After years of planning, interrupted by a global pandemic, Westside JCC’s Early Childhood Center has announced the opening of a state-of-the-art infant care center for children six weeks to two years of age. The Infant Care Center — affectionately named “The Hive” — will meet the needs of young Jewish families who need safe, reliable, education-focused infant care and will be the only licensed Jewish center-based infant care program in the mid-city area.
“As a Jewish Community Center, our main goal is to build connections between people and create community,” WJCC Executive Director Brian Greene said. “Young families, as they enroll their children in the Infant Care Center, will build deep connections to each other and to Jewish communal life through robust family programming.”
Going well beyond typical daycare, The Hive facilities include a dedicated crib room, environmentally friendly materials and on-site security. Courtesy of Westside JCC
Going well beyond typical daycare, The Hive – expected to open this fall as a newly completed expansion to the Westside JCC’s Early Childhood Center – will offer a 3:1 infant-to-teacher ratio, highly qualified teachers and child development experts, a dedicated crib room and natural, environmentally friendly materials for the children.
“By expanding the preschool to meet the needs of families with infants, the opening of The Hive is a powerful example of individuals, board members, foundations, and institutions coming together to support Westside JCC in response to a true community need,” Westside JCC Board Vice President and Campaign Chair Amanda Johns Perez said.
On Aug. 31, Perez was one of many donors, community members and Jewish communal leaders who gathered for a milestone event celebrating the new infant center. Additional participants of the dedication ceremony included Westside JCC’s Board President Steve Wallock, Jewish Federation of Greater Los Angeles CEO and President Rabbi Noah Farkas, JCC Association of North America Board Chair David Wax and Westside JCC Early Childhood Director Lauren Friedman.
Delivering remarks about the Westside JCC’s impact and legacy, Wallock said he welcomed the addition of an infant care center to Westside JCC’s already-robust programming.
“The Hive will provide working families with trusted childcare in a Jewish, education-focused setting,” the JCC board president said. “It will create yet another opportunity at our JCC for families to form connections with each other and the Jewish community.”
Since 1954, Westside JCC has served as a thriving hub for Jewish life, engaging and educating thousands of babies, children, teens, and seniors from across the religious spectrum and socioeconomic and geographical boundaries of Los Angeles.
Located on a 120,000 square foot campus in the heart of mid-city Los Angeles – on Olympic Boulevard, just east of Fairfax – the Westside JCC serves the community by offering stimulating and innovative educational, cultural and recreational programs fostering a strong connection to Israel and Jewish life.
Over the years, it has also served as a temporary home for a number of synagogues, schools and Jewish organizations, including IKAR, Progressive Jewish Alliance and Shalhevet High School. It has long served as an inclusive meeting space for diverse Jewish populations, from the observant to the unaffiliated.
