As the daughter of a JCC president and board member, Stephanie Fries grew up at the JCC. From preschool on Roselawn to Camp at the J, Fries describes herself as “a child of the J” and never imagined her life without it.
When Leah Wise moved in next door, the two quickly became friends, and Fries invited Wise to come to the J with her.
“When you move to Cincinnati and you don’t know anybody, it’s a hard place to make friends,” Wise said. “What I realized was that I was quite lonely. Steph was one of my first real friends in Cincinnati, and I found her because she was my next-door neighbor.”
Despite not being Jewish herself, Wise started coming to the J to swim and eventually joined an exercise class. There, she found not only a workout routine, but also lasting friendships and a sense of belonging.
“I was there religiously: Mondays, Wednesdays, and Fridays,” Wise said. “It opened up a community for me in the city of Cincinnati beyond my little neighborhood pod.”
As more people moved into the neighborhood, Wise found herself passing along the invitation she had once received.
“Come to the J. Come take this class,” she would tell them. “You’re going to find community here. You’re going to find women in a similar stage of life with young kids.”
At a recent party, Fries found herself talking with a group of Cincinnati transplants. They had come from places as varied as the Philippines, Canada, and Cleveland, yet all had found their way to the J in one way or another.
“Every single one of them talked about how the J helped create community after giving birth, which can often be a period when you feel isolated,” Fries said. “It was a place to meet friends, to just sit sometimes, or to have a hot cup of coffee while the kids were at J Play. You’d always run into somebody, and you’d always find community.”
Having grown up at the J, Fries was surprised to discover how important it was to so many people outside the Jewish community.
“What I didn’t know, being a lifelong J person myself, is that the JCC was so impactful to all these other people too,” she said.
Both Fries and Wise describe the J as an ideal place for parents with young children. Parents can take a break to work out, swim, or enjoy a moment for themselves, knowing their children are nearby in J Play. Wise says the pool and gym are especially valuable during the winter months, when kids have extra energy to burn.
In addition to meeting other new moms, Wise found an opportunity to be part of an intergenerational community.
“One of my favorite things was that there was an older group of women, many of whom came from either Amberley House or assisted living, and they would come in for the workout class,” Wise said. “Then we would be in the locker room at the same time.”
She recalled how the women would share their wisdom and experiences, encouraging the younger mothers who were just beginning their journeys through adulthood and parenthood.
“That’s a very unique experience,” Wise said. “They’re reaching across generations and telling stories of their youth. That was really special and something I’ve not experienced anywhere else.”
For Wise, those relationships point to something larger.
“I think the world can feel like a really hard and divided place,” she said. “If you read the news, it feels scary and hard. And yet, in life and in my relationships, people show me over and over again that’s not true.
“I think there’s a softness to humanity and a softness to people when we’re in proximity to one another and in relationship with one another. The J gives us the gift of proximity and the opportunity for relationship.”
