J Stories | Disability Program Services

“It’s a really warm and comforting place,” said Iris, a Taglit B’Yachad day program participant. “There’s a lot about community, and they’ve become my friends here.” 

 

Iris is one of over 100 adults and teens with developmental disabilities that the Tucson J serves each year. The J is home to a comprehensive Disability Program Services (DPS) department, composed of one of the largest and most well-respected day programs for adults with developmental disabilities in Arizona, Taglit B’Yachad (discovery together); a summer camp for youth with developmental disabilities; and a new vocational program for adults with developmental disabilities, Pathways to Employment. 

 

In Taglit B’Yachad, participants spend Monday through Friday at the J, socializing, creating art, exercising, cooking, and enjoying trips out into the community, all while supported by compassionate and expertly trained staff. Inclusion and belonging are central values of the Tucson J, and providing enriching experiences to all people, especially through the DPS programs, brings meaningful impact to our community. 

  

“The Tucson J has a very reputable day program,” said Charlie Paige, Senior Director of Disability Program Services. “It’s been around for almost 20 years. And we have built it up to offer services for 65 adults.” 

 

In September 2025, DPS introduced a new opportunity for day-program participants— vocational education. Along with training, participants operated the JShop Retail Store, selling merchandise like hats and towels, and the JShop Coffee Cart, selling hot and iced coffee and tea. 

 

This program garnered enough interest to begin building out Pathways to Employment, “a new program separate from our day program, which offers vocational job training to some of our adults in our day program, but more importantly, to additional people in our community with disabilities to learn and have these job skills opportunities here at the J,” said Charlie.  

 

Pathways to Employment officially launches in August 2026 and will focus on skill development and job training while actively placing participants in job exploration experiences within the community. The goal is for participants to graduate from the program and pursue a job where they can thrive and will be available for all eligible DDD members residing in Southern Arizona. 

 

“Most adults that have developmental disabilities have not been given the opportunity to develop job skills with the goal of placing them in a job in their community. Every adult deserves to work that wants to work, and we’re proud to be able to offer this experience to them,” said Charlie. 

 

While Pathways to Employment will expand DPS’s impact to even more adults, DPS has already had an enormous impact on current participants. Hannah has been coming to Taglit B’Yachad at the J for over 10 years and said that the J has become a “home away from home.” 

 

DPS programs, along with program innovation like Pathways to Employment, are only possible thanks to generous support from our community. When you donate to the J, you allow our programs to grow and meet the changing needs of the people we serve.  

 

“People with developmental disabilities are an important and large part of our community,” said Charlie, “and I think it is important to support programs and services and the communities that recognize this and want to provide impactful and quality programming for everyone in our community.” 

Learn more about DPS
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Shavuah Tov 25 Av 5786

Shavuah Tov,

 

At the Tucson J, we talk often about what we do: the programs we provide, the experiences we create, the partnerships we nurture, and the many ways large and small, we seek to strengthen our community.

 

But underneath all of that is a deeper question: What kind of community are we trying to create?

 

Our Service Pledge provides our answer:

 

We create community based on Jewish values by providing the highest quality programs and services in a safe and secure environment for all people of all ages.

 

Those words are more than a description of our work. They are a promise.

 

Our aspiration is to create a kehilah kedoshah a sacred community. A place that is sacred and special because people know they belong. A place where a child discovers confidence, an older adult finds connection, a family builds friendships, and someone walking through our doors for the first time discovers welcome. A place where people of different backgrounds, beliefs, abilities, identities, experiences, and generations encounter one another with dignity and care.

 

Jewish tradition teaches that holiness is created in relationship. In Exodus, as our ancestors prepare to build the Mishkan, God instructs:

 

“V’asu li mikdash, v’shachanti b’tocham.”


“Let them make Me a sanctuary, that I may dwell among them.”  Exodus 25:8

 

The text does not say that holiness will dwell simply in the sanctuary. It says b’tocham, among them.

 

Holiness lives between people.

 

That is the sacred space we seek to create at the Tucson J.

 

Another image from our tradition speaks powerfully to this aspiration. Each evening in Hashkiveinu, we ask God:

 

“Ufros aleinu sukkat shlomecha.”
“Spread over us a shelter of peace.”

 

I love that image for the Tucson J. A sukkah is open and welcoming, yet it surrounds those who enter. It reminds us that community can invite people in while providing safety, connection, and belonging. At a time when too many people experience isolation, uncertainty, and division, creating that kind of place matters.

 

Perhaps that is what it means to build a kehilah kedoshah: sacred community is the shelter we create for one another.

 

But no one builds that shelter alone.

 

Psalm 133 offers one of our tradition’s most beautiful expressions of this idea:

“Hineh mah tov u’mah na’im, shevet achim gam yachad.”


How good and pleasant it is when people dwell together in unity.

Yachad. Together.

 

That word captures something essential about the Tucson J. Community is not something one CEO, staff, board, donor, volunteer, or organization can create alone.

 

Community is built b’yachad.

