​​​​​​​This week a crisis was narrowly avoided at the Margolin Hebrew Academy in Memphis, Tennessee when an individual with a handgun attempted to enter the school and fired at the building. Thankfully, the protocols kept the offender out of the building and security cameras captured the information needed for law enforcement to identify and quickly apprehend the offender. Security experts are crediting the outcome to investments in security infrastructure and constant preparation.  

In the words of Secure Community Network's (SCN) National Director & CEO, Michael Masters, "The coordinated response from the institution, community, and law enforcement was neither an accident nor luck: it is a validation of the coordinated model SCN and Federations around the country have been implementing - from information sharing to training - and the outstanding leaders and partners who execute it."

It's moments like this that remind us how essential this national model is to ensure that, like Memphis, every Jewish community has a security initiative to train schools, synagogues and community centers on how to stay safe.  

It's moments like this that remind us how critical our UJCVP Secure Community Initiative is. Through our partnership with SCN we continuously evaluate and enhance our community's safety, security, and emergency preparedness posture - not only on the campus, but throughout the community. The UJCVP provides these services free of charge to our synagogue partners and other community agencies.

It's moments like this that remind us how important both training and funding from the National Non-Profit Security Grant Program and the State of Virginia are to securing our community.  And the work of our Community Relations Council in advocating for them.  

It's your turn to help our community stay safe. The UJCVP is committed to providing security training to the entire community. Please be a lifesaver by participating in our upcoming Community Security Training. See below for more information and to sign up.

And remember, if you see something, say something. The online security reporting form on our website is completely anonymous. The information you provide will be submitted to our Regional Security Advisor, Dave Brackins, and the SCN Duty Desk.​​​​​​​ 

Shabbat Shalom,
Eric Maurer
Executive Director 
emaurer@ujcvp.org