{"id":204205,"date":"2023-01-11T10:30:06","date_gmt":"2023-01-11T15:30:06","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.jewishexponent.com\/?p=204205"},"modified":"2023-01-10T13:19:47","modified_gmt":"2023-01-10T18:19:47","slug":"kaiserman-jcc-gets-500k-from-state-for-upgrades","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.jewishexponent.com\/kaiserman-jcc-gets-500k-from-state-for-upgrades\/","title":{"rendered":"Kaiserman JCC Gets $500K From State for Upgrades"},"content":{"rendered":"
\"\"
The preschool lobby inside the Kaiserman JCC in Wynnewood (Photo by Jarrad Saffren)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

A quick lap around the Kaiserman JCC campus in Wynnewood will leave you with an unmistakable impression.<\/p>\n

Inside the facility, you will see a worn basketball court and faded gymnastics equipment, along with dimmed lights overhead. And outside, as CEO Alan Scher himself describes, you will see \u201cdilapidated fields\u201d filled with weeds and bare patches.<\/p>\n

The place needs an upgrade, and now it may be getting one. Or at least the start of one, according to Scher.<\/p>\n

In December, at the JCC\u2019s 50th-anniversary party, state Sen. Amanda Cappelletti, who represents Kaiserman\u2019s Main Line territory, presented Scher with a $500,000 check from the state\u2019s Redevelopment Assistance Capital Program. The grant program from the Pennsylvania Office of the Budget goes toward \u201cthe acquisition and construction of regional economic, cultural, civic, recreational and historical improvement projects,\u201d according to pa.gov. All grants must be matched by the institutions that receive them.<\/p>\n

Scher and his board raised money from donors to match the $500,000, giving the JCC $1 million for renovations. A state-compiled list of grant recipients identifies possible JCC projects as \u201cboiler replacement, roof repairs and lighting upgrades.\u201d Bigger renovations to the gymnasium and preschool also were listed. Between those last two, Scher said the Robert J. Wilf Preschool will likely come first since it has a waiting list of more than 40 families. Specifically, the CEO wants to start by renovating the preschool lobby.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s an aging infrastructure and facility,\u201d he said of the early childhood center. \u201cWe want an infrastructure that\u2019s beautiful and state of the art.\u201d<\/p>\n

With the school, Scher believes it\u2019s vital to have a facility that meets the quality of the program itself. And he feels the same way about the JCC in general. Camp Kef, Kaiserman\u2019s summer camp, has been full in recent years, with more than 400 kids. And the JCC\u2019s gym sees action seven days a week.<\/p>\n

But those who use the JCC can clearly see its flaws.<\/p>\n

Adam Sherman, a past JCC president and a resident of Lower Merion for 30 years, described Kaiserman as \u201ca 1995 facility in a 2023 world.\u201d Sherman has used the JCC for as long as he\u2019s lived in Lower Merion, and while he now lives in Florida for half the year, he still goes to Kaiserman \u201csporadically\u201d when he\u2019s on the Main Line. Sherman plays basketball, and he says the floor is \u201cplayable but not great.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cIt needs a refinishing,\u201d he added.<\/p>\n

But Sherman still views the JCC as \u201ca great location and a great gym.\u201d And he believes the key to its future is not so much appealing to evening and weekend jump shooters and board crashers, like himself, but to parents who will send their kids to the preschool, camp and youth athletic programs.<\/p>\n

\u201cIf you\u2019re sending your little 5-year-old there, you want to make sure they can swim in a nice pool, have a nice field, proper lighting \u2014 all that kind of stuff,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

Cappelletti also sees the JCC playing that role. That was a big reason why she advocated for it even though she\u2019s not Jewish and doesn\u2019t use it.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe JCC does a lot of incredible work in my community,\u201d she said. \u201cThey reach all across Montgomery County into Delaware County and Philadelphia County and Southeastern Pennsylvania.\u201d<\/p>\n

As evidenced by the additional $500,000 that Kaiserman raised, it has people who want to help. Therefore, it may be best to use the state money for practical upgrades, like the boiler, the roof and the lights, that will keep the building open and running, according to Scher.<\/p>\n

As he put it, \u201cNobody wants to put their name on a boiler.\u201d Once those projects are checked off, Scher and his team can \u201cinvest in our strengths,\u201d like the preschool, he said.<\/p>\n

A full-scale upgrade is necessary and will likely take several years, according to Scher. The JCC\u2019s goal is to raise an additional $500,000 in the new fiscal year, which started in the fall, and it is already more than halfway there.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s not going to be here tomorrow but will be in time if we continue to bring in this kind of investment,\u201d Scher said of the vision. \u25a0<\/p>\n

jsaffren@midatlanticmedia.com<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

A quick lap around the Kaiserman JCC campus in Wynnewood will leave you with an unmistakable impression. Inside the facility, you will see a worn basketball court and faded gymnastics equipment, along with dimmed lights overhead. And outside, as CEO Alan Scher himself describes, you will see \u201cdilapidated fields\u201d filled with weeds and bare patches. […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":13404,"featured_media":204206,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[49,78,7,18],"tags":[10298,14825,10515],"section":[],"coauthors":[13277],"yoast_head":"\nKaiserman JCC Gets $500K From State for Upgrades - Jewish Exponent<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"http:\/\/www.jewishexponent.com\/kaiserman-jcc-gets-500k-from-state-for-upgrades\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Kaiserman JCC Gets $500K From State for Upgrades - Jewish Exponent\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"A quick lap around the Kaiserman JCC campus in Wynnewood will leave you with an unmistakable impression. Inside the facility, you will see a worn basketball court and faded gymnastics equipment, along with dimmed lights overhead. And outside, as CEO Alan Scher himself describes, you will see \u201cdilapidated fields\u201d filled with weeds and bare patches. 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