 

Our professional staff bring talent, compassion, and commitment. Our board and volunteer leaders bring wisdom, stewardship, and vision. Our donors transform possibilities into realities. Our community partners expand our reach and remind us that collaboration allows us to accomplish what none of us could accomplish alone. And every person who enters the Tucson J contributes to the community we are becoming.

 

The American musical theater canon expresses a similar idea in Rodgers and Hammerstein’s Carousel: You’ll Never Walk Alone

 

That promise resonates deeply with what community can mean. Sometimes community means celebrating, learning, swimming, exercising, playing, singing, or gathering around a table. And sometimes it simply means knowing that when life becomes difficult, someone will walk beside us.

 

That is what we aspire to be for one another: a shelter of peace, a community that walks together, a kehilah kedoshah.

 

Achieving that aspiration requires intention. It requires excellence in our programs and services, an unwavering commitment to safety and security, genuine welcome, and continually asking whether every person who comes through our doors can see themselves as part of this community.

Our Service Pledge holds us accountable to that work.

 

To our staff, thank you for bringing this promise to life each day. To our board and volunteer leaders, thank you for your wisdom and leadership. To our donors, thank you for investing in people, relationships, and belonging. To our community leaders and partners, thank you for recognizing that our greatest opportunities are best addressed together.

 

Kehilah is not something we simply join. It is something we create.

We create it when we welcome someone, learn another person’s story, choose partnership, show up for someone who needs us, and recognize that our lives and futures are connected.

 

We create it b’yachad, together.

 

May the Tucson J continue to be a kehilah kedoshah, rooted in Jewish values and open to all. May we spread a sukkat shalom, a shelter of peace, over all who enter our doors. May we continue to walk beside one another.

 

And may we never forget that sacred community can only be built the way community has always been built:

B’yachad. Together.

Cochenu b’Achduteynu | כחינו באחדותינו | Our strength is in our unity.


Am Yisrael Chai | עם ישראל חי

Todd Rockoff

President + CEO, Tucson J 

From the Desk of Michael Gadarian | Chief Financial Officer

Shabbat Shalom
Shabbat Shalom

From the Desk of Michael Gadarian | Chief Financial Officer

As we begin a new school year at the Tucson J, I read and reflected on this week’s Torah portion, Re’eh, from Deuteronomy, which begins with the words, “See, I set before you today blessing and curse.” While this passage speaks of choices, it also reminds us that every new beginning offers an opportunity to recommit ourselves to the values that define who we are.

 

Like many in our community, I have a long history with the Tucson J. I spent countless hours here growing up, especially on the basketball court. One of my earliest memories after having to hang up my sneakers came years later, when I returned to the J while living on the East Coast in my mid-twenties.

 

In 2007, my father was honored in our J’s Ballroom as Man of the Year by our community partners at the Jewish Community Foundation. During his remarks, he shared a lesson that has stayed with me ever since. He questioned why he was receiving the award because, to him, he was simply trying to do the right thing in his everyday work and life. There was not much to contemplate beyond that. You simply do what is right.

 

As I’ve reflected on those words over the years, I’ve come to appreciate how closely they align with the message of Re’eh. The Torah reminds us that we are presented with choices every day. Our hope is that we become people whose values are so deeply rooted that choosing kindness, integrity, responsibility, and compassion becomes second nature.

 

This week marks another exciting beginning for our J. Our youngest learners once again filled our Early Childhood Education classrooms, while many of our older children returned to school and came back each afternoon to our JCare after school program. There, familiar faces, caring staff, and meaningful experiences help make the Tucson J feel like home. Across our campus, a new season begins with fresh opportunities to learn, grow, and strengthen the connections that make our community so special.

 

As CFO, I often think about stewardship, not only of our financial resources, but of the trust that families place in us every day. The greatest investment we make is in our people and in the values we live together. Every welcoming smile, every encouraging word, and every act of kindness helps shape the culture of our J and the lives of those we serve.

 

May this new school year be filled with curiosity, friendship, growth, and joy. And may this Shabbat inspire all of us to continue choosing the path that strengthens our community; not because it is the easiest choice, but because it is simply the right one.

How we care for ourselves, how we care for others, and how we contribute to the world around us reflect the kind of people and community we want to be. Every day, people choose to show up at the Tucson J to nurture their physical, emotional, and spiritual wellness; learn something new; and find joy and connection. We are proud to be a place where those choices make an impact on an individual level, and where personal responsibility can grow into collective responsibility. Just as importantly, the J chooses to show up—for our members, our families, our teens and children, and for the broader Tucson community. Our work is rooted in the belief that the choices we make together can help create a stronger, more connected Jewish community. This week, we’re excited to share a few of the ways our community is choosing to show up.

 

We welcomed Early Childhood Education and JCare kids back for another school year filled with fun, learning, and memories. ECE students explored their classrooms, ventured out around the J, and celebrated their first Shabbat in the ECE open space on brand new carpeting! In JCare, participants learned about the Jewish value of kehilla (community), decorated name tags and art portfolios that will be used throughout the year, baked chocolate chip cookies, and played ice breakers!

