Participants at the Avis/South Shore Neighborhood Senior Center also got in on the action by collecting donations for the American Cancer Society, knitting and crocheting lap blankets for cancer patients, and sending greeting cards to patients. They also hosted a special Breast Cancer Awareness-themed chair yoga.
 
While October is obviously a special month for this cause, the JCC helps breast cancer patients throughout the year. We offer our Pink Program, which are fitness classes specifically for those in treatment and recovering from breast cancer. The Pink Program is the only breast cancer recovery program approved by the American Council of Exercise. For more information, contact Janice at jsalerno@sijcc.com. ​

Fall means one thing—pumpkins! To celebrate the season, our Early Childhood Education students took a trip out to the pumpkin patch!  Check out our photo gallery below:

Seven years ago, following Superstorm Sandy, our Food Pantry continued to operate despite the fact that we had no electricity and no elevator service. The blackout didn't stop us from doing what we do best—taking care of our community. Staff from many departments pitched in with flashlights, carrying boxes of food up the stairs to help make sure that no one went hungry.

Even in a crisis, the JCC is always ready to help those in need! Click here to learn more about our food pantry.

This year, we’re celebrating the JCC of Staten Island’s 90th birthday. As the JCC turns 90, we reflect back on the milestones the organization has achieved over the years.
 
The ways we communicate have changed drastically since the JCC opened its doors 90 years ago. Beginning in the 1930s, direct mail was the main form of communication for the JCC. To help keep members informed, the Bulletin was started as a newspaper serving the Jewish community. It was an important source of information, including news stories, upcoming events, and birth and marriage announcements. It also contained some more gossipy items and ads for local businesses.

​On Sunday, October 13th, we held our New Seasons event for young children and their families at Henry Kaufmann Campgrounds. It was a beautiful fall day, and we enjoyed an apple hunt, a story walk, and crafts!

Our newest Art exhibit features the work of Len Rachlin. Len Rachlin is a photographer and sculptor who was born in Ellenville, N.Y.  He graduated from Stony Brook University with both B.A. and M.A degrees. Later he obtained an M.B.A. degree from Baruch College. He studied sculpture at the Brooklyn Museum Art School, the Art Students League and the New York Academy of Art. He learned the basics of photography from his father who was a baby photographer and is otherwise self-taught. He worked for a hotel photographer, as a photography counselor at a summer camp and for Stony Brook University’s Office of Public Relations to earn money for college expenses. Later he did wedding photography before becoming interested in the artistic side of photography. Rachlin juggled being a math teacher as well as doing sculpture and photography.

He has exhibited, mostly in group shows, at various locations including Stony Brook University, Wagner College, St. John’s University, Brooklyn Museum Community Gallery, Staten Island Museum, Salmagundi Club, Numeroff Gallery, R.K. Parker Gallery, Rosenberg Gallery, Valsamis Gallery, SVA East Side Gallery, Red Carpet Gallery, Gallery 6, Brooklyn Waterfront Artists Coalition, Fort Wadsworth Visitors Center, Greenbelt Nature Center, Blue Heron Park and Planting Fields Arboretum. His sculptures are realistic figurative bronzes. He works first in clay, then plaster and finally casts his work into bronze using the lost wax casting process. The primary subject of his photography is people- mostly candid shots. Other subjects he has pursued are landscapes, nature, still lifes, nude studies and portraits.

Rachlin’s sculptures and photographs are in many private collections. His bronze portrait bust of George W. Curtis can be seen in the entrance vestibule of Curtis High School on Staten Island. He has published two books of his photographs, Photographic Visions, Blurb Press, 2008 and Coney Island Views, Blurb Press, 2008.

Come see the exhibit, on display at the Murray Berman Art @ the J Gallery at the Bernikow Building through October!