Newport Beach is now home to a brand-new Jewish center, special needs facility and Holocaust museum. Congresswoman Michelle Steel (CA-48) and other local government officials, along with representatives from all segments of the community, attended the recent Grand Opening festivities and ribbon cutting ceremony.
The Chabad Center for Jewish Life welcomes those of all backgrounds into its beautiful new home, featuring an inspirational sanctuary, an exquisitely appointed social hall, and modern classrooms which will offer learning for all. An on-site library holds a robust collection of Jewish books with rotating exhibits of Judaic artifacts and memorabilia of Jewish interest designed to appeal to visitors of all ages. From this beautiful new facility, Chabad will continue its legacy of providing funds and services for the needy and under-served among us and offering creative outreach programs to the Jewish community at large.
Various therapy hubs will provide vital services to the special needs community in the state-of-the-art Friendship Circle Center for Special Needs. A vibrant Art Therapy Studio will provide art instruction and nurture creativity to generate positive behavioral changes; the professionally equipped Instructional Kitchen will develop and expand the culinary skills of young adults with the goal of training them for jobs in food service; and the Snoezelen Multi-Sensory Therapy Room will both calm and stimulate the user, leading to reduced anxiety and agitation, and thereby to more effective therapy sessions for the special children.
A collection of over 700 artifacts from the Auschwitz concentration camp make up the Orange County Holocaust Museum. These items were retrieved from Poland by local Holocaust survivor Mel Mermelstein. The museum will serve to educate tens of thousands of students across Orange County, and inspire a new generation to greater tolerance, moral courage, and personal integrity.
The new facility is located at 2240 University Drive, Newport Beach. For more information, please visit jewishnewport.com or call (949) 721-9800.