SPRINGFIELD – The Springfield Jewish Community Center (JCC) has established a new scholarship in remembrance of the late Rabbi Mark Dov Shapiro. The Rabbi Mark Dov Shapiro Memorial Fund for Social Justice was initiated by Springfield attorney Gary Weiner, whose goal was to honor Shapiro’s life and legacy by helping lower-income families send their children to summer camp at the JCC.

Shapiro served as spiritual leader of Springfield’s Sinai Temple for 28 years. He was the first “rabbi in residence” at Christ Church Cathedral and was an active member of the Interfaith Council of Western Massachusetts. He was deeply committed to social justice issues, according to Weiner. Shapiro passed away in July at the age of 70.

“Mark Shapiro was someone who continually crossed boundaries, spiritually and socially, to strive for inclusion of all individuals, whether they were Jewish or not. In setting up this scholarship, it is my way to, hopefully, be part of the solution as we all try to bring people together of different faiths and cultures,” said Weiner in a press release.

Although COVID-19 prevented the JCC from having their annual summer camp this year, CEO of the JCC, Michael Paysnick, is hopeful that it will continue in 2021.

“I think both Rabbi Shapiro and Gary know how deeply impactful summer camp can be on young children and how meaningful it can be in future years. This enables the JCC to provide scholarships so that kids from Greater Springfield who might not otherwise be able to participate in summer camp to do so at the JCC,” said Paysnick.

Summer camp at the JCC consists of preschool age children all the way up to young teens. Usual activities include sports, arts and crafts, swimming, lessons on culture, ropes courses, dancing, singing and more.

In 2020, the JCC shifted to create a “Camp in a Box” due to the virus.

“Camp in a Box” delivered approximately 900 boxes to families in the Greater Springfield area and beyond. The boxes included a variety of activities for children to work on to stay active and creative. Jewish Family Service worked with the JCC to help provide these boxes and to translate the instructions into a variety of languages so that all families could be included.

According to Paysnick, the purpose of camp is to have fun, but also to educate children on diversity and inclusion.

"Camp is about having fun, but it’s also about learning to be a good citizen of the world,” he said.

The JCC plans to send out information on the upcoming summer camp in early 2021. JCC employees are still working out what will be possible due to COVID-19, said Paysnick. There is no set due date for applications yet, though Paysnick predicts it will fall sometime within March or April.

The Rabbi Mark Dov Shapiro Memorial Fund for Social Justice will cover a portion of summer camp costs and will hopefully grow over time.

“It’s based on need and we’re going to serve as many people as we possibly can through this. As the scholarship fund grows we hope to be able to serve additional children and families,” said Paysnick.

The new scholarship will help diversify the JCC’s summer camp and offer many children new experiences.

“It will make our camp more enriched and provide children from different cultures, backgrounds and socioeconomic conditions to really learn and be with each other so that we can create a world that’s better for all of us. We begin at a very young age and camp is an important piece of that,” said Paysnick.

Those interested in learning more about the Springfield JCC or contributing to the Rabbi Mark Dov Shapiro Memorial Fund for Social Justice are encouraged to call at 739-4751 or email Seth Stutman at sstutman@springfieldjcc.org. Online donations are also accepted at springfieldjcc.org.