 

We recently began a new partnership with Intuitive Training and are thrilled to have kicked off two class series that support post-partum families during a time of life where it often feels hard to “show up” for yourself. Learn more about Stroller Strength and Like a Mother (including a free pop-up!) here. 

In Sports + Recreation, we celebrated the “Squad Team” and “Aces” who took first and second place in our summer Co-ed Volleyball League championship game! There are more leagues, lessons, and clinics for both youth and adults throughout the fall—what will you choose to try? 

 

All week long, nine Tucson J teens competed in the 2026 JCC Maccabi Games + Access, joining thousands of other Jewish teens in Toronto. Just like last year’s Games hosted here in Tucson, it was an unforgettable and truly meaningful experience. Our teens showed up with their best foot forward and we couldn’t be more proud! Check out the closing video here and stay tuned for an article about our amazing Maccabi teens coming soon! 

 

As we move into Shabbat, may we take a moment to reflect on the choices we make, the responsibilities we share, and the kind of community we are building together. ShabbatShalom.

Reminders, Resources + Learning

Each week we share resources for more learning:

This week’s resources:

Last week’s resources:

Is there a topic you’d like to learn more about? Email Jenn Selco with requests. 

From the Desk of Jennifer Selco | Sr. Director of Jewish Life + Engagement 

Shabbat Shalom
Shabbat Shalom

From the Desk of Jennifer Selco | Sr. Director of Jewish Life + Engagement

Did you know that the specific obligation to say HaMotzi, the blessing before a meal, is not explicitly mentioned in the Torah? In this week’s Torah portion, Eikev, Hebrew for “obey” or “if you obey these rules,” we learn more about the important connection to the land of Israel, we learn about the seven species, and the sacred obligation to express gratitude after a meal (Birkat HaMazon). It is written in Deuteronomy 8:10,

 

וְאָכַלְתָּ֖ וְשָׂבָ֑עְתָּ וּבֵֽרַכְתָּ֙ אֶת־יְהֹוָ֣ה אֱלֹהֶ֔יךָ עַל־הָאָ֥רֶץ הַטֹּבָ֖ה אֲשֶׁ֥ר נָֽתַן־לָֽךְ׃

 

When you have eaten your fill, give thanks to the ETERNAL your God for the good land given to you.

 

While the obligation to say HaMotzi and the exact structure for Birkat HaMazon (another blessing we say when we eat) was not finalized until the First Century of the Common Era, the basis for the Birkat HaMazon is rooted in Torah.

 

In a world where it is easy to rush from one thing to the next, Eikev reminds us to pause and express gratitude for the blessings we receive. Taking a moment after we eat to express gratitude reminds us that satisfaction is more than having enough, it is about recognizing the blessings we may take for granted. Gratitude helps transform an ordinary meal into a sacred moment. And, at the same time, these words challenge us to remember that food insecurity continues to affect families in our communities and around the world. Our gratitude should inspire action: to share our abundance, support those in need, and work toward a world where everyone can eat and be satisfied. In that way, an ordinary meal becomes not only a sacred moment of giving thanks but also a reminder of our responsibility to care for one another.

As we reflect on the lessons of gratitude in this week’s Torah portion, we also find ourselves at a meaningful moment in the life of our J. Summer camp season came to a joyful close this week, a new school year begins on Monday, and for just a moment, we have the opportunity to pause between one joyful season and the next. Before the busy rhythms of fall take hold, we are grateful for all that our community has shared this summer—for the laughter that filled our halls, the friendships that were built, the dedicated staff who made it all possible, and the many families who continue to make the Tucson J a place of connection and belonging. 

 

Camp J ended on Wednesday with a carnival, staff talent show, and a special visit from the Tucson Fire Department. Campers discovered that the best way to cool off under the Tucson sun is a fire hose spray-down! All week, teachers in our Early Childhood Educationdepartment have spent time together preparing for the year ahead with in-service days devoted to professional development and a field trip to the Catalyst Creative Collective where they learned to make bagels from scratch and paint like professional artists. This afternoon, new and returning ECE families joined us to “meet the teacher”—we are looking forward to another year of learning, playing, and growing at the J! 

While Camp J is one of the highlights of our summer, it is only one part of the vibrant life of our community. Throughout the season, our Healthy Aging programs have continued to bring older adults together for learning, wellness, and meaningful connection, reminding us that the J is a place where every generation can find community. Racquet Sports clinics and lessons continued at the Sarver Tennis Center on freshly cleaned courts and community members worked toward their wellness goals in group fitness classes and personal training. This week the Stingrays Swim Team tie-dyed shirts and then participated in their annual Swimathon—an opportunity to celebrate their hard work, raise funds for the season ahead, and demonstrate the perseverance and team spirit that define our program.

 

Every season at the J offers opportunities something to be grateful for. As we welcome Shabbat and look ahead to the start of a new school year, we do so with gratitude for the people who make the Tucson J such a special place, every day of the year. Shabbat Shalom.

Reminders, Resources + Learning

Each week we share resources for more learning:

This week’s resources:

Last week’s resources:

Is there a topic you’d like to learn more about? Email Jenn Selco with requests.