The Tucson J is growing! The expansion and renovation of the new health and wellness area in 2015 stimulated a wonderful growth in membership (more than 200 units) and an increase in program participation. This investment created a wonderful buzz in our community about our great fitness facility and our cutting edge wellness programs, and provides us with a platform for significantly more activity.
This past January we opened our new program space on the second floor that includes a demonstration kitchen, an indoor, temperature-controlled play space, a multi-use meeting space and dedicated space for our special needs Taglit program. This expansion allows several areas of the agency to grow.
Our Taglit program will be able to expand 40 percent. This program is very much in demand and it will be wonderful to be able to open our doors to more participants in need.
Additionally, the indoor play space provides opportunities for fun-filled birthday parties and an amazing resource for our early childhood kids to burn a lot of energy and engage those all-important motor skills. The new demonstration kitchen will allow us to offer cooking classes for children to learn to prepare healthy, nutritious food options and also provide unique culinary events for adults.
Our early childhood education program also received a facelift in January. All of our classrooms have been renovated and the children are already enjoying the vibrant new paint colors along with the cutting edge emergent curriculum and the J’s Discover CATCH program (Coordinated Approach to Child Health.)
The J is continually filled with beautiful noises of children, adults, parents and grandparents all coming together as a community. We are open to all, and hope to see more friends enjoying our wonderful spaces and our enriching programs.
Todd Rockoff is president and CEO of the Tucson Jewish Community Center.
