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March 21, 2025
The Heyman Interages® Center is a program of JCA®, the Jewish Council for the Aging
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In this edition:
- Volunteer Opportunities
- JCA Interages Book Drive
- JCA Program Highlights and Updates
- STEM Academy
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See volunteer opportunities anytime through our
Volunteer Portal
Please note: all opportunities require
preregistration and background check.
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Seeking volunteers for Farmland Readers Theater
Volunteers help small groups of students improve reading skills through readings that will be performed before younger students in their school. These sessions help students improve their reading and vocabulary while also having fun.
Farmland Elementary
7000 Old Gate Rd
Rockville, MD 20852
Thursdays: 1:15 – 2:25 PM
Orientation at Farmland: date and time TBD.
Six sessions plus performance plus performance for kindergarteners
Background check and application required. Interested? Contact Indira Dingledine.
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Seeking Volunteers for In - Classroom Support Opportunities
Germantown Elementary School
19110 Liberty Mill Road
Germantown, MD 20874
Please see this spreadsheet for descriptions
Background check and application required. Interested? Contact Indira Dingledine.
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📚📖 Volunteer Opportunity at Maryvale Elementary! 📖
Looking for a meaningful way to give back? Join the JCA Interages Partnership with Linkages to Learning at Maryvale Elementary and help young students excel in math and reading!
Linkages to Learning
📍 Location: 1010 First St., Rockville, MD 20850
🗓 Days: Mondays & Wednesdays each week
⏰ Time: 4:00 – 5:00 PM
🎯 Who We Help: 2nd – 5th grade students
🙌 What You’ll Do: Provide homework help and enrichment in reading and math
💡 Volunteers must attend both days.
Make a difference in a child’s learning journey! Background check and application required. If interested contact Indira Dingledine Sign up today
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🌟 Seeking Volunteers Aged 50+! 🌟
F.R.U.I T. - Interages is partnering with ClancyWorks Dance Company to bring this unique and engaging program!
https://clancyworks.org/ We’re looking for female volunteers to participate in a creative and enriching experience that includes:
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- Gentle Movement & Dance (seated options available)
- Storytelling & Dialogue
- Crafts & Icebreakers
This program is designed to connect diverse ages and backgrounds through dance and art, fostering conversation and meaningful connections.
📍 Location: Kennedy High School 1901 Randolph Rd, Wheaton, MD 20902
📅 Duration: 10 sessions
(Excludes select spring break dates)
💬 Let us know—we’d love to have you!
Background check and application required. Interested? Contact Indira Dingledine.
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📚 JCA Interages Book Drive – March 31 to April 4, 2025 📚
Join us for The Jewish Federation’s Sara & Samuel J. Lessans Good Deeds Week 2025 and help make a difference in our community! JCA Interages is proud to join area organizations in serving the community during this special week of giving.
We are collecting books for children and adults to support those in need. Your donations will be sorted by our intergenerational team of volunteers and delivered to Interfaith Works and Montgomery County Friends of the Library.
📍 Drop-off Location: JCA – 12320 Parklawn Drive, Rockville, MD 20852
📅 Dates: March 31 – April 4, 2025
🕙 Time: 10:00 AM – 4:00 PM
📦 Donation Limit: Please bring no more than two bags or boxes of books. Please no encyclopedias, used textbooks, or cookbooks.
Together, we can share the joy of reading and learning across generations! Thank you for your support. ❤️
For more information, contact Indira Dingledine.
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JCA's first intergenerational Chorus, L'Chaim Chorale
This intergenerational concert was conducted by music therapist Yvonne Quilop (a KC regular) at the Ring House, and demonstrated the tremendous impact JCA makes in our community by providing the space and offering the concert to community members including residents. For six weeks, middle and high school students spent time getting to know their Kensington Club partners at the JCA and rehearsing beautiful music together. A high school pianist, high school guitarist and middle school flutist contributed to the glorious music. Almost 100 audience members waved scarves and raised their voices in song during the sing-along portion. The Kensington Club and Interages staff worked in tight partnership to make it all possible.
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🎭 Action shot of JCA Volunteers in the classroom for Readers Theater Program at Harmony Hills Elementary!
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Volunteers help small groups of students prepare for theatrical readings that will be performed before younger students in their school. These sessions help students improve their reading and vocabulary, while also having fun.
The children are given a script of a play, designed for fifth graders, and are asked to read the lines of the specific character in the play. Each child will read lines for a specific character. The content of the play is sometimes tied to a holiday (Thanksgiving, Halloween, etc.)
