Five Towns JCC’s Rina Shkolnik honored

Described as a dynamo and someone whose work ethic is unparalleled, Rina Shkolnik, the executive director of the Cedarhurst-based JCC of the Greater Five Towns was named one of the top 50 most influential women on Long Island.

The JCC (Jewish Community Center) runs a multitude of community oriented programs and services throughout the Five Towns. This honor was bestowed upon Shkolnik, an Oceanside resident, by Long Island Business News, at an awards ceremony at the Crest Hollow Country Club in Woodbury on May 19.

“I am very honored, Shkolnik said. “It is great for me, but it is great for the organization and community at-large. I always said that without my excellent board of directors I can’t do what I do.”

However, according to both the chair of the JCC’s Board of Directors Michael Rattner and Board President Dr. Ken Berman, it is Shkolnik, in her ninth year with the JCC, who is the spark plug in the organization’s engine.

“She is tenacious, persistent and has a terrific handle on things,” said Berman, whose has known Shkolnik since she was with the UJA Federation of New York and served as an advisor to him at the UJA Federation-South Shore. “The clock means nothing to her. She’s unbelievable. She does in one day what it takes people one month to do.”

Coming onboard from the UJA Federation of New York in 2002, Shkolnik oversees an organization that serves approximately 16,000 people at 18 different sites. During her tenure, the nursery enrollment has doubled its enrollment and has opened a daycare center for working parents. The JCC’s Russian elderly program has tripled its offerings for this region’s growing immigrant population.

“We do a needs assessment every two years, talk to different people, talk to staff and see what we can bring into the community,” said Shkolnik, who noted that five years ago when the JCC applied for a food pantry permit some individuals disagreed with the need for that service in the Five Towns. “We feed 200 families every month,” she said about the kosher pantry that provides non-perishable food and personal care items. “You see what’s going on in the community and you offer it.”

It is that vision and her commitment to serving the community which makes her special, said Rattner, who has been involved with the JCC for nearly 20 years. “It is her ceaseless efforts, she leads by example and her enthusiasm is contagious,” he said. “She is well respected across the board by secular and non-secular Jews.”

Shkolnik has also helped the nonprofit organization triple its budget and that has led to expanding programs and bringing in new ones such as Connect to Care that helps participants to cope with unemployment and the other difficulties due to the recession. This free service is run by licensed social workers and provides employment and career transition, debt counseling, budgeting assistance, bankruptcy and foreclosure prevention advice and health insurance options.

The JCC also has several other programs that offer assistance and counseling to those going through divorce, battling Parkinson’s, traumatic brain injury, bereavement and sports activities for young children who are physically challenged.

Rattner and Berman also find it amazing that Shkolnik gets all this accomplished despite not having a building that houses all of the services this JCC offers.

“We don’t have much of a facility,” said Rattner referring to the Cedarhurst headquarters. Several programs and services are held off site. “People don’t see the logistical skills she has, getting the buses and the transportation for the young, the old and physically challenged.”

Berman said that obstacles don’t seem to stop Shkolnik from improving the organization and working on new ideas. “You have an idea, you ask her what she thinks and she does the research and gets back to you,” Berman said. “She is very progressive, very smart and is able to grasp the entire situation.”