JACKSONVILLE, Fla. – May is Jewish American Heritage Month, a time when Jewish contributions to American culture and history are honored, and News4JAX is highlighting the Jewish Community Alliance (JCA).
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The community center is located on the Southside in the Goodby’s Creek neighborhood.
Construction on the JCA began in 1986, and by 1988, the center celebrated its ribbon-cutting while also welcoming its first members.
One of the founding members is Jerry Seebol, who said the JCA has been a meeting place for him and his family for nearly 40 years where they have enjoyed the facility’s gym, pools, and other recreational activities.
He also said the center was a place the Jacksonville Jewish community needed in the late 1980s.
“It was the promise of all the synagogues in Jacksonville getting together, being able to share a common space and enjoy being with each other,” Seebol said. “And it definitely fulfilled that.”
Seebol’s daughter, Andrea Smithers, has been coming to the JCA since she was a year old. Decades later, her children enjoy the same communal space.
“It’s so fun,” Smithers said. “I love going to pick the kids up in youth services and seeing the same room where I came to be a counselor in training.”
The community center is meant to strengthen Jewish life and enhance the quality of life for the entire community, something Seebol and Smithers said it does, because this community center is attended by people from all walks of life who learn from one another.
According to Adam Chaskin, the CEO of the JCA, around 60% of members at the center are not Jewish.
Additionally, the community hub is currently undergoing renovations to build a new future. This expansion includes many things, ljke: An updated lobby, expanded and updated media library, a display of Jewish history and facts from the area, and a splash pad.
Seebol said seeing these updates come to life has been exciting to watch.
“Well, this construction to me represents the success of this facility for 30-some years,” Seebol said. “It’s not just growth; it’s a testament to how important this facility is to Jacksonville, to my community, and to the people who use it, and how many more will be using it in the future.”
Chaskin said he believes the expansion will further unite the community.
“The education that happens, both directly with programming and indirectly, does tremendous things to help break down barriers in our society,” Chaskin said. “It helps people understand that the differences they might have—whether it’s race, religion, or whatever it might be—are not obstacles to being friends.”
Chaskin emphasizes that breaking down these barriers continues the message upon which the center was founded.
Construction on the community center began in Nov. 2024 and is expected to be completed in 2026.
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