Gems to Find New Home at Kaiserman JCC

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A man stands in front of a an audience, pointing at a projector.
Gems members participating in the class “The British Invasion”, taught by Steve Pollack, that focused on the music in the ‘60s and the influence of British music on the US. | Courtesy of Golden Slipper Gems

Golden Slipper Gems Executive Director Rabbi Moriah SimonHazani calls the organization a “hidden gem” for older adult programming, but she wants Gems to be more than just a diamond in the rough.

To give Gems an opportunity to grow a new audience and diversify its programming, the organization is looking for a change.

Gems, now a subsidiary of Golden Slipper Club & Charities, will have a new home at the Kaiserman JCC, Kaiserman JCC CEO Alan Scher announced in a March 31 newsletter. The partnership, pending regulatory approval from the state, will begin this spring.


“It will bring together two respected brands in and amongst our community that have long served older adults in the Jewish community and beyond,” Scher said. “And brought together, [they] will serve that community in a way that, from my perspective, is a multiplier.”

Gems will continue to offer classes and events on culture, arts and history but will have access to the JCC’s campus and facilities, such as a kitchen and vans. With the partnership, Gems will also add the JCC’s older adult fitness and wellness classes, and is hoping to incorporate intergenerational programs with the community center’s Robert J. Wilf Preschool and Kindergarten. Classes at Gems’ Main Line location at Shir Ami will continue through the semester.

“We just want to develop, what I call, a holistic place for older adults in the Jewish community and serve them culturally, intellectually, socially,” SimonHazani said.

The JCC serves about 300 adults over 65, Scher said, and Gems serves a similar number. The older adult population in Philadelphia is growing rapidly, according to Scher, and it’s the job of community centers and organizations to best adapt to them. Strengthening programming for older adults is also part of the JCC board’s strategic plan adopted last fall.

“Particularly here on the Main Line, the amount of services, particularly accessible services, for this population is dragging behind the growing population,” he said. “In other words, we see more and more older adults in need of services to keep them thriving in that proverbial third chapter of their life.”

During the pandemic, attendance for Gems events — which become virtual — dropped off due to older adults not interested in adapting to new technologies, as well as people aging and dying. 

But compared to years ago, the aging population is also living longer, SimonHazani said, meaning that programming for older adults has to be diverse. A 65-year-old has different interests and needs than an 85-year-old.

With the JCC’s resources, as well as their recent Bernard and Etta Weinberg Family Funds Grant from the Jewish Federation of Greater Philadelphia for care and services for adults over 60, Gems will be able to tailor their programs to their changing demographic.

Gems provides classes such as “Disney at 100: A Legacy of Magic” with Drexel University Professor David Greenberg and “Special Political Affairs: 75 Years of Independent Government and Politics and Israel” with Bar-Ilan University Professor Zeev Khanin. 

Three Golden Slipper Gems board members, including immediate past president and board chair Jill Caine, will join the Kaiserman JCC board. Human Needs and Services, a charity providing funding for essentials and emergencies to older adults, that is now part of Gems, will remain part of Golden Slipper.

Gems began in 1995 as a “traditional senior center” in Wynnefield Heights, according to their website, but later expanded to offer a wider array of services to older adults at eight locations in the Philadelphia area. In 2018, the organization became Golden Slipper Gems.

As the organization turns the page and enters their new chapter, Caine can only see the positives of the partnership.

“There’s no place to go but really improving and expanding,” she said.

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