2 minute read
Growing and changing
Jewish Federation of Greater Naples is growing and changing. Our Jewish Federation was incorporated in 1992 as the Jewish Federation of Collier County, and Gerald Flagel was the first chief volunteer officer. As such, our Federation is 29 years old — one of the newer ones in the United States. In respect to many other federations, we are still in the developmental stages of our existence.
As Jews, we recite the Amidah, that prayer which is sometimes introduced with the expression, “standing on the shoulders of those who came before us.” In Jewish communal service, as in religion, we know that we do stand on the shoulders of those who came before us, and it is our intention that those who come after us have a good foundation upon which to continue to grow and change.
Change is a constant. For each of us personally and for organizations as well. Our Federation has changed. The most obvious change is in our name. We are now Jewish Federation of Greater Naples. This change recognizes that we service a larger community than first identified.
Over the years, Federation has relocated to two different offi ces. And as you know, we’re about to make another change. We are going to build a new home for Jewish Federation of Greater Naples — the Nina Iser Jewish Cultural Center — that will be located on the Temple Shalom campus.
We expect that, with this change, our Federation will be able to better serve our Jewish community. The growth in Federation activities and the number of participants make this change necessary.
MCA and WCA have memberships in the thousands. The Jewish Book Festival events draw hundreds for each occasion. The programs of Mix & Mingle, PJ Library, Young Jewish Professionals, JCRC, CJD, IAC, etc., require more space to meet and have their programs. Space for BBYO is needed to bring the Jewish teens of our community together to meet and have programs.
Jewish Federation will continue to be a gathering place for meetings, programs and events for our entire Jewish community. With wonder, excitement and joy, we look favorably to the change that will allow us to meet the growing needs of our community.
Of course, growing and building our Jewish community is a primary focus of the Federation.
You could say, we make all these changes in the name of Jewish continuity.