Dear 14th Street Y Community,
I am writing this letter after the 2016 presidential election. After an election season filled with rancorous argument, it has been a breath of fresh air every day to walk into the 14th Street Y to see the warm and welcoming faces of our members and staff.
Here at the 14th Street Y, we are a diverse and supportive family. From the newest babies to our members over the age of 100, we laugh together, learn together, workout together, and build relationships that last a lifetime.
Our country ended fall as a nation divided. While we are looking hopefully towards spring, as this letter goes to print, the mood in our community is one of uncertainty. Whether by the election outcome or by responses to the election outcome, some of you have shared that you’re feeling distraught about what’s next. Many of us are also experiencing painful and divisive conversations with family and friends who may have a differing view on the country’s future.
I don’t have any magic fix to this uncertainty, but I know that here at the 14th Street Y, we pride ourselves on being and supporting a diverse, welcoming, and caring community. As a staff we promote tolerance, listening, and respect. We each have many different beliefs and political ideas, but each of us comes together in a values-based community because we want to make our world and nation better. Here at the Y, we focus on you; our valued members. The time you spend at the 14th Street Y exercising your body or mind in a positive way is an opportunity to meet someone face-to-face, learn from someone different from you, build a friendship, and thereby strengthen the local community we live in every day.
We are all in this together. When you enter the 14th Street Y’s front doors know that you are not alone. In our lobby, pool, fitness center, classrooms, or basketball gym—we look one another in the eye and see that we all equally human. This support can give us all a greater sense of security and hope.
As we all listen to each other and learn from each other, I hope to hear more from you. My email is sepstein@14streety.org. My ear and my heart are open to you, as I hope yours will be to each other.
Warmly,
Rabbi Shira Koch Epstein
Executive Director
14th Street Y
Thoughts + Happenings 