March Membership Special: Join for $109, waive the activation fee, and pay no March dues. Terms apply. Learn More.
Calendar Membership
Donate
Membership Calendar
Donate

Month: February 2025

The Transformative Power of Sunrise Day Camp

Posted on by ilana Adler

Sunrise Day Camp—Greater Washington is more than just a camp; it’s a community, a family, and a lifeline for children and families who need it most. As part of the Sunrise Association, a global organization focused on bringing the joy of childhood back to children with cancer and their siblings, we are privileged to offer a place where kids can just be kids—without the weight of their circumstances. Through our summer camps, year-round programs, and in-hospital activities, we provide a safe, supportive space for children ages 3½ to 16, all at no cost to their families.

At Sunrise Day Camp, the fun doesn’t end when the summer is over. We host Sunrise Sundays throughout the year, offering familiar faces and activities that keep the spirit of camp alive and the friendships and connections intact. It’s a time for kids and families to come together, enjoy activities like sports, crafts, and science, and remind them that the magic of Sunrise is with them all year long.

In addition to the camp and monthly outings, I find one of the most heartwarming initiatives to be Sunrise on Wheels. This mobile program brings the magic of camp directly to children undergoing treatment in hospitals across the U.S., from New York to Washington D.C. and beyond. Here in the DMV, you’ll find our staff, volunteers, and tie-dye activity trunk in Inova’s L. J. Murphy Children’s Hospital and Children’s National. Each week, we’re providing a range of fun, interactive activities, from Legos® and virtual reality to arts and crafts, that help children temporarily forget about their treatments and feel the joy of being a kid again.

And it doesn’t stop there! The Wheels Up program takes the camp experience a step further, offering a series of virtual adventures that transport children to exciting places—whether it’s a playground, museum, or animal habitat. These videos are available anytime on YouTube and have touched the lives of children in more than 200 hospitals across the U.S., Canada, Israel, Australia, the U.K., and Ireland. It’s an innovative way to bring smiles to kids from all walks of life, no matter where they are.

Above all, at Sunrise, we believe that every child deserves to experience the wonder of childhood, no matter what they are facing. Through our camps, in-hospital activities, and year-round programs, we strive to create a world where children with cancer can just be kids—where they can laugh, play, and experience joy in a way that feels natural and free.

It has been such a privilege for me to get to know each of the families and to help build our amazing camp! (#itsthebestcamp). It is with mixed emotions that I will soon be leaving the Sunrise Day Camp family to begin a new professional journey. Sunrise Day Camp and the Pozez JCC have meant so much to me, and it has been an incredible experience to work alongside such a dedicated and compassionate team. I am grateful for the opportunity to have been part of this amazing organization. What I will miss most — seeing the joy on the children’s faces, knowing that I played a small role in helping to make a challenging time in the lives of the campers and their families a little brighter.

Although I am moving on to a new role, I plan to continue supporting Sunrise in whatever way I can. One way that I will stay connected is by participating and volunteering for SunriseWALKS, the flagship fundraising event for Sunrise Day Camp – Greater Washington which will take place the morning of Sunday, April 27, 2025 at National Harbor. I encourage each of you to build a team, join a team, and/or donate. As I said in the beginning of this blog, the camp and its year-round programs can be a lifeline for our families. I hope that you will help us raise the critical funds needed to continue providing this program for the children and their families. See you at the WALK!

Conversation with the Curator: Four Questions with Sophia Pineda, watercolor artist, dancer, and disabilities advocate

Posted on by Sarah Berry

If you’ve been in the J’s lobby before the holidays over the last several years and enjoyed browsing the Holiday Bazaar Fundraiser for the  Pozez JCC’s Inclusion & Disability Services program, you may already be familiar with the vibrant plants and animals that come to life in watercolor artist, Sophia Pineda’s work. Now, see Sophia’s imaginative, delightful images in Joyful Color, on view the J’s Bodzin Art Gallery until March 10, 2025.

Sophia is a talented painter, working in Chinese watercolor and other media. She also happens to have Down Syndrome. She lives life to the fullest. Sophiola is the art business which she enjoys helping to run. As a baby, Sophia faced life-threatening medical conditions, then later, many learning challenges. Today she is a vibrant, healthy 21-year-old artist, dancer, and advocate.

I have enjoyed getting to know Sophia and her family, the talent and heart behind Sophiola. Joyful Color continues the tradition of sharing work by an artist with a disability during the  ReelAbilities Film Festival of Greater Washington, which will be screened between Thursday, January 30 – Thursday, March 6, 2025, in venues throughout the region and online. Join us in celebrating 12 years of film, art, and community!

When did you start making visual art and what keeps you going?  How did you gravitate to working in watercolor?

    Sophia has been creating art since early childhood. Her parents wanted her to have the chance to explore all kinds of activities and she gravitated to studio arts early on. When she was about 11, she showed a strong talent for Chinese watercolor and with the support of her wonderful teacher, HsiMei Yates, she’s been painting lively and vibrant watercolors for the past 10 years. Recently, Sophia has started experimenting with other art forms, especially hand-building/sculpture in clay.

    In addition to being a painter, you are also a dancer, swimmer, and equestrian. Do these activities influence your art?

    Sophia loves all those activities but she especially loves dancing – it’s probably her favorite thing to do. Dancing and performing on stage definitely enhance her creativity and help her see the world from different viewpoints. 

    Your art has served as a powerful advocacy tool. Your activism for the arts, people with Down Syndrome, and other topics close to your heart are very inspiring. What is one of your most meaningful advocacy experiences, and which project are you looking forward to?

