ARRIVE LATE – LEAVE EARLY –
Dec. 14, 2022 – “All are invited, not just Jewish people,” he said. “We accept people from all walks of life. The concept (is to welcome) people from any race, gender, orientation and everything in between.”
JSC’s foundation is to celebrate sobriety through comradery and to prove that the absence of alcohol and drugs doesn’t mean the absence of community. But, not all who are involved with JSC are recovering from an addiction, Boxer said. Some who attended the first event — a pumpkin-carving party on Oct. 25 — simply wanted to find drug- and alcohol-free opportunities, Boxer said.
Fifteen people attended the pumpkin-carving party in the Denver home of Andy and Sandi Schwartz. They served macaroni and cheese, butternut squash soup, candy, cookies and warm, festive nonalcoholic beverages — all on autumn-themed dinnerware.
“Our intention for these events is to give everyone — not just Jewish people — a safe place to interact with other like-minded individuals,” said Arye Schwartz, one of the JSC founders who has familial relation to the hosts of the Oct. 25 event. “It’s important to have safe spaces so that those who don’t want to drink aren’t alienated.”