Jewish Community Centers of Greater Boston

Mission

To advance the aspirations of families and individuals to enrich their lives, bodies and spirits, by providing the best in contemporary programs and experiences, informed by Jewish values for today's Jews and the people in their lives.
 
About the JCC

The JCC's roots reach back nearly a century, to the once-Jewish enclave of Mattapan. There, the Hecht House welcomed immigrants from Eastern Europe's shtetls (small towns with large Jewish populations). Later, when these New Americans resettled in Brighton and Brookline, Cambridge, Chelsea, Quincy and Revere, they took the Hecht House model with them, creating new destinations where they and their children could meet, socialize and relax with other Jews. These centers also became a locus for building and strengthening Jewish identities, especially as Jews integrated within the broader community.

The Associated Jewish Community Centers of Greater Boston (AJCC), a confederation of neighborhood JCCs, formed in the 1960s to achieve the economies of scale and strategic planning necessary for serving a burgeoning Jewish population. In the 1970s, the AJCC reorganized as the Jewish Community Centers of Greater Boston, bringing a regional approach to bear on a new chapter of Boston Jewish history, a time of geographic dispersion and loosening communal ties. In the 21st century, with support from Combined Jewish Philanthropies and generous individual donors and foundations, the JCC is proud to serve more than 50,000 people representing 98 communities and every age and ability, including men, women and children with special needs at the Leventhal-Sidman JCC in Newton; through a wide range of programs and services in Metrowest, the South Area, and Metro North (Arlington/Cambridge/Somerville and beyond); at JCC day and overnight camps in Greater Boston and Bridgton, Maine; at Early Learning Centers in Acton, Brookline, Hingham, Newton, Sharon, and Wayland; and online.
 
Vision

The JCC is deeply committed to serving a community that is increasingly diverse, and to valuing and celebrating the uniqueness of every constituent. While being proudly Jewish, we recognize the changes in Jewish life in our times, and strive in every way to provide an open and welcoming setting for all, irrespective of personal practices, beliefs, or background. We invite you to use the JCC as your partner in connecting your interests and aspirations to enriching Jewish resources: values, traditions, customs and other tools for living and, of course, to old and new friends.