The volunteers make sure the children are reading the lines correctly, make sure the children understand the meaning of the words they are reading and then will ask the children to discuss the themes in the play. The adult volunteers usually do not read the play. In the picture shown above , the volunteers are reading the play as a way to remind the children to make sure their voices are loud enough so others can hear them.
A special thank you to our dedicated volunteers, seen in the photo above—Richard Burger, Scott Holden, Fran Jamieson-Unger, Stan Shulman, and Ed Kean (who also serves as one of our newsletter editors). Your enthusiasm and commitment are truly appreciated!
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.📚 JCA Interages Book Drive – March 31 to April 4, 2025 📚
Join us for Federation’s Sara & Samuel J. Lessans Good Deeds Week 2025 and help make a difference in our community! JCA Interages is proud to join area organizations in serving the community during this special week of giving.
We are collecting books for children and adults to support those in need. Your donations will be sorted by our intergenerational team of volunteers and delivered to Interfaith Works and Montgomery County Friends of the Library.
📍 Drop-off Location: JCA – 12320 Parklawn Drive, Rockville, MD 20852
📅 Dates: March 31 – April 4, 2025
🕙 Time: 10:00 AM – 4:00 PM
📦 Donation Limit: Please bring no more than two bags or boxes of books. Please no encyclopedias, used textbooks, or cookbooks.
Together, we can share the joy of reading and learning across generations! Thank you for your support. ❤️
For more information, contact Indira Dingledine.
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Read Across America was a success! This is the third year JCA Interages partnered with the Montgomery County Pubic Libraries.
Read Across America, an annual event organized by the National Education Association (NEA), celebrates Dr. Seuss' birthday, aims to inspire children and young adults to discover the joy of reading through events, partnerships, and reading resources, which focuses on motivating literacy and promoting a love for books.
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County Executive Marc Elrich celebrates Read Across America by reading with children.
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The National Education Association (NEA) launched Read Across America in 1998 as a year-round program to celebrate reading. The goal is to encourage reading and educate people about its benefits, especially among children and young adults. Events are organized across the nation by schools and organizations to promote reading. This year, Read Across America Week was March 2-7, 2025.
Over two days,12 JCA Interages volunteers read with children in the Gaithersburg Library,
Brigadier General Charles E. McGee Library, and
Wheaton Library.
In addition, there was a Read Together program at Gatihersburg Library where adults read to groups of children.
| | The County Executive, Marc Elrich, showed his support by coming and reading to children at the Brigadier General Charles E. McGee Library. | This little girl read out loud to JCA Volunteer Lori Brown. | | Monthly Reading Tutor Training Series | | |
We hope you will join us on Zoom for our monthly Reading Tutor Training series. These sessions are helpful for any volunteers. We are so grateful to presenter Megan Bainbridge, Reading Specialist of the Captain James E. Daly Elementary School, who is leading the sessions. Each session focuses on a different Reading Tutor Training topic, and lasts about an hour. Pre-registration online is required.
Please note: these sessions provide broad tips and are not intended to be certification level training.
Next session Date and Time TBD
Recorded Sessions
To view past recordings of the Reading Tutor Training sessions, visit our Volunteer Portal.
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Help spread the word! The Exelon Foundation STEM Academy is a free, week-long, residential leadership program at the University of Maryland, College Park designed for 10th and 11th grade girls and boys curious about energy and sustainability. The program offers hands-on workshops, interactive field trips, and small group discussions with inspiring leaders from across the region. Participants build leadership skills, collaborate on real-world energy projects, and even compete for prizes in an exciting energy challenge! Plus, each participant will receive an iPad for program activities—theirs to keep after the Academy wraps up.
Please help us share this incredible opportunity with your networks! We don’t want Montgomery County students to miss this chance to connect, create, and explore their futures in STEM!
Details below:
When: Sunday, July 27th, 2025 - Friday, August 1st, 2025
Where: University of Maryland, College Park
Who should apply: current 10th and 11th grade girls and boys who are interested in STEM
*All applications are due by Thursday, April 1, 2025*
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Your gift helps JCA build bridges across generations.
Please give to support our work.
| | For your convenience, past issues of the JCA Interages Connector are available on the JCA Interages webpage. | | |
Jewish Council for the Aging of Greater Washington
"Jewish Council for the Aging", "JCA", "Interages", and "Helping All Seniors Thrive"
are registered trademarks of the Jewish Council for the Aging of Greater Washington, Inc.
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