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JCA’s founding in 1973 is a testament to the Jewish people’s tradition of love and respect for parents and grandparents. It also demonstrates what a cadre of volunteers can do when they dare to dream big dreams and then work tirelessly to achieve them. In the early 1970’s, a handful of determined and selfless Washington Jews assembled a list of unmet local needs, researched best-practice programs coast to coast, contributed personal funds to the effort, and knocked on many doors to find fellow supporters who believed as they did that older adults should have the right to live independently and in the home of their choice as long as possible. They believed, too, that the National Capital Area should be home to model programs of national renown – programs of unparalleled care, compassion, and excellence. |
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A growing army of local volunteers landed a $67,000 start-up grant from the Jewish Federation of Greater Washington (then called the United Jewish Appeal). Using that grant, they: established their vibrant new enterprise as the Jewish Council for the Aging of Greater Washington, Inc., a Maryland-based charity.
JCA created a volunteer Board of Directors and elected George Hurwitz as its first President, and hired Ruth Breslow, a social worker at the Jewish Social Service Agency, as the organization’s first Executive Director.
With a near-magical mix of charisma, chutzpah and smarts, Ruth recruited yet more volunteers, hired a small staff, and ensured that the fledgling institution could begin almost immediately to provide handicap-accessible transportation and a broad mix of information services to local elders in need. The newborn JCA became the first local Jewish charity to land a majority of its budget from public funds. With such support, careful planning, and, later, significant philanthropy, additional programs came on fast. They included kosher nutrition, senior employment, and housing services in 1974; geriatric day care in 1977, and respite care referral in 1980. Today’s JCA depends on a mix of grants and contracts, service fees, and philanthropy in almost equal measure to make possible the full matrix of programs we offer.
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