Keshet Leadership Project

For More Information: Contact Lenny Steinberg, lsteinberg@oregonjcc.org, 503.535.3555

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: March 13, 2018

MITTLEMAN JEWISH COMMUNITY CENTER SELECTED FOR
JCC ASSOCIATION-KESHET LEADERSHIP PROJECT

JCC Association of North America and Keshet, the national LGBTQ Jewish nonprofit, have accepted 14 Jewish Community Centers from around the country to participate in the JCC Association-Keshet Leadership Project. The Mittleman Jewish Community Center and B’nai B’rith Camp are two of the organizations that participated in the kick-off leadership summit on Monday, March 12 in New York City.

“The MJCC is dedicated to providing a framework through policies, programs, and culture for understanding the core concepts of sex, gender identity and sexual orientation. The MJCC will integrate Jewish values to foster LGBTQ inclusion to create a safe and welcoming space for LGBTQ individuals and families.

While the MJCC is still formulating our action plan, we will begin to update language in printed materials, on our website, in oral and written communication, and in signage around the building. We will provide staff and board training, integrate initiatives into our current and future programming, and partner with local LGBTQ organizations.” – Lenny Steinberg, Program Director.

About the JCC Association-Keshet Leadership Project
The JCC Association-Keshet Leadership Project is a multi-service program that gathers, trains, provides resources for Jewish institutions and supports them to become more inclusive of LGBTQ individuals and families. JCC Association strengthens and leads the JCC Movement with the goal of advancing and enriching North American Jewish life.

Keshet works with organizations along a continuum of inclusion, from those that are just beginning to acknowledge their need for improvement, to those who have deep and sustained initiatives in place and that strive to broaden their reach.

Participating organizations will focus on developing a greater understanding of the lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and queer (LGBTQ) communities, ground the work of inclusion in Jewish values, and lastly, creating an action plan, a set of strategies that each JCC will work to complete over the course of the year to make their community more LGBTQ inclusive. To insure their success, each JCC will be supported by a Keshet LGBTQ inclusion specialist who will help each team work toward their individual goals.

The JCC Association-Keshet Leadership Project reflects a deepening in the partnership between JCC Association and Keshet so that all JCCs around the country are safe and welcoming for all members of our community, regardless of their sexual orientation, gender identity, and expression. For more information about the JCC Association-Keshet Leadership Project contact Daniel Bahner, National Director of Education and Training at daniel@keshetonline.org.