United Jewish Communities of MetroWest NJ (UJC) is dedicated to building and strengthening Jewish community by ensuring the mental, spiritual, and physical well-being of Jewish locally, in Israel, around the world.

Rooted in the concept of areyvut, Jewish mutual responsibility, UJC stands at the center of a network of 20 local partner agencies to help meet the educational, vocational, recreational, and social needs of the MetroWest Jewish community and beyond.

Encompassing Essex, Morris, Sussex, and north Union counties, UJC is the largest Jewish federation in New Jersey, serving approximately 100,000 people through its United Jewish Appeal Campaign of MetroWest NJ. As the center of Jewish philanthropy in MetroWest, it raises and allocates the funds that are needed to respond to the diversity of Jewish needs on an ongoing basis and in emergent situations.

Among the many programs that UJC supports are expanded services for the unemployed; support of families in crisis; supportive services for seniors; strengthening Jewish identity; programs and services for people with special needs and their families; making Jewish education affordable; Jewish camping; Israel education and advocacy; leadership development; and Birthright Israel.

UJC program departments include:

• Community Relations Committee
• Legow Family Israel Program Center
• Women’s Philanthropy
• MetroWest Rabbinic Cabinet
• Joint Chaplaincy Committee
• Young Leadership Division
• Business Professionals Network

UJC has special relationships with seven overseas communities -- six in Israel, and one in Ukraine: Rishon LeZion; Ra'anana; Ofakim/Merchavim; Kibbutz Erez; Gush Etzion; Horfesh; and Cherkassy, Ukraine. Through its partnership with the Jewish Agency for Israel, American Jewish Joint Distribution Committee, and ORT, UJC assists Israel and 60 countries around the world, including the former Soviet Union.

The center is a 300-bed multi-faceted, state-of-the-art skilled nursing facility offering the most modern and comprehensive services available, including long-term care, sub-acute rehabilitation, Alzheimer’s care, respite care, and hospice/palliative care.

A beneficiary agency of the United Jewish Communities of MetroWest NJ, Daughters of Israel is the only Jewish/kosher nursing facility in MetroWest NJ.

The facility offers a full range of health-related services, provided by a full-time medical director; geriatricians on call 24/7; physiatrist; clinical nurse practitioners; dieticians; dentists; and physical, occupational, and speech therapists.

Daughters of Israel’s award-winning recreational activities program keeps our residents stimulated and entertained. Other services include: a full-time rabbi and on-site synagogue, vocational workshop, coffee shop, gift shop, beauty parlor, and in-house cable TV including a Russian station. Private and semi-private rooms are available.

Other divisions of Daughters of Israel include: The Charles Bierman Home — Senior Supportive Housing, Metro Transport  transportation for seniors and adults with special needs, The Sarah and Aaron Franzblau Institute for Continuing Education, a Family Council, Volunteer Department, and Women’s League.

The Friendship Circle reaches out and extends a helping hand to families who have children with special needs and involves them in a full range of Jewish experiences. The Friendship Circle offers these children regular opportunities to play and socialize while affording their parents some much needed respite. Every week pairs of specially trained teenage volunteers visit children at their homes, offering friendship and interactive play.

Holiday programs, geared exclusively to families with special needs children, allow the entire family to celebrate together in a comfortable setting. Volunteers are on hand to help cater the event to the particular needs of the children.

The Golda Och Academy( formerly Solomon Schechter Day School of Essex and Union), founded in 1965, has two campuses, a lower school and an upper school in West Orange. The school is grounded in the belief that Jewish education is vital to our children’s futures and to the survival of the Jewish people. The school educates students to live as knowledgeable and committed Jews; to be intellectually curious, independent thinkers; and to adhere to the pluralistic ideals of our democratic heritage. The school offers a cutting-edge secular and Jewish curriculum, taught by award-winning faculty.

GOA is affiliated with United Synagogue of Conservative Judaism, Solomon Schechter Day School Association, and the New Jersey Association of Independent Schools.

