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Dear Chevre (Friends),

As we move through the holidays and embark on a new Jewish year, we are reflecting on the remarkable—and truly historic—summer we had here at the Tucson J. After a fun-filled season of Camp J and many sun-soaked days at the pool, we had the incredible honor of hosting the 2025 JCC Maccabi Games® & Access for the first time in 25 years, a feat we accomplished with support from the whole community and more than two years of planning and preparation.  

 

Over 880 Jewish teen athletes from around the globe, including 73 Tucson teens, joined us to celebrate Jewish values, make lasting memories and connections, and gain a greater sense of Jewish identity and Peoplehood. Four local teens participated in the Access Games for the first non-pilot year. Two hundred families opened their homes and their hearts to host visiting athletes, hundreds more volunteers gave their time to help bring the experience to life, and thousands of spectators joined in the magic of The Games. We are especially grateful for the donors and sponsors whose generosity made JCC Maccabi possible and our community partners who shared their spaces, resources, and talents to contribute to the tremendous success of the event.  

 

While the competition may have ended, the impact of the 2025 Games will continue for years to come. Maccabi was a powerful reminder of what our community can accomplish when united in shared purpose and passion, and we’re just getting started.  

 

With the arrival of fall, we welcomed new and returning Early Childhood Education students back to school before diving right into arts and culture season with an incredible lineup of special events including the annual Jill Rosenzweig Memorial Sculpture Garden opening, and a thought-provoking artist-in-residence with Aaron Henne, Artistic Director of the nationally recognized California-based group, theatre dybbuk. The residency blends performance, storytelling, and community engagement around themes of Jewish identity, othering, and cultural memory.  

 

Participants in our Healthy Aging programs and Disability Program Services department continue to thrive at the J, with new opportunities that speak to their unique needs. The DPS JShop launched in September as the first phase of JJobs, a new work-readiness program that offers participants the opportunity to build confidence, independence, and job skills through 2-4-month internships in the J’s Building Services, Early Childhood Education, Jewish Living and Engagement, and Health and Wellness departments. In October, we added additional Dementia Friendly group fitness classes and restructured our Parkinson’s Wellness Exercise program after hearing important feedback. Fitness + Wellness expands with new offerings all the time, the highest quality specialty programs, and a sense of community you won’t find anywhere else.  


The J is proud to be a place where so many come to practice wellness, engage in the arts, and learn new things—and we are humbled by your belief in our mission and the work we do. The generosity of our community makes this impactful work possible; behind the scenes, we have been developing an endowment fund with an initial goal of reaching $1 million. With a $500,000 dollar-for-dollar match we are thrilled to announce we are at $773,000 toward our $1 million goal, which will help to ensure a bright and sustainable future for the J.  


An exciting year lies ahead! Read on to learn about what happened at the J this summer, and what we’re looking forward to next.  


Thank you for being part of our community, 

Fran Katz,
Chief Development Officer

While many places in Tucson slow down when it gets hot, the Tucson J is a summer hub for people of all ages, bustling with year-round Early Childhood Education learners and Camp J campers, families beating the heat in the pool and PlaySpace, and people of all ages enjoying our state-of-the-art Fitness + Wellness Center. This summer, we welcomed thousands of guests to our beautiful campus for the 2025 JCC Maccabi Games and were proud to not only host this extraordinary celebration of Jewish Peoplehood and identity but deliver the outstanding service and experience we’re known for. We continued the momentum right into fall with a robust schedule of Sports + Rec offerings and new art and language classes, reminding our community that back-to-school style beginnings can be for anyone! Additionally, this quarter we:  

 

  • welcomed 131 new members, accounting for 1,835 member units that include 4,578 individuals, with an additional 4,066 insurance-based member units and 4,933 individuals

  • hosted hundreds of individuals and families for Labor Day at the J, where they enjoyed an all-ages racquet sports social, free group fitness classes, the pool and bounce houses, refreshments in the Fine Art Gallery, personalized tours by our talented Member Relations tours team (resulting in over 40 joins that day alone), and more!

