A community center is very useful in every city, but is especially great in those cities which have large ethnic communities. In the case of Vaughan, where there is a large Jewish community, the presence of such centers has helped in the development and improvement of the respective community.

As far as the Jewish community centers of Vaughan are concerned, there are three major centers which shall be presented in the following paragraphs.

The first one is the Joseph & Wolf Lebovic Jewish Community Campus. It is situated in the York region, the one having the fastest growing Jewish population outside Israel. This community campus is spread on 50 acres of land and is an extraordinary example of communitarian development. The center comprises a health and wellness center, social services agencies, educational, conference and celebration centers, and even Jewish learning centers.

Within the Joseph & Wolf Lebovic Jewish Community Campus one can also find the Schwartz Reisman Center (SRC). The aims of this center are to develop the York region, as well as the Jewish community of Greater Toronto, into a vibrant community, one which embraces the values of multiculturalism, at the same time as preserving its Jewish traditions. The SRC is oriented towards social, cultural, educational and even physical activities. Given its wide range of activities, the message transmitted by the center is that it is looking forward to building tomorrow’s communities, families and individuals.

The programs that one (ranging from small kids to seniors) can enjoy here are the following: personal training, one-on-one learning, children’s choir, academic courses in Hebrew language, as well as Hebrew for all ages, adults’ choir, chess club, Bible group, teen clubs, soccer and hockey, fitness, etc. All these activities have been organized in order to cater to all tastes and ages and thus contribute to the intellectual, spiritual and physical development of the individual. Given that the center is open to people of all ages, it provides one with a welcoming environment, one in which the individual can develop to the extent of his own expectations.

Also within the Joseph & Wolf Lebovic Jewish Community Campus functions an extension of the Mount Sinai Hospital system – the Sherman Health and Wellness Center. The center is focused on providing a large variety of healthcare services, targeting both the individual as well as the family. Thus, apart from regular medical services which can be provided by any family physician, this center also has a Fertility Clinic, Prenatal and Parenting Classes, a Function and Pain Treatment Center and a Rehab and Wellbeing Center. It is within the latter that people can benefit from services that can be qualified both as wellness as well as medical ones such as: Massage Therapy, Physiotherapy, Chiropractic Care, Acupuncture, Podiatry, Laser and Shockwave Therapy, Active Release Techniques (ART).

All these centers have been organized with the purpose of maintaining alive the Jewish tradition even at such a long distance from Israel. Based on their development directions, it is easy to understand that in most cases (apart from the Healthcare and Wellness Center) they are the best choice within the region for those parents who want to raise their children in a Jewish spirit and accommodate them from an early age with their spiritual heritage, as well as for those seniors who are looking forward to spending time with their peers and share on common knowledge and memories.