The Golda Och Academy (formerly Solomon Schechter Day School of Essex and Union), founded in 1965, has two campuses, a lower school and an upper school in West Orange. The school is grounded in the belief that Jewish education is vital to our children’s futures and to the survival of the Jewish people. The school educates students to live as knowledgeable and committed Jews; to be intellectually curious, independent thinkers; and to adhere to the pluralistic ideals of our democratic heritage. The school offers a cutting-edge secular and Jewish curriculum, taught by award-winning faculty.

GOA is affiliated with United Synagogue of Conservative Judaism, Solomon Schechter Day School Association, and the New Jersey Association of Independent Schools.

Offering something for everybody, the JCC MetroWest summer camp family includes an incredible selection of camp opportunities at great values at the Leon & Toby Cooperman JCC in West Orange and Camp Deeny Riback in Flanders.

Early Childhood Camps

A different experience than preschool! Introduce your child to his or her first true camping experience, including weekly themes, instructional and free swim, organized sports such as tennis, soccer, t-ball, and basketball, arts & crafts, daily kosher lunch, outdoor playground time, weekly Shabbat programs, and much more (ages 15 months-five years).

Camp Deeny Riback

A wooded 35-acre site in Flanders with three heated pools and over 30 activity areas. Campers enjoy athletics, aquatics, adventure, and arts programming including sports, ropes challenge courses, lake site, drama, cooking, digital photography, Israel Program Center, mountain biking, ceramics, trips, and overnights. Transportation and kosher lunch included (ages three-and-a-half- entering grade 10).

Triple Threat Theater Camp

Hands-on experience studying acting, voice, and dance. Theater trips to New York City and regional houses as well as workshops with Broadway professionals. Each session culminates in a showcase performance. Swim/gym time daily (grades K-three and four-12).

Exploration Camps

One week programs for grades K-six with a camp for every interest: crafts, cooking, science, art, and more (eight weeks to choose from, daily option available).

Club JCC Summer Programs for Special Needs

Camp Friends at Camp Deeny Riback — Maximizes the summer camp experience by integrating each child with a “shadow” counselor (pre-k-grade six).

Teen Tracks Travel — Daily trips and activities, community service, and social skill development (ages 13-21).

For more information, contact us at 973-929-2901, camps@jccmetrowest.org, www.jccmetrowest.org, or www.cdr.jccmetrowest.org.

Start them early...Start them right.

We believe that learning is everywhere and we weave it into your child's day in a nurturing, friendly, and safe environment that will prepare your child for the academic challenges ahead. At JCC MetroWest, we look at your child as an individual who "can do" and we build his or her self-awareness and self-esteem through a special ethics and value curriculum in an enriched environment full of language, reading, math, science, art, music, and fun.

The facilities, programs, and services offered at the Leon & Toby Cooperman JCC in West Orange are available for your child. This includes bright and airy classrooms, full sized gyms, indoor heated pools, outdoor playgrounds, large indoor play spaces, art facilities, and enrichment classes. JCC MetroWest swim and gym professionals guide our aquatics and physical education activities. Our Sharon and Stephen Seiden Early Childhood Center in West Orange includes a children's library; a teacher resource area; and a dedicated, heated, and covered drop-off and pick-up area.

Come visit us! For more information, contact us at 973-530-3479 or www.jccmetrowest.org.

The Cooperman JCC offers an indoor gym with elevated walking/running track and set-ups for basketball and volleyball, American Red Cross accredited aquatics classes for swimmers of every age and ability, an array of exercise and sports classes for children and adults, youth and adult basketball leagues, and fitness center with the latest strength and cardiovascular exercise equipment.

Two 25-yard heated pools, two four-wall racquetball courts, and separate men’s and women’s locker rooms with sauna, steam, whirlpool, and towel service.