     

  • completed the renovations in the Allen z”l + Marianne Langer Jewish Heritage Center, including the new garage door that opens into the Jill Rosenzweig Memorial Sculpture Garden making the room more functional for a variety of events. We also began the expansion of our pool-side accessible playground with support from the George J. O’Leary Foundation.

     

  • gathered the newly elected Tucson J Board for their annual leadership summit, where they engaged in learning with Janet S. Elam, consultant for the JCC Association of North America.

     

  • used the 2025 JCC Maccabi Games and Access as a launch-point to begin work on a new 5-year strategic plan.
     
  • hired Armando Alvarez to build capacity in our Rentals department so more community members can gather, honor, and celebrate in our multi-functional spaces.  
newsletter graphic with the words Fitness and wellness on a teal background

People come to the J to live well. Our Fitness + Wellness programs are a core part of our work and a staple in the lives of so many of our community members. We pride ourselves on innovative programming that meets the needs of our diverse community—from expanded PeeWee Sports offerings to the continued evolution of our Healthy Aging programs, the J is here to help you thrive at every age and stage. Some highlights and successes from the third quarter of our year include:  

 

  • a busy season at the Aquatics center with nearly 40 kids enrolled in JRays Swim School, 87 swimmers on the Stingrays Swim Team, and 46 adults taking it to the next level in Masters Swim (which recently expanded to add evening sessions!)
     
  • a fun and educational fourth annual Community Water Safety Day with TMC and a variety of community partners
     
  • welcoming four-legged friends to the pool for our inaugural Dogs Only Swim for an extra-cute community engagement opportunity before our annual draining and deep cleaning 

  • bringing local basketball legend, Sam Thomas, back for the 4th annual Sam Thomas Hoop Group clinic, this year joined by fellow former UA player and current coach, Dominic McBryde. Now with a new 15-18 age group, this year’s clinic served 69 kids ages 6-18 with skills and drills, games, a Q+A, and the appearance of special guest, current Arizona women’s basketball coach, Becky Burke.  

  • nearly 150 kids and adults participating in Basketball programs at the J, 64 participating in Volleyball, and 113 of our littlest movers and shakers participating in PeeWee Sports (including our new Pickleball option)  

  • the continued evolution of our Healthy Aging programs, including the Parkinson’s Exercise Wellness program which switched to a monthly drop-in structure to better accommodate the needs of our participants, new Dementia-friendly group exercise classes, and restructured support groups for families that will resume in the Spring 

  • over 100 community members joining us for the No Falls Fair, a partnership with TMC Health 

  • the return of the ACEing Autism tennis program this fall, which engages youth and teens with autism as well as volunteers from our community, after a hiatus in 2024  

  • revamping TOP Prep Tennis and Tucson Jays Middle School Club Basketball to include Speed School high-performance sports training with Coach Clive, elevating all three programs  

 At the Tucson J, we believe that arts and culture are essential threads in the fabric of community life and a means to realize our mission to cultivate and enrich Jewish identity, ensure Jewish continuity, foster wellness and broaden communal harmony. Through Jewish and Israel education infused in our Camp and Childcare programs, to the many PJ Library gatherings that brought families together, this summer offered many ways for our community to engage, reflect, and connect. It was also a season of creativity and planning, with a hum of activity behind the scenes as we prepared for a dynamic and inspiring fall season. Moving into the final quarter of 2025, the impact we have is demonstrated in the success and progress we’ve made including:
 

  • over 200 community members joining us for the annual Jill Rosenzweig Memorial Sculpture Garden opening, SCULPT, which this year, tied to the Rosh Hashanah holiday and invited participants to engage with the art on a deeper level through guided prompts and reflections
     
