Business Spotlight

Name: Yitzy Weinberg
Position: Executive Assistant to the President of the JCCMP
Years in Business: 5 months

 1) What new initiatives have you worked on since joining the JCC?  

Since I have joined the JCC we have been busy with one project and event after another. These have included an extremely successful singles event and our inaugural Eldercare Conference and Expo. We are now in the middle of our computer enrichment courses which teach participants necessary skills and programs that are expected in today’s marketplace, such as Excel, QuickBooks, and Word.  We also had our annual mission to Albany, which allowed us to showcase all the services, programs and assistance that we offer the community.

2) What is the focus of the JCC on the employment front?  

As mentioned, we have already offered two series of computer classes, and we are now in the middle of our third. This time around, the classes have been expanded so that we may be able to help as many people as possible. We offer other services such as resume writing, mock interviews and a jobs board that is updated weekly. We are also initiating a high-end networking event called Leadership NXT that will help connect Jewish professionals from various industries with their colleagues in both their industry and areas of business that complement their focus. Stay tuned!

3) What are some programs offered by the JCC that people may not be aware of?  

As a community organization, we try to provide services and events for all ages, demographics, and needs. These include events for Holocaust survivors, a camp scholarship fund, legal assistance services and a scholar in residence series, which brings a variety of interesting speakers to come and speak at local shuls.  Let’s not forget about our social services department! We have two licensed social workers on location completely free of charge available for the community. We also offer free facilitated enrollment for SNAP (food stamps) and health insurance.

4) How often do you interact with elected officials?  What kinds of issues do you discuss? 

 I am in contact with all the local officials. When we meet, the focus is always on addressing the needs of the community, whether they may be a petition to help fund our computer courses, anti -Semitic incidents, putting in stop signs or other neighborhood concerns. Our elected officials are also invited to partake in all of our events. This allows us to show them in a very real way the influence our community could have.

5) Do you work with local Rabbanim?

Of course and they are a big part of our success. We rely on them to refer people to us for our Project Machal food program as well as for our Pesach distribution and social services. Baruch Hashem, we have a great relationship with the wonderful Rabbanim of the community and we look forward to continually strengthening this important bond.

6) Are there any needs in the community that you feel are not being addressed?  

Yes! Unfortunately, the issues that have come up with the zoning laws are out of control. Baruch Hashem, our families are growing and many people need to add an extension on their home or risk relocating. This is not even taking into account the extra room needed to invite friends and families over for Shabbosim, Yomim Tovim, and simchos. The quickest and most effective way of dealing with this is to get more people involved and show our elected officials that this issue is really important to us.

7) Are you involved with The Jewish Echo?

In addition to our talented and hard-working editor, it takes a team of excellent writers, salespeople, proofreaders, illustrators, and graphic designers to create our magazine each month. It is a joint effort, and it is my job to ensure that everything is running smoothly and in a coordinated fashion. It is interesting that you asked me about The Jewish Echo since we are now in the process of putting the finishing touches on a beautiful, new and interactive website for the magazine. Look out for our email blasts to see when it goes online!

8) What’s in the works for this coming year?

We have a lot on tap. We are revamping our Sunday afternoon program to make it an even better program than before; we are doing the same for our Summer safety Street Fair coming up on June 11. We have something special in store for our annual fundraiser to support Project Machal. We also have plans to follow up with another Eldercare Conference and Expo, as well as a Home Renovation and Construction Show. Check out our website at jccmp.org to keep abreast of all our exciting events and programs!