At the Leon & Toby Cooperman JCC in West Orange, JCC MetroWest serves diverse populations in the community with social, cultural, arts, community, recreational, and educational activities. Our programs include fitness, pre-school, kindergarten, camp, aquatics, sports leagues and activities, fine arts, music and dance classes for children and adults, theater performances, after-school care, school vacation programs, senior center, teen center, Maccabi, Jewish celebrations, enrichment classes, special needs, Jewish education, and more.

Adult programs are held at the Lautenberg Family JCC in Whippany.

The Jewish Community Foundation of MetroWest NJ (JCF) acts as the center of the MetroWest community’s endowment and planned giving efforts, servicing the charitable aims and interests of JCF donors by gathering, investing, and distributing charitable funds on their behalf and encouraging allocation of these monies to enhance and ensure the continuity of charitable institutions. While JCF offers special encouragement for planned giving and the use of endowments for United Jewish Communities of MetroWest NJ (UJC) and its beneficiary agencies, it also welcomes the opportunity to be of service to recognized charities of every kind: religious, educational, and secular in content and regional, national, and international in scope.

For more than half a century, JCF has partnered with philanthropists in MetroWest to create a vibrant and purposeful community both locally and abroad, one that benefits from the generosity of its donors combined with sound financial management. During FY 2010, JCF distributed more than $19 million to over 900 charitable organizations. Over the past decade, more than $130 million has been distributed in JCF grants.

The Lester Society, founded in 1993, recognizes those individuals who have created endowments of $100,000 or more in support of UJC's Annual UJA Campaign of MetroWest NJ (UJA). At present, the Lester Society is composed of more than 300 individuals and couples whose commitments total nearly $100 million. Last year these commitments yielded over $750,000 for UJA. These commitments are crucial to the fulfillment of a vibrant Jewish community in MetroWest for generations to come.

In all of its endeavors, JCF works to fulfill the cherished Jewish precepts of tzedaka and tikkun olam, taking an active part in the ongoing process of creating a more perfect world for all people.

The JCHC is MetroWest’s central agency for the development, ownership, and management of housing with services for senior citizens 62 years of age or older. Amenities at the JCHC’s buildings include kosher meals, housekeeping, social services, personal care, transportation, and recreational and social activities.

The JCHC is responsible for five apartment buildings with more than 600 units of rental housing in Essex and Morris counties, including:

• Jewish Federation Plaza in West Orange,

• Jewish Federation Towers in Irvington,

• Village Apartments of the Jewish Federation in South Orange,

• The South Orange B’nai B’rith Federation House,

• and the Lester Senior Housing Community, a 175-unit complex — including 120 independent living apartments and 55 assisted living units — located on the Alex Aidekman Family Jewish Community Campus in Whippany.

JFVS is a multi-purpose social service agency providing for the needs of the Jewish community and the general community. Service areas include: counseling; services for senior adults including geriatric care management, Kosher Meals on Wheels, and socialization programs; The  Joel Gensler Career Center; community services including Kosher Food Pantry, services for individuals with disabilities, immigrant and refugee services, licensed adoption agency, and volunteer opportunities. Services are provided regardless of religious affiliation.

All services can be accessed by telephone and a discussion with the intake worker who directs potential clients to the appropriate agency department and/or provides information on community resources.

The Joel Gensler Career Center at JFVS provides career services to the unemployed, underemployed, women in transition, early retirees, individuals with special needs, and new Americans. Services include career evaluation and assessment, career counseling, job search assistance and workshops, job seeker groups, computer training, and English language training. Individual career counseling services offered in Milltown and Monroe Township offices. Computer training is provided in Milltown. The schedule of computer classes can be found on www.jfvs.org or by calling the office. Job seekers can access the computers during open lab times, seek employment, apply online for job opportunities, and use the copier/fax for job search activities. Career/job search workshops offered throughout the community.

JFVS is a multi-purpose social service agency providing for the needs of the Jewish and general community. Service areas include: counseling; services for senior adults including geriatric care management, Kosher Meals on Wheels, and socialization programs; The  Joel Gensler Career Center; community services including Kosher Food Pantry, services for individuals with disabilities, immigrant and refugee services, licensed adoption agency, and volunteer opportunities. Services are provided regardless of religious affiliation.

