History and Mission

History
 
In 1980, hundreds of families gathered at a small home on Pine Tree Drive on Miami Beach to dedicate the new Miami Beach Jewish Community Center-North.   As the Center grew, it boasted innovative family programs, a bustling teen lounge, and dozens of fun-filled activities for all ages.  As then JCC President Gerald K. Schwartz remarked at the Center opening, "This [Center] is the fruition of a long-held dream. We had to work hard to attain this building and create a JCC, but all of the effort is worth it." Twenty years later, the dream is still evolving as a new first-class, family-oriented facility on Miami Beach is being planned.

The Miami Beach Jewish Community Center (MBJCC) opened up at its current site in 1980, though it had been operating for decades in other areas throughout Miami Beach. In the early and mid 1990's the Miami Beach Jewish Community Center underwent a transition from an independent agency to an agency with program staff that was almost entirely funded by The Greater Miami Jewish Federation. The mission of the MBJCC is to strengthen the diverse Jewish population of the Beaches and provide opportunities for bringing the community together. Today, these goals remain central to the Mission of the Miami Beach JCC. The MBJCC today provides a wide array of recreational, social, cultural, and educational programs that are open to and serve the Jewish community and the entire community of Miami Beach.

The MBJCC is the only "neutral" and "non-denominational" family-oriented Jewish institution on Miami Beach where the community can gather together, and build upon the commonalities that unite all Jews. As the program continues to expand and the community further recognizes the importance of the JCC as its "central address," demand for a new, expanded Center is at an all-time high. The JCC completed an in-depth Strategic Planning process and has begun steps to build the first full-service Jewish Community Center on Miami Beach. The new Center will be a 40,000 square foot state-of-the-art facility, which incorporates many of the amenities found in other full-service JCCs across North America. Today, the renaissance of the Miami Beach Jewish Community and Center is a testament to the emerging need for expanded activities for all ages and a quality facility to house such programs.

Mission

The Jewish Community Center is a non-profit, social service agency founded upon Jewish ethics and values. It is committed to meeting the ever  changing needs of the Entire Jewish Community, for strengthening Jewish identity, and enriching the quality of Jewish life. The Center provides t he total community with a forum for open dialogue regarding matters affecting Jewish life here, in Is-rael, and throughout the world. It initiates diversified social, educational, recreational, and cultural programs within a Jewish setting that are open to and serve the Entire Miami Beach Community.