St. Coletta’s adult participants and staff will join our community and be regularly present on our campus for three months while renovating their Rockville facility. As part of the move, the Bender JCC will lease some of our available classrooms to St. Coletta for their exclusive use during the weekdays (Monday – Friday, 8:30 AM – 4:30 PM), leaving those classrooms available in the evening and weekends for our members and guests to enjoy.

Our two organizations share common values. Inclusion is the cornerstone on which the Bender JCC has built our community. Inclusion is belonging, the feeling of being welcomed, valued, and needed by our community. All members — including people with disabilities — deserve to feel equally at home at the Bender JCC. Likewise, St. Coletta’s vision is for people with intellectual disabilities to be recognized and accepted as valuable contributors to the world around them.

Many of St. Coletta’s participants, staff, and families already have strong connections to the Bender JCC, and we look forward to welcoming those new to the Bender JCC into our tight-knit community.