Jewish Community Center of Greater Pittsburgh breaks ground on new summer camp facility
MONROEVILLE, Pa. (KDKA) -- The Jewish Community Center of Greater Pittsburgh broke ground Monday on a new space to better serve all young campers.
The center is renovating a building for day camp and weekend swim club activities at Henry Kaufmann Family Park in Monroeville.
When it comes to our children, there is a growing need for inclusive programs. That led the JCC to expand with the renovation project.
Jason Kunzman is the CEO.
"It was an area where our youngest campers sort of used as a home base," Kunzman said.
Kunzman said it only had screens and no real windows. Now, the building will serve as a flexible spot to enhance campers' experience when there are pop-up thunderstorms and to better meet the needs of children with food allergies.
What will be called 'The Cove' will also provide a welcoming and engaging environment for neurodivergent children.
"Instead of eating lunch and snacks across the facility outside, we will be able to create a community-style dining hall here," Kunzman said.
Sensory sensitivities were in mind when designing the facility, which will be a temperature-controlled area.
The idea came about after the pandemic.
"It really opened our eyes to the challenges these children and their families were experiencing," Kunzman said.
JCC Chief Program and Innovation Officer Rachael Speck said they had 590 campers last summer, a little more than 400 families. This new space will allow them to grow those numbers by more than 20% in the next three years because they know more children are getting diagnosed on the spectrum.
According to the latest CDC data, one in 36 children in the U.S. has autism.
"What we're really trying to do here is to serve those children and their families, because those are the first to fall through the cracks," Speck said.
The JCC hopes to continue serving more of these campers in the future.
Scott Seewald is the JCC board chair.
"We're not just breaking ground here on a new building, we're building upon our 55-year legacy and preparing for future generations," Seewald said.
The project is funded in part from a $2 million state grant.
Construction is expected to be done by June in time for the summer camp season.
