In “Relatively Close,” three sisters return to the house on the shores of Lake Michigan where they spent the summers of their youth. Now, the sisters are grown, their parents are gone, and the house is just sitting there. One sister wants to keep it, one sister wants to sell it, and one sister just wants everyone to get along. They each have brought a husband combining three men with very little hope of finding any common ground. And one sister has one very disgruntled teenage son in town who may be the hope for the future or the downfall of the present.

Described as “a comedic doppelganger of August: Osage County” by the Daily Herald and “filled with laughs from start to finish,” by TheathreInChicago.com, this is a performance you won’t want to miss.

To buy tickets or for more information call (614) 231-2731 or visit the Gallery Players section.

The JCC is proud to announce the formation of a community garden, located behind the preschool wing next to the Camp Ora Shelter and Playground.

This community garden will be used to educate members about organic gardening, healthy eating, recycling, and tzedakah.  There are three raised beds in which we will plant a variety of vegetables and herbs, along with certain beneficial flowers,  such as marigolds, sunflowers, and zinnias, that help organic gardens grow.

Imagine the benefit when we are able to use these home grown items to make soup for our Seniors, teach children about composting, and donate fresh produce to those in need!

We are asking for your assistance in this social action effort –

Beginning now, please bring labeled seedlings to the Front Desk at the JCC.

On Sunday, May 20, from 3:00 to 5:00, we are hosting a JCC Community Garden Preparation Day.  We are receiving a donation of quality soil for our garden.  If you have any tools that you can donate, please bring them to the JCC at this time.  If you would like to join this project with your physical efforts, please come to the Preparation Day, bringing garden gloves, a hat, and perhaps a trowel or shovel to help with our efforts.

We will meet behind the JCC – follow the path by the preschool and tennis courts to the garden.  This is a family effort – all ages welcome!  (in the event of rain, we will meet on Tuesday, May 22 from 6 -8pm)

This is a great opportunity for families to work together in the betterment of our JCC and of our community, and we hope you will join us!  If you have any questions, please contact Randi Lewis, JCC Community Garden Coordinator (614-519-3727) or Melanie Butter, JCC Program Director (559-6233 or mbutter@columbusjcc.org).

From 9am to 1pm, campers will transition through specialties such as sports, music, Judaics, Israeli culture, and nature. In addition to this daily schedule, Zumba and science are two new programs being included.

Camp Ora will also have special days and activities to look forward to this summer. During Week 6, Animal Week, Silly Safari will be bringing Rhino Ryan to Camp Ora which will make this one great week! Carnival Day, tie dying, Israel Day and Sunny S‘mores making are just a few other activities for your children to get excited for.

Shara is now in her third summer as camp director at Ora and has previously directed Camp Chaverim for two summers. “I love watching the excitement that all of the campers have since this is their first real camp experience,” Shara says. “I’m most looking forward to seeing the joy on the campers’ faces when they get to experience something new!”

Other returning staff include Michelle Crow, Stephanie Robinson, and Bryan Wimmer. “The majority of Camp Ora staff are current preschool teachers at the JCC and who have worked at camp in the past,” Shara says. Camp Ora staff is preparing themselves along with Shara for the best summer yet!

For more information or to register your child for camp, contact Halle Schwartz at 559-6279 or hschwartz@columbusjcc.org or Diana Goggins at 559-6251 or dgoggins@columbusjcc.org.

To reserve your spot or for more information, please see:  www.zumbawithzjdeb.com

“For the second session, we will discuss Maimonides the Doctor. Not only was Rambam a great philosopher and expert on Jewish law, he was also a physician. We will explore some of his writings and see just how much he and others really understood about the human body back in The Middle Ages,” said Rabbi Ungar. “During the third session, we will delve into Brain Biology and Belief.  Based on the writings of Andrew Newberg, Eugene D’Aquili, Vince Rause and their book Why G-d Won’t Go Away, we will look at the latest research on how our brain is built to experience the world — and the world beyond our world.”

At the first class, participants dined on whole grain pasta with sautéed vegetables, tossed salad, rolls and fresh fruit and cookies for dessert before listening to Rabbi Ungar share teachings about the connection between the body, mind and soul.

