Judith and Garry Kahn
Leatrice Kaplan
Michelle and Josh Kashinsky
Tracy Klein and Mark Magee
Richard Kramer
Tammy Kramer
Andrea Manchester
Dena Marshall
Beth and Jonas Merrill
Alan Messett
Margaret Moench
Margaret Nightingale and Ted Coonfield
Galia and Arnon Peleg
Tinah and Charles Quintana
Denise Rodine
Jeanette Ross
Ilene Safyan
Christina Scarzello
Tara and Dennis Siegman
Tivnu: Building Justice
Sharon Ungerleider
Betsy Valle
Sandra Valle and Peter Mellman
Betty Jean and Brandon Wentworth
Mindy and Mark Zeitzer
Under $100
Anonymous (8)
Susan Abrams
Amazon, Inc.
Alan Bacharach, ChFC
Abdul Baki
Addie and Bruce Banasky
Sean Bartlett and Brandon Chateauvert
Mary and Graham Beattie
Betsy Bergstein
Chris and Christopher Blakemore
Stephen Borda
Rochelle Borg
June Bremmer
Janice Brown
Jennifer Cassius
Michele and Stephen Charlton
Lynne Chassin
Arlene Cogen
Linda and Aaron Cohen
Martha and Ben Compaine
Jennie Condon
Congregation Shaarie Torah
Steven Corbato
Katie Crocker
Brian Darnell
Lynn De La Torre
Marilyn Deinert
Tom Diamond
Autumn and Gil Dorfman
Barbara Durkheimer and Gary Larsen
Rebecca Emshwiller
Erin Farrar and Sam Sirkin
Vivian and Eric Feldman
Rhona Feldman
Julian Fortune
Katie Franz and Nathan Johnson
Suzanne Friedman
Ian Gadberry
Cherri and Dave Gallison
Sue and Rich Garber
Jay Gilbert
Catherine Giraud
Doris Girt
Alanna Glass
Randi and Samuel Glass
Tova Glass
William Gonzalez
Ian Gordon-Knight
Kerry Griffin
Laurie Gross
Jennifer Harrington
Naomi and Sam Harwin
Sara and Fred Harwin
Gina Hawley
Marn Heggen
Michael Horenstein
Sarah Hutchinson
Steven Jacobson
David Johnson
Lisa Katon and Noah Kressel
Ruth and Ron Katon
Sue Katz
Nasser Kahn
Saul Korin
Naomi Korin Goldman
Eileen “Ikie” Nolan Kressel
Miriam Lambert
Shoshanna Lansberg
Laura Lew
Esther Liberman
Denise Littlefield
Jonathan Long
Naomi Macioce
Anna Marti and Vincent
Martinez Griéco
Boaz Meir
Natan Meir
Amy and Kevin Milbert
Lindsay Moskovitz
Marcus Mundy
Abby and Conrad Myers
Elad Nadler
Linda Neale
Ruth Oxman
Elaine Paul
Liz and Brett Phillips
Ellen Pitcher and Ken Wright
Portland General Electric Co.
Rabbi Eve Posen and
Duncan Gilman
Magdalen Powers
Naomi and Steven Price
Kathleen Raetz
Deborah Reisman
Jeffrey Richmond
Jenny Robinett
Rachael Robinett
Noah Rosenberg
Penny Russell
The Sapoznikow Family
Sharona and Jorge Sapoznikow
Gaye and Bruce Schafer
Paul Schwabe
Nancy Seton
Ethel Shuldman and Jeff Edmundson
Mort Simon
Marcella and Rodger Sleven
Nathaniel Smith
Catherine and Michael Solomon
Colette and Brent Spetner
JoAnne and William Treuhaft
Unitus Community Credit Union
Sofia Vidalis
Lauren Wallace
Gina Wand
Gregory Weber
Sue Wendel
Gina Westhoff and Mike Khavul
The Woods Family
Janice Yaden
Emily Yeomans
Nancy Zemirah
In-Kind
Michael Knutson
MJCC Legacy Society
The MJCC Legacy Society recognizes those who have made the extraordinary commitment of including the MJCC in their estate plan with a gift through a bequest, trust, life insurance policy or other planned gift. The commitment does not require a completed gift, but is merely an expression of intent to include support for the MJCC as a part of your legacy. We gratefully acknowledge all of the members of the MJCC Legacy Society. If you would like more information about how to include the MJCC in your estate plan, please contact Steve Albert, the MJCC’s Executive Director, at 503.535.3592 or salbert@oregonjcc.org.
Anonymous (2)
Steve Albert and Janie Goldenberg
Bruce Abrams
John and Carol Arnsberg
Richard Barker and Kelly Portnoff-Barker
Stacy Barna
Barry and Karla Benson
Amy and Doug Blauer
Gerel Blauer z”l
Stephen and Pamela Butler
Milton Carl z”l
Glen Coblens and Mia Birk
Edith Dorsen
Becky and Greg Ewer
Howard and Jen Feldman
John and Beth Germain
Robert E. Glasgow and Lesley G. Glasgow
Jonathan and Sarah Glass
Bernard Goldhammer z”l
Nancy J. Green z”l
Merrill and Perry Hendin
Lisa Katon and Noah Kressel
Sheldon Klapper and Sue Hickey
Eric and Anna Kodesch
Eric and Robin Kornblit
Tony and Priscilla Kostiner
Stacey Lebenzon
Jordana and Ryan Levenick
Howard and Wendy Liebreich
Gail Mandel and Steven Klein
Ralph and Sandy z”l Miller
Jeanne Newmark
Jeff and Anne Nudelman
Marshal Oller
Sue Perkel
Robert and Rita Philip
James E. Richman
Bert and Laurie Rogoway
Gayle and Paul Romain
Steve Rosenberg and Ellen Lippman
Stan and Madelle Rosenfeld
Kyle and Rebecca Rotenberg
Bunny and Jerry Sadis
Stephen and Becki Saltzman
Faye Gordon Samuels
Andrea Sanchez and Benjamin Drucker
Lois and Leonard z”l Schnitzer
Sandra Schnitzer
Gary and Linda Singer
Jonathan Singer
Les z”l and Martha Soltesz
Tom Stern
Menachem M. Teiblum z”l
Kenneth and Jennifer Zeidman
Jason Zidell
Board of Directors (2023-24)
Jason Zidell, President
John Emshwiller, Vice President
Richard Barker, Treasurer
Naomi Harwin, Secretary
Nadine Gartner, President-Elect
Barry Benson
Eric Brickenstein
Marni Glick
Martha Izenson
Michelle Kashinsky
Steven Klein
Karli Kondo
Rick Nitti
Arnon Peleg
Danelle Romain
Nate Smith
David Solondz
Sandra Valle
Tamar Wyte-Lake
Leadership Staff
Steve Albert, Executive Director
Beth Germain, Chief Financial Officer
Jenny Robinett, Assistant Executive Director
Becky Ewer, Marketing + Creative Director
Miriam Stroud, Human Resources Director
Bess Butterworth, Development Events and Community Programs Manager
Program
Managers
Jennie Condon, Aquatics Program
Holden Regnier, Youth Programs
Hillary Shifrin, Wellness Programs + Engagement
Bethany West, Rentals + Events
The Mittleman Jewish Community Center is a proud beneficiary of the Jewish Federation of Greater Portland and is proud of our partnership with them in strengthening our local Jewish community and greater Portland community.
Supported by
Mittleman Jewish Community Center
6651 SW Capitol Hwy., Portland, OR 97219
503.244.0111 | oregonjcc.org
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