Roth Family JCC closes temporarily, majority of employees laid off

On March 24, Keith Dvorchik, CEO of The Roth Family Jewish Community Center of Greater Orlando, issued a statement to all JCC members that the JCC Board of Directors made the decision to temporarily cease operations, effective the end of business on Friday, March 27. This resulted in the lay off of more than 130 employees.

“Our employees have worked hard and stepped up when this pandemic began. We appreciate our staff, their hard work and their commitment to children and families at the JCC; there is no more difficult decision than this,” Dvorchik said.

“The public safety issues associated with the COVID-19 pandemic have brought our operations to a virtual halt, which has resulted in an insurmountable economic impact that we cannot ignore or escape,” said Dvorchik.

“We are not alone in this crisis. Our hope is that once the virus has subsided, we will quickly begin the process of resuming operations and providing the services our community values greatly. Certainly, this is not a decision we made without a great deal of thought. The JCC, like so many other businesses and non-profit organizations, simply has no alternative,” he said.

The Roth Family JCC will reopen as soon as it is safe to do so—hopefully within two to three months. “Our hope is to bring back as many of our staff as possible, but we simply don’t know how long this issue will continue, when we will reopen, and what services we will be able to provide at that time. Like the rest of the country, we are dealing with a variety of unknowns,” he stated.

Dvorchik, ECLC Director Melissa Youngblood, and Director of Finance Brenda McGrath will continue to oversee the JCC during this down period to ensure the varied obligations of the building and business operations are maintained. The remaining employees will be taking a 20 percent pay cut during these difficult economic times.

Questions about health insurance, the ECLC tuition or camp payments due by April 1 are addressed on the The Roth Family JCC’s website.