We are pleased to announce a new initiative that further supports our ongoing work on Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI) within our community. We are partnering with the Marlene Meyerson JCC Manhattan as a host site for their Community Work Experience program to provide internship opportunities to young adults with developmental and/or learning disabilities to maximize their highest level of vocational independence – from work-readiness opportunities to job development and, ultimately, integrated employment in the work force. We're excited to welcome our new interns in early March, who will support the Youth and Family Engagement department and the Clergy Study. 

In September of 2021, David Edelson, former President of Central's Board of Trustees, delivered an impassioned teaching from the bimah during the Yom Kippur afternoon service. His modern interpretation of our sacred text’s ancient charge to “not place a stumbling block before the blind” centered around his younger brother, Josh, who has Down Syndrome. The partnership with the Marlene Meyerson JCC Manhattan is made possible through the generous support of the estate of Cindy Edelson’s mother Beverly Frank, may her memory be a blessing, in honor of her son-in-law David Edelson’s service to Central.