Each week, in this space, I try to address situations/issues/moments that I feel are important. You would think that, with our nation’s 250th Anniversary celebration on July 4th, that might have been the topic of today’s message. However, for my From Where I Sit column in July’s JLife SGPV, I decided to write about contributions made by Jewish Americans during our nation’s first 250 years. (Make sure to check that piece out when the issue is available on July 1st.) And, I highly encourage you to check out, “How Jews reinvented themselves — and America,” a piece written by Dr. Steven Windmueller, a preeminate Jewish scholar who has written extensively on the American Jewish experience.

 

So, for this week’s column, I wanted to share an important decision made by our Board of Governors during its June 2026 Board meeting that I feel the community should be aware of, as it will have a lasting impact on the work our Jewish Federation does.

 

During its June Board meeting, the Jewish Federation of the Greater San Gabriel and Pomona Valleys' Board of Governors adopted its 2026 – 2028 Strategic Visioning Plan, developed by a board committee and our Executive Director, Jason Moss.

 

The purpose of this plan is to formalize the organization’s priorities and areas of focus through June 2028 to help move the organization forward and enhance the support it provides the community, as well as to advocate on behalf of our local Jewish community.

 

As part of the process, the organization’s mission and vision statements were updated to the following:

 

 

The Jewish Federation of the Greater San Gabriel and Pomona Valleys is:

 

l   A valued resource about Jewish life in the greater San Gabriel and Pomona Valleys.

l   The Jewish voice for our local area by advocating, educating, and promoting Judaism and Jewish life.

l   A place for all people to find their way into Judaism and connect with other Jews. We do this through the programs and services we provide that celebrate Jewish community and create opportunities for people to engage with the beauty and richness of Jewish culture.

 

The plan includes some in-house, behind-the-scenes efforts, as well as several new initiatives to benefit our community. These include, but are not limited to: 1) evaluating the effectiveness of our existing programs and looking at possibly bringing new opportunities to our community; 2) conducting a new Community Survey in order to better understand our community’s current (and future) needs; 3) launching a new Ambassadorship program to help us expand awareness and ensure more people know about the important work our Jewish Federation does; and much more.

 

We are excited about the work ahead as we continue to explore ways to expand what we do and how we advocate for our community. Our Jewish Federation is committed to this plan, while we continue to offer  the programs and services our community has relied on for more than 30 years. Let us know if you would like to support this work and are interested in learning more about our 2026 – 2028 Strategic Visioning Plan.