Newspaper Page Text
Savannah’s New JEA Facilities
Here is a report on the Jewish Educational Alliance of
Savannah by Benjamin A. Roth, executive director at Bir
mingham which now is building its own new center. This
my seem a rather oblique way of reporting on Savannah's
JEA, but it is in a way an appraisal by an expert in the field.
The material first appeared in the J.C.C. News, published by
the Birmingham Center.
BENJAMIN A. ROTH
In September I went to Savan
nah for the Dedication Dinner of
heir new Jewish Community Cen
ter which was held on Wednesday
night, Oct. 12. Five hundred people
attended the dinner which was ko
sher and prepared in their kitchen.
Savannah has one thousand Jews
less than Birmingham and it was
a revelation to see the size of their
building and facilities for such a
small sized Jewish Community.
The building is completely air-con-
utioned and has a good auditorium.
A fine gym with pull-out bleacher
seats for 500, large and small meet
ing and class rooms, health depart
ment, adult and youth lounges,
adult and youth game rooms, arts
and crafts room, well equipped
kosher kitchen, offices for the Cen
ter staff and offices for the Welfare
Fund, as well as other facilities.
They have a large outdoor swim
ming pool which was used to ca
pacity during the summer.
The building is located five miles
from the business section and
there was nothing around it when
construction started. Now, resi
dences are being built all around
it. At the present time, the closest
bus line is about a mile from the
Center but they feel it will not be
too long before the bus line is ex
tended.
The night before the Dedication
Dinner, an Open House program
was given for representatives of
the non-Jewish organizations,
which was followed by an inspec
tion of the building. Mr. Roth at
tended the program and the inspec
tion tour of the building. In spite
of no present bus service though it
was a school night, he saw at least
75 teen-agers participating in va
rious activities.
The total cost of the Savannah
C nter and its facilities is approxi-
• itely 8800,000.00. They still have
raise one third of this amount,
’ the leaders there are not at all
• ried about it.
If a small community like Sa-
iah can build the facilities it
has, we are sure that Birming-
will plan for not only the
ent but the future needs and
construct all the facilities that
be needed.
•e morning of the Dedication
; er the Savannah Morning
ran an editorial about their
Jewish Center which is called
Jewish Educational Alliance.
! huthern Israelite
We feel that everyone should read
it and are therefore printing it.
“The Jewish Educational Alliance
has shown vision and commendable
faith in planning and constructing
a commodious and well-equipped
new building on Abercorn Street.
By expanding its facilities to meet
current needs and by providing for
the future, the Alliance exhibits a
keen appreciation of its role as one
of Savannah’s foremost community
agencies. In performing the impor
tant task of keeping people happy
and content, the JEA is doing a
fine job of (preventive medicine)
in the field of recreation and cul
ture.
“For the JEA does not go about
(putting out fires) - correcting
situations which have already be
come bad. Its function is to reach
people who are, by most standards,
on good terms with their environ
ment and to keep them that way.
The programs of the Alliance are
aimed at giving men, women and
children the sort of activities which
enrich leisure hours, which develop
new interests, which awaken ties
with the traditional past. Because
the work of the Alliance is so val
uable — and because Savannah is
growing at such a great rate
the agency has burst out of its gen
eration-old building on Barnard
street. This phenomenon is not pe
culiar to our town. The leaders of
the JEA report that many other
Jewish Community Centers across
the country, affiliated with our
own Alliance through the National
Jewish Welfare Board, have put
up new buildings to keep pace
with increasing needs and the shift
of populations.”
This is a forward step which is
of inestimable worth to our com
munity. The original founders of
the Alliance, who in the 1910s
banded together to form the asso
ciation which has come down to us
today, would be proud indeed to
see the result of their efforts. Sa
vannah is fortunate to have groups
of civic-minded people who can
recognize community needs and
have the courage to meet them.
What is needed now is the full
est participation on the part of
those for whom the new building
was erected. We are sure that
nothing will make the leaders of
the JEA happier than to learn that
their new Center, as large as it is,
is none too big for the activities
which will fill it.
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