The Orlando Center for Jewish Development (OCJD) was founded as a vehicle in which to nurture and support the growth of the Orlando Jewish community by providing marketing, consulting, financial and other services to the community and its resources with the ultimate goal of community membership acquisition.
Through the successful implementation of programs and the like, the OCJD is able to carry out its mission and build the Orlando Jewish community from the inside and out.
Things Happening In Orlando
Started only a handful of years ago, the Orthodox Community in Orlando has really made some amazing strides in the past few years. It is growing into a warm, welcoming, laid-back, out of town community with a strong foundation of Torah resources and values. Below are some of the highlights of the great things happening in Orlando.
- Orlando Torah Center, an orthodox Ashkenazic shul, has been welcomed into the OU family as an OU member shul. In addition to regular minyanim, it hosts a large variety of weekly shiurim for men and women.
Read the OU press release.
- OVO (Orthodox Vaad of Orlando) a local hecsher has been officially recognized by the CRC and has started to grant its hechsher to local establishments such as Kosher Grill.
Click for the CRC listing.
- Orlando Torah Academy, one of Orlando’s orthodox day schools, has grown by 500% over the past 5 years. A few weeks ago it set up an innovative Crowdfunding/ Lending campaign to purchase the school building. The campaign, which has received media coverage and attestations, raised over $1 million in just two and a half weeks. The total currently sits at around 1.3 million dollars to the goal of 1.8 million dollars and a deadline of March 15th The next couple of weeks are critical for the school; the purchase of the building will allow Orlando Torah Academy to continue its success.
Read the full articles in the Matzav, Yeshiva World, Jewish Press, and front page of Yated.
- The Orlando Jewish community has started construction of an Eruv and phase one completion is just weeks away. There is currently a raffle available with a grand prize of two round trip tickets from NYC to Orlando and a private jet tour of NYC.
- Over the past few years the Winn Dixie supermarket has expanded its kosher section to three aisles and its own dedicated freezer and refrigerated space.
- Chabad of South Orlando has bought a new building featuring a shul, social hall, school and soon to be Mikvah.
- A weekday Sephardic Minyan headed by Rabbi Avshalom Baskin has started in the past year and is growing.
- The number of families living within phase one of the Eruv has tripled within the past few years.
The Orlando Center for Jewish Development, OCJD for short, was founded to help further Orthodox life in Orlando by supporting these programs and others like it as we strive to meet our goal of building Orlando from the inside and out. For those who wish to donate to the community so that Orlando can continue to grow and make its resources available please click the donate button below.
The OCJD is a 501c3 dedicated to growing the Jewish resources in Orlando. If you have specific designations for your donation please indicate the designation and it will be allocated appropriately. If you are donating to any cause that is currently running a raffle or contest, you will be automatically entered as per the contest guidelines.
Orlando appreciates your help.