MARBLEHEAD — An angel is answering the call of the Jewish Community Center.
The rescuer is the Jewish Federation, stepping in with a $750,000 loan for a JCC weighed down by deficits and a declining membership. The move comes just as the facility has been forced to consider selling its Middleton camp.
Now, all bets are off.
"Everything is under review," JCC Director Tony Daniels said.
The Middleton property may still be sold, but not before a newly formed committee considers the JCC's financial future. The Community Center Caretaker Committee includes members from both the federation and the JCC. Richard Bane of Marblehead, the owner of several local nursing homes, will chair the committee.
"We're going to look at this strategically," Bane said, explaining that the group would help the center "manage its cash flow." He stressed the importance of keeping the facility viable. "It's not a Community Center problem. It's a community problem. ... The Jewish Community Center has a definite role on the North Shore."
"This is a brain trust that any corporation would love to have," Daniels said of the committee, noting that it includes any number of highly successful businesspeople.
"There isn't a group of people that I trust more," he said, noting that his own experience in banking gives him some insight into the matter.
"They're looking at all the options for Middleton," Daniels said. "They're asking, 'What is the best use for that land?'"
At issue is not merely the JCC's current difficulties, but the future of the center for the next 20 years and its availability to generations of the North Shore Jewish community.
Daniels expects to have a say in any final decisions but is prepared to implement whatever is decided.
"I have no reservations whatever," he said.
With an annual budget of roughly $4.5 million, the JCC was braced for a deficit in excess of $200,000. The opening of the YMCA only exacerbated the problem, ballooning the deficit to more than half a million dollars. Many members, Jewish and non-Jewish, had embarked on a kind of "muscle hustle" from the JCC to the new state-of-the-art facility on the Salem/Marblehead line.
On the other hand, Bane pointed out that a comparison with the YMCA neglects the more varied role played by the JCC. It isn't all fitness. For example, education programs, often dealing with Jewish issues, are available for children as young as preschoolers.
The situation is beginning to turn around, Daniels said. He points to an uptick in his membership amounting to more than 30 new people each month.
"We have righted the ship," he said.
New programs and upgrades in the facility are credited with some of the turnaround.
If the Middleton camp is sold, Daniels is planning improvements on 11 acres of seaside property in Marblehead.
"It will blow your socks off," he promises. "It's going to be really spectacular."
The federation rescue comes as the JCC reaches what Daniels called "a tipping point" created by a shifting demographic and a trying economy.
"We should use this tipping point to move forward," Bane said. He cautioned, however, that there is no magic solution. Already, he noted, Daniels has been forced to make "difficult choices" in cutting personnel. Nor could he rule out the possibility that more jobs could be eliminated.
The two organizations have long been linked, with the federation sending up to $150,000 per year to the JCC. The new loan will go toward "ongoing operations," Daniels said, paying for salaries and programs.
It will also provide "working capital," Bane said.
Obama Scraps Birth Control Mandate
US Airmen's Killer Sentenced to Life in Germany
Navy Names Ship for Gabrielle Giffords
Raw Video: Deadly Blasts in Syria
Romney Slams President Obama at CPAC
Gingrich: Pres. Obama 'waging War on Religion'
5 Killed in Wrong-way Crash on I-10 in La.
Uzbek Man Pleads Guilty in Plot to Kill Obama
Denver's Largest-Ever Drug Bust Nets Dozens
Marines: No Punishment for Nazi-like Flag
Vets Look to Translate Military Skills Into Jobs
Raw Video: School Bus Burst Into Flames
LA School Reopens Amid Sex Abuse Scandal
$25B Settlement Reached Over Foreclosure Abuses
Pentagon: Allow Women Closer to Front Lines
LA School in Sex Abuse Scandal Reopens
Raw Video: Italy's Mount Etna Bursts Into Life
Greeks March; Angry Despite Debt Deal
Air Force Airlines: Leaders Get Polished Service
Ga Girl Fights Off Kidnapper at Walmart
