Tucson Jewish Community Center

The mission of the Tucson Jewish Community Center is to cultivate and enrich Jewish identity, ensure Jewish continuity, foster wellness, and broaden communal harmony.

The Tucson J is a community space built in 1989 and renovated in 2018, located in central Tucson. For over 60 years, the Tucson J has been a home away from home for Tucsonans of all ages, abilities, faiths, and identities. We serve more than 5,000 people from all walks of life who come to the J to grow, play, learn, and relax. We meet the needs of our community through a range of services including early childhood education, summer camp, after school care, special needs programming, arts + culture, sports + wellness, and more!

To provide these services for individuals from every socioeconomic background, we provide scholarships and discounts through donations received from our community. While in 2020 we were only able to award roughly $737,000 in scholarships, this was because our facility had closed for a couple of months due to COVID. If it were not for the restrictions enforced by the pandemic on our programs and services, we would expect to award more scholarships than we did in 2019 which was over $850,000. This number has significantly risen from 2015 when we were awarding $400,000 in scholarships.

It is essential we have the funds available to scholarship as many families as possible, families who otherwise would not be able to afford access to the J. Your generosity also serves to help us send kids to camp where they can stay engaged through the summer and develop relationships and memories that last a life time. Additionally, we are now able to provide our camp participants with a balanced nutritious meal. We know that an investment in our campers' health is an investment in their future.

The needs of our community continue to increase, and thankfully, because of donors like you we are able to meet those needs. We are so grateful for our donors and their continued support.

You have the ability to make a difference!

Consider making a donation today!

Testimonials

Camp J Scholarships Testimonial - ISAIH'S STORY
When we ask Isaiah, age 12, about his favorite camp memories, he says, "I think my greatest memory of camp was probably third grade, being included…everyone, you know, welcoming me." One of Isaiah's favorite field trips was to the trampoline park; "It's exhilarating," he describes. When we talked to Isaiah about Maccabiah, a camp-wide, multi-team competition for spirit points, he tells us that it's a great way to learn about discipline and teamwork. Isaiah ends his interview by telling us, "Every kid should have the opportunity to go to camp because it's a nice place, you can make a lot of friends, and everyone is really nice here."

Friends of the J Scholarships Testimonial - ATHENA ATKINS' STORY
Athena Atkins was at a precarious point in her life. When her daughter Ariyah was born, her partner rejected fatherhood and made them the victims of domestic violence. Athena had left behind stability in another city to be with him and attend The University of Arizona in Tucson. Without a support network to turn to, Athena found herself moving into a domestic abuse shelter with her infant, where they lived for months while Athena struggled to get on her feet and continue as a full-time student at the UA.

As a recipient of the Single Mom Scholar scholarship, Athena was referred to the Tucson J by her scholarship advisor at Interfaith Community Services. Thanks to the generosity of our donors, we were able to offer a financial aid package that made it possible for Ariyah to attend our Early Childhood Education program. Having a safe and stimulating place for Ariyah during the work day helped give Athena the tools she needed to stabilize her situation:

"I can do it [my degree] because no matter what, Ariyah is getting a great education from the amazing individuals who work here at the J."

Not only does Athena appreciate the value of having trustworthy childcare at a critical time, but she truly values the high quality of the play-based education her little girl gets at the Tucson J.

"She's getting stimulus I can't provide at home. And at this age, that's what you want for them, because their minds are little sponges. It has been life changing for us."