Campus Partners
Learning. Culture. History. Service. Worship. All at One Address. That address is 5200 Old Mill Road.
The Rifkin Campus at 5200 brings together under one roof Congregation Achduth Vesholom, the Jewish Federation of Fort Wayne, the Fort Wayne Jewish Cemetery Association, Purdue Fort Wayne’s Institute for Holocaust and Genocide Studies, and the Northeast Indiana Jewish Genealogy Society, as well as strengthens the Temple’s long-term association with Temple Head Start, a program of Brightpoint.
Congregation Achduth Vesholom, Indiana’s oldest Jewish congregation, has been located on Old Mill Road since 1961. For some 20 years, Temple Head Start has offered preschool classes during the week in Achduth Vesholom’s Religious School wing. In early 2014, we began transitioning to our new Campus and began welcoming additional partners.
Fort Wayne Jewish Cemetery Association
The Fort Wayne Jewish Cemetery Association is the volunteer administration that oversees the Fort Wayne Jewish Cemetery, which is located at 6224 Decatur Rd., Fort Wayne, IN 46816 at the intersection of Decatur Rd. and Hystone Ave.
The Fort Wayne Jewish Cemetery was founded in 1912 by Eastern European Jews as the Orthodox Jewish Cemetery of Fort Wayne. It is now open to all Jews and is not affiliated with any congregation. (The other Jewish burial space in Fort Wayne can be found at Lindenwood Cemetery. Plots there can be purchased only by members of Congregation Achduth Vesholom. Find out more.)
Requests for information may be made to President Dan Zweig at fwjewishcemetery@gmail.com or to:
Fort Wayne Jewish Cemetery Association
c/o Rifkin Campus at 5200
5200 Old Mill Rd.
Fort Wayne, IN 46807
Gravesites are available for purchase and must be accompanied by a perpetual care fee. Check with the Jewish Cemetery Association for current prices. Donations for the upkeep of the cemetery are appreciated.
Burial lists are not yet computerized.
Jewish Federation of Fort Wayne
The Jewish Federation of Fort Wayne has made its home at the Rifkin Campus since June 2014. The Federation represents the Jewish community interests in Northeast Indiana and Northwest Ohio, working to perpetuate and sustain Jewish life through programs and services to the Jewish community and works to ensure a thriving Jewish community.b_opt.jpg)
Since 1921, the Jewish Federation has provided educational and cultural programs, helped to fight racism, and provided funds to help Jews and other people in peril here and throughout the world through a philanthropic fund drive.
The Federation provides funding assistance to encourage local Jewish youths to learn in Israel, sponsors a community-wide Holocaust Remembrance Day, hosts a People of the Book lecture, engages Fort Wayne youths each summer with Camp Joe Levine, brings in guest speakers on Israel and other topics, assists the needy through Thoughtful Thursdays and in emergency situations, and bring together the Jewish community for social events.
Purdue Fort Wayne’s Institute for Holocaust and Genocide Studies
Purdue Fort Wayne’s Institute for Holocaust and Genocide Studies opened a satellite office at the Rifkin Campus at 5200 in Fall 2016. The IHGS is the only academic center of its kind in Indiana exclusively devoted to the study of the Holocaust and other genocides
Brightpoint Head Start
For about 20 years, Brightpoint (formerly Community Action of Northeast Indiana) has offered Head Start classes on weekdays in the Temple’s Religious School wing.
Head Start is a federal program that provides preschool services and social services for parents of children ages 3-5 years old. All the families live below the poverty level. Preschool children receive health, mental health, nutrition, dental, vision, and hearing services.
In October 2010, the Fort Wayne Jewish community partnered to create Thoughtful Thursdays to assist the 30 students who attend Brightpoint Head Start at the Rifkin Campus and their families with food and educational items.
Northeast Indiana Jewish Genealogy Society
The Northeast Indiana Jewish Genealogy Society became the Temple’s newest Campus Partner in mid-2018, shortly after the organization’s incorporation. NEIJGS holds quarterly, public programs to discuss and promote Jewish genealogy, as well as several more intimate events just for members.
Their purpose is to present educational programs relevant to Jewish genealogy, to support members in their pursuit of their family histories, to collaborate with other organizations on areas of Jewish genealogical interests, and to protect, preserve and share Jewish genealogical records from the region of Northeast Indiana.
Find out about the Fort Wayne Jewish Families Project, which includes a database including yahrzeit plaques from Congregation Achduth Vesholom and the former Congregation B’nai Jacob.
The NEIJGS has been awarded the honor of hosting the 45th International Association of Jewish Genealogical Societies Conference in August 2025. The annual conference typically draws hundreds of Jewish genealogists from around the world and features presentations covering all aspects of Jewish genealogy.