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Ari Gershon and Litza Stark are two pillars of the ACI community. While both are transplants from other areas, they have lived in Astoria together since 2006 and their family has grown to include their sons Eli, Ezra, and Joshua. Ari and Litza first joined the Center in 2010 when their oldest son, Eli, was a baby. The couple said they were attracted to ACI by the then-new Tot Shabbat program and all of the families that they met there. Ari and Litza noted that in the ensuing years, they have now seen many of those Tot Shabbat participants grow up to become B’nai Mitzvot at ACI!

Ari and Litza noted that belonging to a Jewish community in their neighborhood was always a crucial matter for their family. They said, “We loved that we could walk to services and share holiday and Shabbat celebrations with people who lived close by. We were especially attracted by the way that ACI has always welcomed those from a variety of backgrounds and with different levels of engagement with Judaism.”

The Gershon-Stark family became deeply engaged in many aspects of ACI. Ari and Litza noted that the Center’s small but powerful congregation can only survive when individual members put in the work to keep it going. As needs arose, Ari and Litza stepped forward in differing capacities to help with work that needed to be done. Our Honorees shared, “It’s especially meaningful to be a part of a community where we’re not simply in an audience, but help play a role in shaping the rituals and the nature of the community. Though it’s hard work, it feels good to be in a place where one or two people can really make a difference, and where it truly matters whether each person shows up.”

As their children grew to school age, Ari and Litza, along with several other families, established the ACI Hebrew School in 2014 to meet the need for a Jewish education program in Astoria. Ari, in particular, has steered the program as it has grown substantially during the past ten years.