A Word From Shane

JSSA and JCA Announce Transformational Merger to Expand Services for Older Adults Across the Greater Washington Region 

I am pleased to tell you about some exciting news at JCA. The JCA and JSSA boards have agreed to merge our organizations. JSSA is the trusted nonprofit community health and social wellness agency. This is a visionary and transformational step forward, one that positions us to better meet the rapidly evolving needs of older adults and their families across the Greater Washington, DC region.

For more than 50 years, JSSA and JCA have worked side by side, partnering on programs and coordinating care. As the population of older adults continues to grow, we know that families need services that are not only high-quality but also easier to navigate and more seamlessly connected. The unified organization will bring together a wide range of services, including behavioral health, social day clubs, young-onset dementia care, intergenerational programming, benefits navigation and enrollment, transportation, workforce initiatives, support for Holocaust survivors, home care, food access, care management, and end-of-life care under one integrated umbrella, creating an innovative hub of older adult services.

All programs will operate under the JSSA name, while fully honoring the shared values that have guided both organizations for decades: human dignity, inclusiveness, repairing the world, and unconditional kindness. Clients and the greater community can be confident that there will be no interruption in services. Familiar programs, trusted staff, and the high standard of care will continue now strengthened by expanded resources, greater efficiencies, and deeper collaboration. The merger is scheduled to become effective on July 1, 2026.

We are deeply grateful for your trust and partnership and look forward to sharing more about what this new chapter will mean for you and for the community. If you have any questions, see our merger FAQ page or feel free to contact us.

Sincerely,

Shane
JCA CEO

The Milton Gottesman Jewish Day School Pre-K visited to celebrate Passover with Samuel J. Gorlitz Kensington Clubs at Parklawn. The program included a sampling of traditional Passover foods.

Milton Gottesman Jewish Day School and Kensington Clubs have a long-standing tradition of celebrating Jewish holidays together. As can be seen in the photos, it is a joyful partnership for participants.

Completed items:

Rebuilding Together Montgomery

On Sunday, April 26, the Temple Beth Ami/Shaare Torah volunteer team from  Rebuilding Together Montgomery County (RTM) began repairing and revitalizing the Kensington Clubs’ outdoor terrace on Parklawn Dr.

The volunteers gathered to create a safer, more attractive, and useful space for club members.

The leftmost image below shows the poor condition of the patio fence before the project began. Another priority was engineering a solution to raising and lowering the shade sail. The entire scope of the project is outlined below.

To be completed:

The Jewish Council for the Aging Heyman Interages Center is pleased to offer a special virtual learning opportunity, How to Be a Dementia Friend, presented by Dementia Friends Montgomery County.

This one-hour Zoom session will take place on Friday, May 15, from 4:00 – 5:00 PM and will welcome JCA community members of all ages, including teens interested in learning how to better support older adults and families affected by dementia.

Participants will learn about Alzheimer’s disease and other forms of dementia, how to recognize common signs

of dementia, and explore helpful ways to communicate and interact with individuals living with memory loss. The session will also share ideas for creating dementia-friendly physical spaces that support comfort, dignity, and inclusion.

The Heyman Interages Center® is especially excited to encourage teen participation, helping young people build empathy, awareness, and practical skills while strengthening intergenerational understanding. Programs like this reflect the Center’s mission to create meaningful connections across generations and a more caring community for all.

If interested, contact Indira Dingledine at idingledine@accessjca.org.

Benefits Enrollment Center Welcomes
Amanda Rosenbloom

JCA’s Benefits Enrollment Center welcomes Amanda Rosenbloom as its Outreach and Enrollment Manager. Amanda comes to us from her roles at the Mobilize Montgomery Federal Workforce Career Center and the MoCo Career Advising Program at WorkSource Montgomery. She brings a background of coordinating across organizations to connect people with resources and benefits that improve quality of life.

Supported by the NCOA Center for Economic Well-Being, Benefits Enrollment Centers (BECs) help low-income seniors and people with disabilities find and enroll in all the benefits programs for which they are eligible, and create coordinated, community-wide systems of benefits access.

The BEC focuses on connecting Medicare beneficiaries with limited incomes to these core benefits:

The BEC also helps adults age 65+ and younger adults with disabilities to apply for other programs, such as Supplemental Security Income, State Pharmaceutical Assistance Programs, local transportation assistance, tax relief, and more.