On the menu for the second session is tilapia with fingerling potatoes, spinach sautéed with sun-dried tomatoes and shallots, a dinner roll, and for dessert, a fruit crisp with mixed berries. Guests will be served tofu with grilled marinated vegetables, a rice blend with wheat berries, a dinner roll and a baked apple in puff pastry for the last session to be held on May 16.

After the lecture on May 2, JCC personal trainers instructed participants on the use of equipment in the cardio area and offered suggestions on how to incorporate the new equipment into their workouts. Workouts for the remaining evenings of the series feature: weight training on week two and a group exercise class on week three. Participants are invited to use the Fitness Center until it closes at 10 p.m.

For more information, or to register, stop by the JCC’s Front Desk or contact Member Services Director Linda Starr at 614.559.6229.

Stephanie Markowitz is anticipating an exciting summer. While this is her first summer as Hoover co-Director, she is quite the summer camp veteran. “I worked many years at a URJ Camp as a counselor and assistant unit head. I’ve been going to camp so long that I can’t think of a summer I didn’t attend. I remember when I was very young I went to the JCC day camps in Toledo where I grew up. I’m so excited to be at Camp Hoover this summer and am so glad to be working with Mark. We make a great team,” Stephanie says.

Camp Hoover is infamous for its beautiful woods, boating, a high ropes course, swimming pool, bike trails and athletic fields. This year is nothing less. The adventure-based programming is going to be amplified this year and theme days are going to be great. “Crazy hair day is the day I’m looking most forward to. There’s a song I found about it that I can’t stop singing,” Stephanie says.

While Mark is a veteran up at Hoover, not everything is the same from previous years. “This year we are starting a new program, Bogrim Adventures,” Mark says. “7th and 8th grade campers will have the option to sign up for a one-week traveling camp where we’re going to camp out at various camp sites. Throughout the week we’re going to Cedar Point, The Rock n’ Roll Hall of Fame, and Ace Lake where we go White Water Rafting. It’s going to be great.” Bogrim Adventures aren’t the only campers who get to go off camp though. Campers in various bunks will also go to Zoombezi Bay, the Clippers’ stadium, and King’s Island.

Along with Stephanie and Mark, a team of great counselors are being rounded up for the best summer ever. Returning staff include Justin Mikusa, Tal Benatar, and Wyatt McMartin. Justin and Wyatt will be the boating specialists and Tal will be traveling with the Bogrim Adventures unit as their counselor this summer. Campers have a lot to look forward to this summer!

For more information or to register your child for camp, contact Halle Schwartz at 559-6279 or hschwartz@columbusjcc.org or Diana Goggins at 559-2251 or dgoggins@columbusjcc.org.

To be eligible for the award candidates must reside in the Central Ohio area, be a Jewish high school student graduating and attending college, have participated in a high school sport, club level sport, or other recognized amateur sport, and must have at least a 3.0 G.P.A. All student athletes who meet the prescribed criteria will be honored during the JCC’s Annual Meeting where the winners will be presented with a $500 scholarship. In addition, all eligible applicants will receive one JCC year membership, a $50 gift certificate, a fitness evaluation by JCC personal trainers, and recognition in each applicant’s local suburban newspaper.

To be considered for this award please drop off, mail, or email the application to JCC of Greater Columbus, Attn. Jeanna Brownlee, 1125 College Avenue, Columbus, Ohio 43209, jbrownlee@columbusjcc.org. The application deadline is Friday, May 4, 2012. Applications can be found at here at JCC’s website or at the JCC Fitness Desk.

For further information, please contact the Recreation and Wellness Department of the JCC of Greater Columbus at 559-6274 or jbrownlee@columbusjcc.org.

When Tom Fields-Meyer’s son Ezra was three and showing early signs of autism, a therapist suggested that the father needed to grieve. “For what?” he asked. The answer: “For the child he didn’t turn out to be.” That moment helped strengthen the Fields’ resolve to do just the opposite: to love the child Ezra was, a quirky boy with a fascinating and complex mind. Full of tender moments and unexpected humor, Following Ezra is the story of a father and son on a ten-year journey from Ezra’s diagnosis to the dawn of his adolescence. It celebrates his growth from a remote toddler to an extraordinary young man, connected in his own remarkable ways to the world around him.

