Creative Community Partnerships at Bayshore

Bayshore Town Center in Glendale, Wisconsin is celebrating the latest in a string of collaborative community partnerships with an inspired new Jewish Community Center (JCC) program: J-Shore. The J-Shore initiative, which establishes an onsite family community center at Bayshore and integrates the JCC’s outreach and social services efforts into Bayshore’s calendar of community events and special programming, is part of a larger strategy of community connection that has helped establish the award-winning mixed-use center as the live, work and play destination for Milwaukee-area residents.

A nonprofit social service agency founded upon Jewish ethics and values that is open to all faiths, the Harry and Rose Sampson Family Jewish Community Center sponsors a diverse array of social, educational, recreational and cultural programs. The values of the JCC—charity, fellowship and community—are very much aligned with the Steiner + Associates philosophy of using special events and programming to bring people together, strengthen community connections and foster a powerful and enduring sense of place.

The JCC has been an integral part of Bayshore’s ongoing calendar of special events and summer programs for years, and the idea to establish a full-time presence at the center was an intuitive good fit, explains JCC Executive Director Mark Shaprio: “The goal was, how could we take the brand of JCC and the brand of Bayshore to create something special that would benefit both?”

Shapiro and Bayshore Manager Christian Jaeger began discussing a possible move last year, and the result—an approximately 2,000-square-foot J-Shore location that will function as an on-site outreach center and base of operations for the JCC—has expanded the possibilities for JCC to contribute in exciting ways to Bayshore’s lively and engaging summer schedule.

The summer got off to a raucous start with a JCC Summer Kickoff Carnival on Wednesday, June 16th in Bayshore’s Town Square, and the family fun continues throughout the summer with events like the Fun in the Sun Water Games on Wednesday, July 14th; a Toddlin’ Tykes demonstration on Wednesday, July 21st; and the JCC Mini Maccabi Games on Wednesday, August 18th. The JCC’s Wendy Cohen will be leading kid-friendly Summer Sing-a-Longs throughout the summer, and nationally certified fitness and personal trainers from the JCC will be on-hand on Sunday mornings from June 13th to August 22nd to lead an invigorating 60-minute “IN-FUSE” workout in the Town Square.

Bayshore guests can also take advantage of a pair of remarkable offers available in the Bayshore Summer Coupon Book: a one-day Family Pass to the Hy and Richard Smith JCC Water Park, and a one-week pass to the JCC, including the Teva Wellness Spa. And for those who need to dry off after a splash in Bayshore’s iconic fountains, complementary courtesy towels are available at the JCC Towel Trolley.

Also on the 2010 agenda is J-Walkers, a senior-focused program that provides incentives and complementary health screenings for seniors who use Bayshore’s welcoming environment to walk for fun and fitness.

As an increasingly important contributor to Bayshore’s schedule of special events and programming, the JCC and J-Shore seem certain to remain a part of the center’s trademark Steiner community energy for years to come.