Answer: participating in the Jewish Community Center Maccabi Games!
The five-day event finds young athletes from around the world competing in various sports from soccer, tennis and swimming to golf, dance and table tennis. But the JCC Maccabi Games is more than a kosher version of the Junior Olympics. The participants will also engage in community action projects to Tikkun Olam (repair the world) and improve Milwaukee socially as well as financially (the event is projected to yield $3 million in revenues). For instance, this year participants will be constructing outdoor exercise equipment for Walker’s Square Park in collaboration with the United Community Center, a comprehensive social service agency serving the families of Milwaukee’s Hispanic south side. The “JCC Cares” component of the Maccabi Games also includes working with the Hunger Task Force, assisting the Jewish Community Pantry and spending a day in friendly competition with Special Olympics of Wisconsin athletes. While the Maccabi Games benefit Milwaukee, Milwaukee also benefits the Games: the visiting athletes are housed by more than 500 host families and approximately 1,000 local volunteers help make the games a success.
All Milwaukeeans are cordially invited to attend the Opening Ceremonies, which take place on August 2 at 6 p.m. in the BMO Harris Bradley Center. During the event, Garrett Weber-Gale, a two-time Olympic gold medalist swimmer and graduate of Nicolet High School, will be raised 20 feet into the air to light a 19-foot-tall torch created by Fox Point sculptor Richard Edelman. Admission for the Opening Ceremonies is free but interested parties must register in advance here. Keep up with the Maccabi Games’ goings-on via their Facebook page.
|
|
