Athletes from the JCC Maccabi Games have been sighted all across Rockland County the past week, enthusiastically participating in sports and community events from Nyack to Newburgh. Whether engaging in Olympic-style competition or cleaning up debris strewn in the wooded areas on Stag Hill Road, Maccabi Games participants have been busy competing against one another while engaging in serious community service.

Wednesday morning a contingent of young athletes visited Harmony Hall, bearing plants and people power to lend a bit of gardening fellowship to Sloatsburg as part of the Games’ community outreach program. The enthusiastic group brought perennials to plant and beautify the the National Register of Historic Places Site sign, with the youths spending Wednesday morning pulling weeds and planting flowers while Harmony Hall Curator Geoff Welch acted as host.

The JCC Maccabi Games are being held for the first time in Rockland County, running from Aug. 12 to 17, and have seen more than 1,250 athletes from 40 delegations across the United States and Canada, Israel, Latin America and the United Kingdom competing in sports and any number of social engagements across the county The Games wind down today, with a Carnival and Closing Party this evening at RCC Field House.

The largest organized sports program for Jewish teenagers in the world, in addition to athletic competition all athletes participating in the games take part in informal Jewish learning, a JCC CaresTM community service program and daily social events. The Games have involved some 430 host families located primarily in Rockland County, with a few in northern Bergen County and Orange County. Rockland Community College in Suffern has served as the main athletic complex, with activities and events taking place across Ramapo and Rockland County at Suffern High School, Suffern Middle School, Torne Valley Sports Complex, Clarkstown South High School and Germonds Park in West Nyack and West Rock Indoor Sports in Nanuet.

The visiting youth at Harmony Hall were joined by New York State Assemblyman for District 94 Kenneth Zebrowski and Executive Director of Keep Rockland Beautiful Sonia Cairo. A non-profit that promotes programs to clean up and beautify neighborhoods throughout the county, Keep Rockland Beautiful also organizes environmental education activities, which fit perfectly with the spirit of the Maccabi Games.

Community service is a big part of the Maccabi Games and while in Rockland, JCC Cares is instructing the particpants on the principles and practice of tikkun olam, the ancient Jewish concept of “repairing the world” through giving back to the community. Elyse Hausner and Frieda Levita, co-chair the community service portion of the games, and, along with Jared Rosenblum of the JCC, planned more than 20 projects across the county for the some 1,239 athletes to participate in, including projects in Valley Cottage, Congers, Palisades, Monsey, Spring Valley, Haverstraw, Suffern, Chestnut Ridge, Sloatsburg and Newburgh.

Robin Traum writes all about their efforts for the Mahwah Patch here.

Geoff Welch said that he expected a small contingent to show up for the Harmony Hall event and was pleasantly surprised when nearly 50 athletes arrived for the garden party. Welch said the day’s activities cleaned up around the Jacob Sloat House as well donated garden spades and trowels to Harmony Hall.

Today, Thursday, August 16, marks the last day of the JCC Maccabi Games in Rockland County, and the end of tournament play. This evening the visiting contingent celebrates the closing ceremony with a Carnival and Closing Party at the RCC Field House.

Photos courtesy of Geoff Welch.