Jewish Life

The joke is that Jews go to the movies and eat Chinese on Christmas Day. Not at the Merage JCC.

Like you and the entire world, for the past several months we’ve balanced COVID worries, economic downturns and social unrest with hope and with the desire to do something meaningful. Though our many JCC Cares volunteers have hunkered at home away from the Merage JCC and away from our numerous nonprofit partners, we have remained busy. We’ve been reaching out, and staying connected in a number of ways: collecting hundreds of masks, filling our food drive canisters with groceries, ...

During a non-pandemic year, December 25 evokes holiday thoughts of delicious celebrations, presents, and family. For many Jews, the joke is that we go to the movies and eat Chinese food. Not at the Merage JCC. Seven years ago, JCC Cares, a social action committee at the Merage JCC in Irvine, launched a December 25 Day of Service with a variety of volunteer projects for families and individuals. In our first year, 150 volunteers participated, cooking holiday brunches for shelters, delivering ...