Amy Lefkof
40 Faces of the J
When I moved to North Carolina in 2004, joining the Levine JCC felt like a natural first step. The facilities were exceptional, but what really drew me in was the opportunity for my family to put down roots in the Charlotte Jewish community. Twenty years later, I can say it became so much more than I ever anticipated.
These days, you'll find me at the J exercising alongside my fiancé Ken, my two adult children, and a circle of friends who've become like family. That daily rhythm brings me real joy. But if I'm being honest, what makes me truly proud to be a member is something deeper, the JCC's commitment to social justice.
When people hear the words "Jewish Community Center," they might picture an insular place, a community folded in on itself. The Levine JCC is the opposite of that. The word "community" here is expansive. Yes, it's a Jewish community center but it's one that genuinely cares about the world around it.
Nothing illustrates that better than two initiatives I've had the privilege of witnessing firsthand. For 13 years, Shalom Park Freedom School offered a Children's Defense Fund summer program to children from Sterling Elementary and Huntingtowne Farms — both Title I schools, working to prevent summer learning loss for economically disadvantaged youth. The JCC showed up generously, providing staff and facility space for swim instruction, ceramics, yoga, and dance. Watching children learn to swim, a skill that can quite literally save a life, and knowing the JCC made that possible, that's community-building in its truest form.
The JCC has also been a steadfast partner to the Jewish Community Refugee Initiative. Year after year, the Poliakoff Pavilion opens its doors for our Drive Through Sukkah for Refugees, where we share our harvest with 125 local refugee families. The J also helps us bring the broader Jewish community into the conversation through our annual Welcoming the Stranger to the Table program, creating real, meaningful relationships between community members and the refugees who've been resettled here in Charlotte.
As I look toward the next 40 years, my hope is simple: that the Levine JCC keeps doing exactly this — strengthening the bonds between the Jewish community and every community around it.
If I had to describe this place in just a few words? Welcoming, just, and inclusive.
