by Jill Huber
NJJN Bureau Chief/Monmouth

January 20, 2009

When Joanne Glassoff plans programs at the JCC of Greater Monmouth County in Deal, she hears the words from a Hebrew psalm.

“The psalm says, ‘This is the day that God has created. Let us rejoice and celebrate in it,’” said Glassoff. “My goal is to make sure that every program at the JCC embodies that spirit of excitement.”

Glassoff is the JCC’s new director of senior nutrition programs and adult/Jewish programming. The newly created position, she said, reflects the center’s ongoing commitment to its kosher meals-on-wheels program and to providing a wide range of entertainment and educational programs for individuals and families.

Glassoff, who began her new job last month, is overseeing the meals-on-wheels program, which, along with congregate programs at the JCC and Morganville Senior Center, provide 20,000 kosher meals each year to senior citizens throughout the county.

“There aren’t many food programs that provide kosher meals, so that is a very important aspect. And, in some cases, these meals provide the most nutritious food that senior citizens get,” she said.

Glassoff also is planning a series of adult programs, including a Tu B’Shevat intergenerational bingo and painting event, a kosher sushi-making family project, and Yiddish theater trips.

“These types of programs mean a lot to the Jewish community,” she said. “They offer fun and companionship, and also provide Jewish adults with the chance to participate in events that strengthen their links to the community.”

Glassoff grew up in Philadelphia and graduated from Beaver College (now Arcadia University) with a degree in psychology and certification in special education. She also participated in a graduate program in Jewish education at Gratz College in Pennsylvania.

Glassoff has a wide range of experience in the field of Jewish educational programming. She was director of education at the JCC of Long Beach Island, taught prayer and Torah reading at the Solomon Schechter Academy of Monmouth and Ocean Counties in Howell, coordinated the junior congregation at Congregation B’nai Israel in Toms River, and currently teaches at the Hebrew high school at Temple Beth Shalom in Manalapan.

She also worked with the New Jersey Y Camps’ Kislak summer travel programs, taught bar/bat mitzva programs at Camp Ramah in the Berkshires, and served as assistant director of public events at the Jewish Theological Seminary in New York.

Glassoff lives in Toms River with her husband, Avrum, and their three children, Sammy, 16, and nine-year-old twins Matthew and Steven. She said working in the field of Jewish programming and education has been a lifelong calling.

“It just feels right to make a difference in the Jewish community,” she said. “My late mother volunteered her entire adult life to various Jewish organizations, and I realized I could make a difference as a volunteer and a professional.

Additional information about meals-on-wheels (volunteer drivers are needed) and other programs is available from Glassoff at 732-531-9100, ext. 125, or jglassoff@jcca.org.

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