All services can be accessed by telephone and a discussion with the intake worker who directs potential clients to the appropriate agency department and/or provides information on community resources.

The Joel Gensler Career Center at JFVS provides career services to the unemployed, underemployed, women in transition, early retirees, individuals with special needs, and new Americans. Services include career evaluation and assessment, career counseling, job search assistance and workshops, job seeker groups, computer training, and English language training. Individual career counseling services offered in Milltown and Monroe Township offices. Computer training is provided in Milltown. The schedule of computer classes can be found on www.jfvs.org or by calling the office. Job seekers can access the computers during open lab times, seek employment, apply online for job opportunities, and use the copier/fax for job search activities. Career/job search workshops offered throughout  the community.

Branch offices are located at:

• 570 W. Mt. Pleasant Ave.

   Livingston, NJ 07039

   Tel: 973-740-1233

• 921 Bergen Ave., Suite 627

Jersey City, NJ 07306

Tel: 201-604-9991

Jewish Family Service of MetroWest is a comprehensive social service agency providing counseling and support services, on a non-discriminatory basis, to help strengthen and restore the family. Traditionally, half of the agency’s services help older adults and their families cope with the changes of aging through extensive in-home services including home health aides, medication monitoring, case management services, counseling, caregiver education, transportation, volunteer friendly visitors, and specialized programs for Holocaust survivors.

For individuals and families, JFS provides individual, couple, child, and family counseling, case management, support groups, adoption services, school and synagogue-based social work services, debt counseling, domestic violence services, family life education, and other assistance needed to maintain healthy families.

The Jewish Federation of Greater Middlesex County brings together people, partners, and resources to fulfill the most important needs and aspirations of our community.

We care for the vulnerable locally and worldwide, forge strong connections with Israel, attract people to a more vibrant community, and inspire the next generation to embrace Jewish life.

We live generously, we groom future leaders, we invest in our children, we demand justice for people who cannot advocate for themselves, we fund programs and services and emergency response, and by our example we create a spirit of giving and hope.

From Avenel, Carteret, Colonia and Cranbury, to Edison, Fords and Franklin Township of Somerset County; from Highland Park, Iselin, Jamesburg, Metuchen and Milltown, to all of the adult communities in Monroe Township as well as all of the Brunswicks, Old Bridge, Parlin, Perth Amboy, Piscataway and Plainsboro; and Sayreville, Somerset, South Plainfield, South River, Spotswood and Woodbridge, Federation serves a community of more than 52,000 people. Our outreach impacts toddlers and teens, adults and the elderly, through our Jewish Community Relations Council, Women’s Philanthropy, Marion and Norman Tanzman Fellows Leadership Program, J. Team Teen Philanthropy Program, PJ Library, Monroe Township InterCommunity Council, Hebrew Free Loans, ConText, Cemetery Management Corporation, and Missions to Israel.

Working with our local partners, Jewish Family and Vocational Services, the Jewish Historical Society of Central New Jersey, Jewish Social Service Committee of New Brunswick and Highland Park, Middlesex County Jewish Community Center, Rabbi Jacob Joseph School, Rabbi Pesach Raymon Yeshiva, Rutgers Hillel, and the Solomon Schechter Day School of Raritan Valley, we collectively care for, build and unite the Jewish community.

Oversees, our Federation supports the Jewish Agency for Israel, which assists thousands of Jews who make aliya to Israel every year as well as the American Jewish Joint Distribution Committee, which assists people in dozens of countries who are in need of rescue, relief and revitalization. We are also a national partner with Jewish Federations of North America.

Our Federation has a dynamic and thriving Women’s Philanthropy Division, which provides social, intellectual, and spiritual opportunities for Jewish women of all denominations, synagogue affiliated or unaffiliated, to come together to network, meet new friends and engage in programs and philanthropy that support the continuity of Jewish life.