  • 684 kids enrolled in PJ Library, another 127 in PJ Our Way, and a summer full of events like Splash Bash, Growing with the Grands, Family Yoga in Your PJ’s, and a very special Tu B’Av gathering, engaging hundreds of families in Jewish joy, pride, and learning   
  • the rollout of new art classes and workshops including 2D/3D mixed-media drop-in sessions, and a wide variety of ceramics and clay classes for all levels
     
  • 97 people enrolled in Spanish classes July-September, and more students joining as Hebrew classes return later in October
     
  • joining organizations from across the Tucson Jewish community to plan Walk Together, commemorating two years since October 7; we received a JCCA Mithabrim Grant for the event

  • more on the horizon including the remainder of the Artist Residency with theatre dybbuk, culminating in two performances of Dracula (Annotated), the hosting of the first Z3@Tucson event, and the 35th Annual Tucson J International Film Festival in January

  • sending Chloe Loos, Director of Arts + Culture, to Israel for the first time for a professional development trip with the Reform Alumni for Israel to learn about Jewish Peoplehood, Israel engagement, and responding to our community in this critical moment  

Our Children + Youth programs foster a love of learning and emphasize the value of community, guided by the belief that children are capable, competent, unique, and important. We are proud to have served more children than ever in Camp J this summer, deepened our work around teen engagement through JCC Maccabi, and embarked on another school year serving children in our Early Childhood Education and JCare afterschool programs.  As we reflect on the last quarter, we’re proud to share that we:  

 

  • have 235 children ages 6 months to 5 years enrolled in Early Childhood Education at the J, including in two classrooms at THA

  • ECE families celebrated the start of a new school year together with our annual Welcome Dinners, which are picnic-style in the Jill Rosenzweig Memorial Sculpture Garden

  • introduced a new ECE tradition: Monday Havdalah in our PJ’s! And enjoyed Rosh Hashanah learning, crafting, and celebrating together

  • ended the busiest Camp J ever with over 500 campers, and began the school year with 122 kids enrolled in the JCare afterschool program  

  • engaged 73 local teens, our largest delegation in Tucson J history, in the 2025 JCC Maccabi and Access Games, including four who participated in Access 

  • have 71 members in BBYO, many of whom also participated in JCC Maccabi this year and are already signing on for the 2026 Games in Toronto 

  • hired Caitlin Jacob as the new Director of Afterschool Programming 

  • facilitated professional development opportunities for teachers including in-service and Quality First training, as well as an art training on process-based lessons with Demaris Weitzel, and an Employee Wellness training through Pima County that focused on physical and mental well-being   

  • received a JPSA Security Grant for ECE security at THA and a grant from the Tucson Federal Credit Union for ECE supplies  

 

At the J, we don’t just include—we uplift. Our Disability Program Services community is helping redefine what belonging looks like, making the J stronger, more vibrant, and more inclusive with every step forward. After a wonderful summer full of field trips, time spent at the Tucson J’s pool, and monthly concerts from local musicians, we began fall with much anticipated new vocational opportunities. Recent developments in Disability Program Services includes:  

  • serving 28 middle and high school students in our camp program, Summer Taglit, in addition to 38 participants in Taglit and 38 participants in Arts for All  

  • the grand opening of the DPS JShop, phase one of JJobs, our new pilot work-readiness program that provides participants the opportunity to build confidence, independence, and job skills through 2-4-month internships in the J’s Building Services, Early Childhood Education, Jewish Living and Engagement, and Health and Wellness departments.  The JShop is a retail store staffed by JJobs interns and shoppable by the whole community! Customers can purchase the newest J merch as well as useful items like sunscreen, water bottles, goggles, and more.  JJobs is funded by community grants.

  • field trips to El Jefe Cat Cafe, Lucky Strike Bowling, Top Golf, Funtastics, Bookman’s, This N’ That Creative Studio, and more  

  • hiring Martha Watson as the new Compliance Manager and McKenna Czerny as our new Program Specialist  

  • receiving grants from the Dennis Schuman Charitable Foundation for security, the AZ Commission on the Arts for Arts for All, and the Sprouts Healthy Communities Foundation for the DPS Culinary Project