    Sophia accompanied her parents on several kinds of lobbying visits but one of the most memorable was to encourage passage of the ABLE Act, a law that permits people with disabilities to save for their needs without losing crucial government assistance. (She was even in the audience during one of the final votes for passage through Congress!) But just as meaningful has been Sophia’s visibility in and contribution to the community. Over the past few years, while mentored by muralist Gabe Pons, Sophia has been instrumental with Pons in creating several murals in Fredericksburg, including at the city’s public schools and Germanna community college. The mural projects bring her talents and abilities as a person with disabilities to greater public awareness while also contributing beautiful and uplifting art to the community. The goal is to get more people with a disability involved in creating similar public art. Sophia is really looking forward to the next mural which will start in the Spring. That mural will honor two of Fredericksburg’s early educational advocates for the Black community.

    Do you have any advice for aspiring artists?

    Explore and have fun! Try making lots of different kinds of art, in different styles.  Experimenting will help you figure out what type of art you like and what you want to say with your art.

    “Following My Calling”: A Conversation with Zina Segal

    Posted on by Dionna Dash

    February marks Jewish Disability Awareness and Inclusion Month (JDAIM). While inclusion is a priority every day at the J, we’re celebrating this month with a group of programs that shine the light on our disability community and the professionals who make those programs into successes.

    One of those professionals is Zina Segal, our Senior Director of Community Impact and Engagement. We sat down with her for a conversation about her role overseeing our Inclusion and Disabilities program, what inclusion means to her, and the incredible impact of the programs she organizes.

    1. What motivated you to pursue a career in the disability and inclusion space, particularly within the Jewish community?

    I can’t say that I dreamed of becoming a Jewish professional as a child. In fact, I actually wanted to go into IT and my first BA and MA ‘s were for applied computer technologies in art and culture. But during my college years in Russia, I became very active with the Jewish community. For the decade after college, I stayed in St. Petersburg, and I wound up helping to open the first reform congregation in the city because I felt like my spiritual and communal needs weren’t being met by the Chabad synagogue. The inclusion of people with more diverse backgrounds into Jewish communal life appealed to me.

    After moving to the States, I got a job at the Center for Jewish Education in Baltimore, where I began creating specific programming for Russian-speaking Jews because I could see they were present in the city, but they didn’t have any programming that acknowledged their identity and culture. Fast forward three years and now I work at Pozez, still following my calling to create spaces within Jewish communities that didn’t exist before or that weren’t as developed as I would want them to be.

    1. What does inclusion mean to you?

    You need to have representation so that people see themselves in what you’re doing. We need specific spaces for different identities and backgrounds and we need education because people do have assumptions about other groups. Even when they mean well, without education, it creates tensions.

    1. Tell us about a J initiative that has positively impacted people with disabilities.

    I was recently at the J last Sunday and I stepped into the gym where the adaptive sports basketball game was taking place. The whole gym was filled – there must’ve been over 100 people there. There were kids and their buddies playing the game, parents socialising and watching, and coaches on the sidelines. Everyone was having fun. It was just phenomenal.

    Our adaptive sports programs are always sold out, with waiting lists. To offer kids a space to come into that is safe for them, both physically and psychologically, is so important, and there’s such a need for it in the community.

    1. During JDAIM, how are you spreading awareness and education about the disability community?

    At Pozez JCC, Jewish Disability Awareness and Inclusion Month is every month of the year because we really do prioritize adaptive and educational programming. But in February, something special we’re doing is our Reelabilities Film Festival, which showcases films about the disability community and/or made by members of the disability community. For the first 10 days of the festival, we’ve already had 288 people participate across the whole DMV area, which is amazing.

    These films highlight struggles that are specific to those with disabilities and also struggles that are just human challenges that we all face. The festival is a form of education and a way to uplift lesser-heard voices, and the more people who learn about the different life experiences that exist in this world, the better.

    Looking to celebrate JDAIM? Learn more about our Inclusion and Disabilities program or register for the Reelabilities Film Festival.

    Seeds of Community: Celebrating Tu B’Shevat

    Posted on by Amy Lummer

    Forget the candles and cake, the Jewish holiday of Tu B’Shevat celebrates the “Birthday of the Trees” with fruits, nuts, and a deep appreciation for nature. One of the four Jewish New Years in the Hebrew calendar, Tu B’Shevat originally served as a practical marker for farmers in ancient Israel to determine when trees were old enough for harvest. Over time, it has evolved into a Jewish Earth Day, a moment to appreciate and care for the environment. Many people observe the holiday with a Tu B’Shevat Seder, enjoying fruits and nuts mentioned in the Torah while reflecting on the blessings of nature.

    In my family, we mark Tu B’Shevat by planting parsley, which we (hopefully!) harvest for Passover. We enjoy the anticipation as we watch the tiny seeds sprout. And then share the awe as they grow into something we can later place on our Seder plate and use in our yummy matzah ball soup. We enjoy this annual tradition that connects us to the Hebrew calendar’s flow from holiday to holiday. The task is a small but meaningful ritual for each of us — that teaches patience and appreciation for both the natural world and Jewish traditions.

    At the Pozez JCC, Tu B’Shevat is more than just a holiday—it reflects our values of feeling “Pride” in Judaism, “tikkun olam” (repairing the world), and “Learning.” We encourage families to celebrate in ways that feel meaningful, whether by planting something new, participating in a Tu B’Shevat Seder, or taking action to care for the planet. As we honor this day, we reaffirm our commitment to community, sustainability, and Jewish learning. However you choose to observe Tu B’Shevat, may it be filled with growth, renewal, and appreciation for the world around us.

    How do you celebrate Tu B’Shevat? Share on your social media sites!