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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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