Eagle Scouts complete service projects at Levite Jewish Community Center

Local Scouts David Applebaum and Elle Warren completed service projects at the Levite Jewish Community Center (LJCC) this spring in fulfillment of their Eagle Scout requirements. These unique projects add points of interest to the community center and provide school children and community members with new resources.

Applebaum, a member of Bluff Park Troop 21, constructed an interactive musical wall in the outdoor STEAM classroom of the Cohn Early Childhood Learning Center (ECLC) at the LJCC. The wall consists of several double-sided wood panels featuring instrumentation made from PVC pipes, pots and pans, wind chimes and various recycled and homemade noisemakers. The musical wall will allow children to build motor skills, work cooperatively with their peers and explore music in a new way.

Applebaum created a GoFundMe page to raise money for materials and construction costs. His page explained his passion for this project. His own preschool and camp experiences at the J “made such a big impact on my life, I wanted to show my gratitude and appreciation.” Director of Early Childhood Education, Barbara Traweek said, “His choice to give back to the ECLC means the world to us.”

A student at the preschool until the age of 5, Applebaum also attended summer camp at the LJCC from ages 6 to 14. This summer he is serving as a counselor-in-training for Camp LJCC. 

Elle Warren of Troop 86 Green, an all-female Boy Scouts of America Troop, also completed her service project at the LJCC this spring. She constructed a mountain bike skills feature called a “teeter-totter,” which allows bikers to practice balance. This feature can be found on the head of the trail that begins behind the tennis courts. The hiking and biking trails at the LJCC are accessible to all members of the local community regardless of membership.

Warren mountain bikes the trails at the LJCC weekly and races for a local National Interscholastic Cycling Association team. She has seen teeters in other state parks and wanted to build a similar feature for her community. She was excited to plan a service project that brought together her Scout Troop and mountain- biking friends.

Warren grew up attending Cub Scout meetings and camp outs with her brother and father. She began her journey to Eagle Scout in 2019 when girls were first allowed to join the Boy Scouts of America. Troop 86 Green is one of the first two all-female troops in Central Alabama. There are 22 girls in Warren’s troop, and she is the second to achieve Eagle Scout.

The LJCC is the only Jewish community center in the state of Alabama, drawing an estimated 10,000 individuals annually of all races, ethnicities and faiths at all stages of life to its fitness, aquatics, and education center. Thirty percent of its membership identifies as Jewish while the remaining 70% includes members of all faiths. 

The LJCC’s mission is to offer opportunities for those in the greater Birmingham community to be well—in mind, body and soul—in an inclusive, safe and enriching environment. The traditional fitness services include personal training, fitness classes, and sports leagues. The LJCC also provides high quality preschool through the Cohn Early Childhood Learning Center, summer Camp LJCC for K-8th graders and youth sports.

Learn more about the LJCC at bhamjcc.org.

– Submitted by Michelle Little, LJCC, and edited for length by Village Living.