Members Seek Funding to Save 2 Jewish Centers

To keep Jewish community centers open in Granada Hills and Silver Lake, members are looking at ways to independently fund them.

Jewish Community Centers of Greater Los Angeles, which operates seven facilities in the region, announced in December that five centers were in danger of being closed for lack of money.

Since then, centers in Sherman Oaks and West Los Angeles have resolved their problems and are expected to stay open, said David Novak, a spokesman for the organization.

In a letter dated Friday, the Jewish Federation expressed a desire to continue operating the Silver Lake facility for a year and the West Valley center in West Hills indefinitely.

Craig Prizant, the federation’s senior vice president of communications, confirmed that funding is likely to be available to the Silver Lake center for one year.

Janie Schulman, who spearheaded the effort to save the Silver Lake center, said the news is “welcome relief.” Its members will discuss ways to continue when the year is up, she said.

At the North Valley center in Granada Hills--due to be closed in June--a committee is considering purchasing the land from Jewish Community Centers, Chairwoman Andrea Goodstein said.

North Valley members will vote on whether to pursue an effort to fund the center independently. Another option, Goodstein said, is to find property elsewhere.