Jewish Community Center of Greater Baltimore hosts unification block party: 'It's about the community'

JCC of Greater Baltimore hosts block party to unite residents

BALTIMORE - The Jewish Community Center (JCC) of Greater Baltimore is on a mission to unite residents of Baltimore and surrounding areas.

Eleven-year-old Penny Myrowitz told WJZ there's no better way to give back to her community than volunteering and showing up for her loved ones.

"I'm also going to be doing art spinners. So I think that will be very fun," Myrowitz said.

Myrowitz was one of dozens of volunteers and families at the 8th Annual Jewish Community Center of Greater Baltimore's Community Block Party in Owings Mills.

"About 180 booths of activities going on with 50-60 partners, vendors, sponsors, our JCC activities, we got some inflatables, music, entertainment, face painting, all the fun stuff," said Paul Lurie, the Chief Operating Officer of the JCC of Greater Baltimore.

Lurie says the party is a way to help the community learn about what's going on in their neighborhood and the resources available.

"Being together, learning together, experiencing together and coming out of it thinking the community they live in is a really great place to be," said Lurie.

Barak Herman, CEO of the Jewish Community Center of Greater Baltimore, said the community block party is a way for everyone to come together as division and war rages in the Middle East, and Baltimore works to recover following the collapse of the Key Bridge.

"We just want when people come to our campus to feel hope," Barak Herman told WJZ.

"This is a real opportunity for Baltimore County, Baltimore City for us all to come together and remember really who we are and that we are resilient and that we can overcome," said Sara Shalva, the Chief Arts Officer of the JCC of Greater Baltimore.

The goal of the event is to remind everyone that they are not alone.

"It feels wonderful. It's like everyone coming here; it feels important," Myrowitz said.

"We call it the community block party, not the JCC Block Party, very intentionally. It's not about us today. It's about the community," Lurie told WJZ.