The BEC at JCA is available by phone and in person (by appointment): 301-255-4207.

Aging Well: Spotlight on Intergenerational Volunteering

Doris Brott spent her career teaching first graders, but when it came time to retire, she couldn’t imagine spending her days away from young learners. So about 20 years ago, she joined the late Austin Heyman’s Dialogues Across the Ages program. That program is now part of the Jewish Council for the Aging’s Heyman Interages Center. Senior volunteers and young people meet to talk, learn, and build relationships.

For the next 18 years, Doris went to Kennedy High School weekly and worked with first-generation students. “They were so anxious to learn,” she recalled. “Most of the time, we just talked. We talked about everything.” The students were learning English while caring for their siblings, assisting their parents who didn’t know the language, and working at a job. They participated in Kennedy’s Leadership Program and did charity work. Yet they acted like none of that was a burden at all, Doris said.

Read the full story.

Montgomery County Multicultural Senior Services Fair

The Multicultural Senior Services Fair is a free community event where in-person interpreters will be available so seniors and caregivers can get support in the language they feel most comfortable speaking. In addition to English, interpreters will be available for Spanish, French, Amharic, Chinese, Russian, and more.

This fair will eliminate language barriers and will create direct access to organizations offering essential services across Montgomery County, including Medicaid waivers, the Medicare Guide Program, respite coordination, long-term care supports, and veterans’ services. Additional resources will cover housing options, transportation assistance, food programs, and caregiver supports.

With on-site interpretation and culturally responsive support, everyone is welcome. The fair aims to connect seniors and caregivers to the resources they need with care, respect, and community. Learn more about the fair.

Tuesday, May 12 | 10 AM –2 PM

The Activity Center at Bohrer Park 506 South Frederick Avenue
Gaithersburg, MD 20877

Longevity Ready Maryland

Maryland has officially cemented its position as a national leader by becoming the first state to enact legislation addressing the impact of longevity and the sixth state to transition a multisector plan for aging into permanent law.

On April 14, the Maryland General Assembly passed and the Governor signed the Longevity Ready Maryland (LRM) Act (HB 278, SB 113).

This landmark law will change the way the State approaches aging by focusing on how we prepare for aging as individuals and communities to maximize the benefits of an aging society.

The move represents the culmination of a dedicated three-year effort to modernize Maryland’s approach to aging policy and programs. The 2026 LRM Act establishes four goals into state statute:

By fostering a culture that values the contributions of older adults and strengthens the systems we rely on, Maryland is setting a national standard for what it means to be a state for all ages.

For more information on LRM, visit LRM.Maryland.gov.

Montgomery County Free Virtual 50+ Employment Expo

Register today for the JCA Montgomery County free virtual 50+ Employment Expo on May 19 or June 16, 2026. Help us spread the word. If you know of any age-friendly employers, tell them about our expos and the accomplished, experienced, motivated candidates waiting to hear from them.

This month, the JCA blog touched on physical health, financial well-being, caregiving, artificial intelligence, and staying connected.

You can avoid or reduce knee pain with the right kinds of activity. Understand the risk factors that increase the likelihood of falling to avoid that as well. If you or a loved one needs home health care, be prepared by understanding what Medicare does and does not cover. Improve

your financial health with tips on reducing your expenses.

Are you a caregiver for a parent or spouse? Informing your boss may be easier than you thought. Time spent as a caregiver for a parent may have surprising benefits for the relationship with your children as well.

Older adults are taking advantage of some interesting modern developments. AI has the potential to help retirees maintain independence and branch out. However, there is a risk that it turns into a crutch that leads to easy and sometimes misguided decisions. Lastly, a repurposed pair of pay phones connects students in Boston to seniors in Reno, Nevada, by a “call a boomer”/”call a zoomer” direct line.

If you are a caregiver for an older adult, or you know one, check out the KC Blog as well.

Richard Pazornik in honor of Ivye Pazornik to Kensington Clubs Kesher Café
Niki Wakefield in honor of Ivye Pazornik
Wendy & Rob Wilson in memory of Lynn Fanaroff to Kensington Clubs Kesher Café