JDCC Turns Five !
by Sharon Ann Soudakoff
Some of JDCC News readers may have wondered what led me to launch this organization. I grew up in Santa Monica and being observant on High Holidays, there was no service accessible to Jewish Deaf people where you could walk to Temple and eat kosher food. In my case, I would fly to New York every year to attend services at Brooklyn Hebrew Society of the Deaf. I would stay at Eileen & Fred Katz's house as.they lived within walking distance and kept kosher. They would kindly accomodate several families at their house during the holidays. Rabbi Fred Friedman, a deaf Orthodox Rabbi conducted services in sign language during both Rosh Hashana and Yom Kippur.
After I got married, my husband David and I had our first son in 1991. When we discovered that he is deaf, we had to make several difficult decisions about his future Jewish education if we were going to stay in the Los Angeles area. Having faced limited choices for many years, it was very important to us that our children be raised in a traditional Jewish household and obtain a Jewish education.
Realizing that other Jewish Deaf parents faced the same dilemna, it was only logical to start this group. And the rest is history... the first High Holiday service that September of 1992 had just 16 people attending... and it keeps growing every year. JDCC had 60 people at their last High Holiday services last year!
It wasn't an easy path... there has been no smooth road as we pursued our goals and experienced a lot of growing pains especially in dealing with pressure from the Jewish Deaf Community.
I would like to thank the sixteen brave guests who dared to give us the opportunity to show what we had to offer.
OUR MISSION
In a letter mailed to members of the Jewish Deaf Community
during 1992 following a survey and having decided on a name and the goals of the
organization, we said:
The Creative Services Group was started because there is a need for specialized services in the metro Los Angeles area. It is for Jewish deaf families and young adults who want to make friends with other Jewish deaf people and to learn and observe Jewish celebrations together. We also send out newsletters. We have a mailing list of over 100 Jewish deaf people in the Southern California area. We do not wish to be a formal organization with officers or require meetings, and we do not intend to compete with other Jewish deaf groups. Our plan is to gather with friends at least four times a year during Jewish Holidays to remind us of our religion and preserve our heritage.
IT HELPS TO HAVE FRIENDS
The birth of the organization was made easier through help of
family members of the founders who enlisted assistance of the local Jewish community in
the Pico Robertson area. Rabbis were more than willing to offer a hand for anything such
as being a guest speaker, or give us space. They have continued their enthusiasm in
supporting our organizations growth and needs.
HIGH HOLIDAYS
The Group did a survey and voted for one-day Rosh Hashana
services instead of the traditional two-day services. Since Rabbis are customed to leading
two day service, the organization decided to focus on Yom Kippur service instead. Based on
this information, the group invited Rabbi Fred Friedman from Baltimore, MD to conduct the
service on Saturday, September 25, 1993. His wife, Connie, was our guest speaker on Sunday
during a delicious brunch.
CONTRIBUTIONS
After the first year, we were receiving so many requests from the
Jewish community wishing to make tax-deductible donations that it was decided to look into
becoming a non profit organization which would also help expand our newsletter through a
bulk mailing permit which requires a minimum of 200 names.
OUR FRIEND, ATTORNEY
An attorney of a family agreed to help us obtain our 501(c)(3)
status. We designed the ByLaws with no membership structure because we felt no one should
be imposed a membership charge. Instead, we decided we would ask for donations in honor or
their beloved ones.
WHY CHANGE NAME?
When we applied with the Secretary of State to become a non-profit
corporation, we learned that the name 'Creative Services Group' was already taken. After
trying out several different names, we finally hit the jackpot with 'Jewish Deaf Community
Center'.
LOOKING BACK
While going through my files recently, I came across a survey that I
did in 1986 asking people if there was a need for a Jewish Deaf Community Center. The
response was overwhelmingly positive although there were a lot of reservations due to
their loyalty towards another Jewish deaf group that exists.
JDCC NEWS
The press started rolling with Vol. 1, No. 7 coming out in
January, 1994 as just a local 2 page newsletter listing JDCC's activities and meanings of
upcoming holidays. (Creative Services Group printed their first issue on September, 1992.)
JDCC News kept expanding and, due to numerous requests, went nationwide in September 1996.
It continues to be mailed at no charge to residents in Southern California but is also
available at twelve dollars a year for out of state subscribers. An electronic version of
JDCC News is also available on the internet by surfing to http://www.jdcc.org
FINANCIAL SUPPORT
JDCC is grateful to the foundations who have supported JDCC's
projects on an ongoing basis. Grants from foundations first helped to underwrite costs of
developing and expanding distribution of JDCC News to Jewish deaf residents in Southern
California. As soon as the mailing list went over 1,000 names, mailings of JDCC News went
nationally.
Grants and donations also helped to underwrite the JDCC Lecture Series where guest lecturers spoke on a wide variety of subjects. If the guest lecturer is hearing, JDCC hired an interpreter. And for certain events, voice-over interpreter was used to enable hearing people to participate as well.
Along with the International Kosher Dinner events where different fare of kosher food could be eaten (in the past we have had Moroccan, Sushi, Chinese, Mexican, Middle Eastern and Thai), there has been tours to the Museum of Tolerance, My Jewish Discovery Museum, a Children's Museum, and a Jewish History bus tour of Los Angeles where we were able to familiarize ourselves with the history of Boyle Heights and the Breed Shul, thanks to an interpreter that JDCC provided to complement the tour.
More importantly, JDCC has made an effort to ensure that all Jewish Deaf people can participate, regardless of their financial situation. A part of the donations were appropriated towards financial assistance to either subsidize the cost for certain people to attend, or the whole event. For example, the annual Community Seder was subsidized to reduce the cost for each person by ten dollars.
The JDCC Board of Directors feels very strongly about the importance to continue to provide financial assistance and/or subsidize certain important and costly activities whenever possible. Current JDCC Board members are as follows: Sharon Ann Soudakoff, President; David Soudakoff, Vice President; Jeff Lubman, Treasurer; and David Rosenbaum, Secretary.
We will continue to explore new programming ideas and raise continued funding through grants and donations. Inputs of suggestions and ideas from JDCC participants and JDCC News readers is important to us, so please contact one of the officers if you would like to bring something to our attention or volunteer your time in our ongoing efforts to reach out to the Jewish Deaf Community.