As we enter our season of miracles, a time of light and joy, we’re reflecting on all of the meaningful connections we’ve created together as a community. At the center is Jeff Dannick, whose programmatic vision as Executive Director of Pozez JCC guides all of our engagement opportunities and helps weave the fabric of connection that runs through Northern Virginia.
We sat down with Jeff to discuss his philanthropic beginnings, what makes the J such a special place, and recent sources of light in the Northern Virginia community.
Q: How did you find your career path?
A: I grew up in a suburb of Syracuse in a Jewish household. My parents have always been civic-minded, and raised me with those values. When I was a kid, there was a bike-a-thon to raise money for cancer research. The first year I did it, I raised the most money in contributions, and won a new bike. That was my first foray into fundraising, and I was hooked.
I spent 20 years in the nonprofit theater sector, and then seven years working for Israel Tennis and Education Centers, raising money through the sport of tennis to fund programs teaching life skills to economically challenged children in Israel. But I missed being close to the impact. A friend suggested I look into working at a JCC. I was skeptical at first because I’d never been a member of one. But as it turns out, a JCC is an amalgamation of all the things I care about – helping people in need—in particular, children and seniors, promoting arts and culture, and repairing the world. I realized I could shape the programming to focus on causes that I had experience with, like Israel engagement and supporting families battling pediatric cancer. My career has very much come full circle in that sense.
Q: You’re very focused on having a direct impact on those in need. How do you create a space at the J that’s supportive and impactful for people of all ages and backgrounds?
A: I think you’ve got to look at the JCC as a dozen businesses under one roof. We’ve got our Early Childhood Learning Center, our summer camps, our health and fitness programs, our classes for seniors, our Inclusion and Disabilities Services, and so much more. We’re encouraging people not just to engage with the J, but to engage with one another.
Our tagline is “Building Community, Enriching Lives,” and that guides everything we do. We lean into Jewish holidays, we lean into Shabbat, and we lean into our support of Israel, but we want everybody to feel comfortable here, whether that’s Jewish people or people of other faiths or people of no faith.
Q: You’ve created a Northern Virginia community built on engagement. How do you plan to move forward? What are your goals for our community this upcoming year?
A: The first goal is to continue to serve the people who we’re currently serving and to do it in a way that allows them to be successful in their lives, whether that’s the educational aspects, the social interaction aspects, or the physical, mental, and spiritual health of people.
Beyond that, we’re only scratching the surface of those we could impact, both in the Jewish community and in the broader community. So we’re looking to dig deeper into our outreach areas, and we’re also leaning into social impact areas. We’ve created a new Volunteer Services program because we believe that when people volunteer, it not only contributes to the cause they’re supporting, but it contributes to their own feelings of connection and accomplishment.
Q: Speaking of accomplishments, can you share a few sources of light and inspiration from the J this year?
A: Dean Bagdadi, our Israel Shaliach (emissary), has been an absolute bright spot. The way he’s been able to engage with people about a very complicated topic has brought light to the community and the individuals he has touched along the way. The work that we did around Oct. 7 to guide and comfort the community through an unimaginable tragedy, and programming the one-year commemoration of that massacre was very impactful.
Also, just being in this building. I love being at the J. If you come and sit in our lobby on any given day, you’ll see it’s a multi-generational place where everyone is valued—the people playing games, reading books, or chatting over coffee with friends and the Educators and little ones passing through while singing and holding hands. One member I was recently talking to said that she’d really been struggling personally in her life until she found her community at the J. You can talk about big picture issues that bring light. You can talk about specific events that bring light. But ultimately, to me, it’s the individual people whose lives have been affected by the work that we do that illuminate everything.
To help Pozez JCC continue to create light and connection for our community, make a gift before the year ends.