Our Winter Wednesdays, a series of programs that range from dance, to cooking to art, are a wonderful way to meet new friends and to bring your friends with you! Additional opportunities for engagement include our Book and Author Events, a Summer Girls Night Out, The Main Event, educational programs, trips, community service, and volunteer opportunities. We welcome your participation.

Our Federation’s Monroe Township InterCommunity Council engages Jewish representatives from the adult communities of Monroe Township. These volunteers are dedicated to bringing the Monroe Township Jewish community together in support of the Jewish Federation through education, advocacy, social action and cultural events. The Council directs people to agencies who can give assistance for their needs and advises Federation about unmet needs and community concerns. From musical concerts, honoree luncheons, trips and parlor meetings, this group of active adults use their talents, friendships and spirit of tikkun olam to make their community and Jewish Middlesex, a better place to live. You will find this group replenishing our community kosher food bank by bringing non-perishable food items to every event they hold.

Our Federation depends on the hundreds of community volunteers who join with us to create the good you can see around every corner. Please join our dynamic community. Visit us at www.jewishmiddlesex.org to learn more.

Each year, our Federation raises over $2.5 million from dedicated community members through our annual campaign, special campaigns, and endowments. From Super Sunday to campaigns for the active adult communities, Vanguard, and Women’s philanthropy, these funds enable Federation to live its mission through direct programs and grants, as well as support of our partner agencies.

Our Women's Philanthropy Division is a force in Jewish philanthropy, with approximately half of our community’s Annual Campaign raised by this group. Women’s Philanthropy gives every woman the opportunity to make a personal gift to the Jewish community, thereby assuming responsibility for saving, sustaining and enriching Jewish lives and advocating for Jewish causes locally, in Israel and around the world. As participants in the international recognition of women donors, we are proud of our Lion of Judah, Crown of Esther and our Pomegranate donors. We greatly value each and every woman who makes a gift of any size to continue the tradition of caring that brings dignity to the lives of Jewish people everywhere.

Our Federation is also planning for the future with Create a Jewish Legacy, a community public awareness campaign to help individuals and families in Middlesex County support the Jewish institutions they care about through permanent endowments and estate planning. All endowments and planned giving are managed through the Federation’s Jewish Community Foundation of Greater Middlesex County. The Jewish Community Foundation benefits from the experience and dedication of local community members – attorneys, accountants and financial advisors who provide expert counsel through an Endowment Investment Committee. Infuse your philanthropy with meaning and accomplish your tax and estate planning goals. You will insure a strong, vibrant Jewish Middlesex for generations to come.

JSDD is dedicated to meeting the needs of individuals with developmental disabilities and their families. Services include residential, community education, and advocacy programs.

JSDD’s WAE (Wellness, Arts & Enrichment) Center provides continuing education opportunities to individuals 16+ with disabilities and includes painting, poetry, yoga, Pilates, theatre arts, and much more.

The Jewish Women’s Foundation of New Jersey is a collaborative philanthropy whose members are dedicated to empowering women and girls through education, advocacy, and strategic grant making.

The foundation brings together women of all ages and backgrounds, united by their Jewish values and their passion for creating a world in which women and girls grow up in healthy, supportive environments, with equal opportunity for economic, religious, social, and political achievements.

Membership dues create an endowment, the earnings from which are granted to organizations for projects that advance the status of women and girls, ensuring that they have the opportunity to realize their full potential.

The committee appoints professionally trained chaplains to hospitals, nursing homes, senior residences, assisted-living facilities, homes for the developmentally disabled, and hospice patients and families. The chaplains make pastoral visits and arrange group programming for Shabbat and holidays. The committee also serves as the address for the National Association of Jewish Chaplains and is in contact with Jewish chaplains nationwide. The Chaplaincy Committees of Central New Jersey and Monmouth County have affiliated with the Joint Chaplaincy Committee and share its address.