Tim Fields-Meyer will speak April 24th at 7pm at Congregation Beth Tikvah. Please RSVP by April 17th. To RSVP or for more information contact Becca Nitzberg at (614) 559-6215 or bnitzberg@columbusjcc.org

The Kol Ha Kavod award for maintaining financial sustainability and growth was awarded due to the initiative which began in the spring of 2009. A group of JCC leaders, led by former Board President Jeff Meyer and current Board Treasurer Ben Zacks, created the Resource Development Team (RDT) in order to develop initiatives that would financially sustain the JCC into the future and lessen reliance on outside funders. The resulting impact team is chaired by JCC Vice President Karen Shore-Meyer. The initiative was funded by a grant from the Columbus Jewish Foundation. Kol Ha Kavod awards are presented for exemplary initiatives that can be replicated by other JCCs.

The Zahav award for programmatic excellence and user engagement award shouldn’t come as a surprise to those who frequent the JCC. The JCC Book Fair False Friends program was created to build a more just and compassionate community. As part of the False Friends program, best-selling novelist Myla Goldberg and national expert on youth bullying Rosalind Wiseman presented a community program on the dynamics of bullying among youth. Susan Steinman, JCC Board of Trustees member, moderated a community discussion about strategies for parents, teachers, leaders, and the entire community to create an environment of respect. Thanks to generous support from Mattrix Psychological Services, more than 200 people attended; both teens and adults. Zahav awards are presented to truly outstanding, visionary initiatives with maximum impact or potential for change.

Robin Ballin, Sr. Vice President & Chief Marketing Officer stated that the challenges JCCs face make it more important to raise the bar and redesign the awards to mirror paths of excellence. The JCC of Greater Columbus used these new standards and became innovative and successful. The JCC of Greater Columbus had two of 266 entries across all categories.

The Zahav and Kol Ha Kavod Award Winners will be displayed at the JCCs of North America Biennial in New Orleans this May 6-9th. For more information go to http://biennial.jcca.org/awards/jcc-excellence-awards/.

Also returning is Matt Graul, who will be Whitney’s assistant director. Matt has worked at Chaverim for numerous years and Whitney talks about the great team they make and how wonderful he is to have around. “Matt knows every face at Chaverim and he always has a smile on his face,” says Whitney. Other returning staff include Sam Rosenthal who is a junior counselor in first grade, Reid Howell, Kindergarten and first grade unit head, and Samantha London as the second and third grade senior counselor. Kaley Birchler will be returning to work with the specialty camps and Kaley Rosenthal, Mackenzie Graul, and Adam Gray will also return as senior counselors throughout the camps and under the direction of Rosenthal will staff the aftercare program.

While the staff are stupendous, their special programming will be what the kids rave about. There are oodles of special activities to get excited about at Chaverim this summer. Each week has a theme and on Wednesdays and Fridays programming will revolve around the themes. Whitney describes a day during Week 2 she’s calling “The Best Day Ever.” During this “day in heaven,” the campers will have extra pool time, a great snack, and the scooters and bikes will be out all day!

Chaverim campers will also have the opportunity to register for specialty camps this summer. Specialty camps are being run by Kim Moore, the past Camp Chaverim director. There are a variety of camps that kids can come to such as Adventure Camp, “Craft-rageous” Camp, and Lego Camp. Kim is excited to be brining a new company, Bricks 4 Kids, to run the Lego Camp. “This will be an amazing program. The first program is a complete automotive build with Lego’s and mechanical parts,” Kim says. “The ‘So You Think You Can Dance’ Camp will also be a great camp as the JCC is teaming up with Capital University’s dance team.”

Whitney and her staff are counting down the days to see their campers, both old and new faces. “I’m looking forward to seeing all of my previous campers come back. I can’t believe my Kindergarteners are already going to be in second grade,” Whitney says.

For more information or to register your child for camp, contact Halle Schwartz at 559-6279 or hschwartz@columbusjcc.org or Diana Goggins at 559-2251 or dgoggins@columbusjcc.org.