Shimon and Sara Birnbaum JCC Launches $7 Million Building Our Future Campaign

BRIDGEWATER, NJ — August 2026 — The Shimon and Sara Birnbaum Jewish Community Center has announced the public launch of its Building Our Future Campaign, a $7 million capital campaign centered around the acquisition and future development of 15 acres adjacent to the JCC’s existing campus.

The campaign theme is “15 Acres. Endless Possibilities.” This represents a rare opportunity for the JCC to enhance its campus, existing programs, and activities, and prepare for the needs of the community for decades to come.

“For 26 years, our JCC has continued to grow because the needs of our community have continued to grow,” said Laura Friedman, Chief Executive Officer of the Shimon and Sara Birnbaum JCC. “Having 15 acres become available directly next to our campus is an opportunity we may never have again. It allows us to think not only about what our community needs today, but what it will need 10, 20 and 30 years from now.”

The campaign will support the acquisition of the land as well as improvements across the JCC campus. Priorities include upgrading space for JCC Camp Ruach, year-round facilities for special needs programming, a new learning kitchen, parking, and expanded outdoor recreation and gathering spaces. Potential future uses of the property include multipurpose athletic fields, walking and running paths, courts, adventure and ropes courses, and areas for community programs and events.

Specific plans for the property will continue to evolve as the JCC works with professionals, community leaders, and its members to determine how the additional space can best serve the community.

A History of Growing with the Community

Since opening its doors in 1999, the JCC has grown into a community serving thousands of children, adults, seniors, and families each year.

Children begin their educational journey in the Blaustein Early Childhood Center, campers spend their summers at JCC Camp Ruach, adults and seniors participate in fitness, aquatics, recreation

and social programs, and individuals with special needs find opportunities for friendship, independence, employment training, and meaningful participation in community life.

Rooted in Jewish values and open to everyone, the JCC has also provided millions of dollars in scholarships and financial assistance over its history, helping ensure that financial circumstances do not prevent individuals and families from participating in JCC programs.

“Growth for us has never simply been about getting bigger,” Friedman said. “It has always been about being able to say yes to more people. We want a child to be able to go to camp, a family to be able to send their child to preschool, and an individual with special needs to have a place where they can learn, work, make friends and be part of a community. This campaign gives us the opportunity to continue doing that on an even greater scale.”

15 Acres. Endless Possibilities.

The additional property will give the JCC room to enhance programs across camp, special needs services, wellness, education, athletics, and community engagement.

For JCC Camp Ruach, the land will provide space for outdoor, nature-based, and hands-on experiences while creating opportunities to welcome campers and improve inclusive programming for children of all abilities.

The campaign also includes plans to winterize the existing Camp Ruach building, creating a year-round home for JCares, the JCC’s program for adults with special needs. The building's existing cooking station, art studio, gaming area and program spaces will provide participants with a consistent environment for recreation, life skills, social opportunities, and vocational development throughout the year.

Another campaign priority is improving the Swim Club’s seasonal snack bar into a year-round learning kitchen. The enhanced space will serve JCares participants, children with special needs, preschool students, campers, families, and community programs while providing hands-on opportunities to learn cooking, life, and vocational skills.

The property also creates possibilities for improved athletic and recreational areas, walking and running paths, gathering spaces and parking to better accommodate the JCC’s growing membership and programs.

“This is an extraordinary opportunity for our JCC and for our entire community,” said Capital Campaign Co-Chairs Josh Leibner and Howard Cohen. “We have the chance to build on everything that has been created here over the past 26 years while making sure the JCC has the space and resources to continue growing for generations to come.”

Honoring Doron Steger’s Legacy

The Building Our Future Campaign is dedicated in memory of Doron Steger, z”l, a founding leader of the Shimon and Sara Birnbaum JCC and a member of the campaign’s fundraising committee.

Long before the JCC’s current campus existed, Doron was among those who believed this community needed a JCC and worked to turn that idea into a reality. He remained deeply involved throughout his life, always focused on the people the JCC served and what could be done to make the organization stronger.

His legacy can be seen throughout the JCC, including in the Steger Gymnasium that bears his family’s name and, in the community, he helped create.

“Doron helped build the JCC we have today, so there is something incredibly meaningful about having his name connected to a campaign that will help build its future,” Friedman said. “He believed deeply in this JCC and in what it could mean to this community. We are honored that his legacy will remain part of where we go next.”

Leibner and Cohen added, “We are fortunate to be building on the work of Doron and so many others whose vision, generosity and hard work created the JCC we know today. Now it is our responsibility to think about what we leave for the generations that follow us.”

Be Part of the Story

The Building Our Future Campaign offers community members, families, foundations, and local partners an opportunity to help shape the JCC’s next chapter.

The campaign includes a range of leadership, program and facility naming opportunities connected to camp, aquatics, inclusion programming, athletics, arts, education, and community gathering spaces. Gifts at every level will help bring the broader vision to life.

“For 26 years, people have helped write the story of this JCC,” Friedman said. “Some helped build it, some helped it grow, and thousands of people have made it part of their lives. Now we have the opportunity to write the next chapter together. We want people to be able to look at what is here years from now and know that they were part of making it possible.”

For you. For your children. For your grandchildren. Forever.

To learn more about the Building Our Future Campaign, naming opportunities or ways to contribute, visit ssbjcc.org/15Acres or contact Laura Friedman at lfriedman@ssbjcc.org or 908-443-9001.

About the Shimon and Sara Birnbaum Jewish Community Center

The Shimon and Sara Birnbaum Jewish Community Center is an inclusive community that welcomes people of all ages, backgrounds and abilities. Rooted in Jewish values and open to everyone, the JCC offers early childhood education, summer camp, fitness, aquatics, sports, arts and culture, teen leadership, programs for older adults, special needs services and community-wide celebrations. The JCC serves Somerset, Hunterdon and Warren Counties and is committed to creating opportunities for people to learn, participate and be part of a community.

Media Contact: Topaz Brown Director of Marketing & PR Shimon and Sara Birnbaum JCC tbrown@ssbjcc.org 908-443-9019