The Harold Grinspoon Foundation is excited to present the 2019-20 cohort of PJ Library New York Engagement Grant recipients. Funded by the PJ Library Alliance, these 11 grants ranging from $7,500-$15,000 will support programs designed to expand and deepen the engagement of families raising Jewish children in New York City, Long Island, and Westchester.
The selected initiatives offer innovative programs designed to identify and engage families who are new to the implementing organization and/or to PJ Library, and connect families to compelling and high-quality Jewish experiences in New York.
PJ Library Alliance partners include the William Davidson Foundation; The Marcus Foundation, Inc.; Genesis Philanthropy Group; The Azrieli Foundation; Jim Joseph Foundation; William and Audrey Farber Philanthropic Fund; Diane and Guilford Glazer/Jewish Community Foundation of LA; The Micah Foundation; Carl and Joann Bianco; The Crown Family; Howard and Geraldine Polinger Family Foundation; Mike and Sofia Segal Family Foundation; Susser Family Trust; Walter, Arnee, Sarah, and Aaron Winshall; Zucker Family Foundation; The Sam Berman Charitable Foundation; The Sherrie R. Savett Family Foundation; and three anonymous partners.
This year’s grantees, listed below, are divided into two categories: Local Community Organizations and Spiritual Communities/ Synagogues. Each category will serve as a community of practice, offering ongoing peer support and collective learning for the professionals implementing the programs. We look forward to working with these partners and seeing their innovative initiatives come to life.
Local Community Organizations
From Sitting Room to Soapbox: Family Programs and Engagement, The American Jewish Historical Society, New York, NY
The Emma Lazarus Project will supplement the upcoming American Jewish Historical Society exhibition, "From Sitting Room to Soapbox; Emma Lazarus and Union Square, from 1860's-1930's." The American Jewish Historical Society will create a series that provides families with the opportunity to learn about Jewish history and also engage with the Union Square community through walking tours of Union Square and "Soapbox Yoga," which is yoga practice utilizing soapboxes and with poses that reflect the Statue of Liberty and other historic themes.
"J-STEAM" - Science, Technology, Engineering, Art & Math through a Jewish Lens, JCC Of Mid Westchester Inc., Scarsdale, NY
“J-STEAM” is designed to combine the popularity of STEAM (Science, Technology, Engineering, Art, and Math) with Jewish values, holidays, traditions, and identity building. This year-round series of intergenerational programs will give parents, grandparents, and children opportunities to engage in Jewish-themed STEAM projects centered on Jewish middot (values) and celebrations. JCC of Mid Westchester will connect Jewish families to each other and the larger Jewish community by enabling them to create and learn together as they explore Jewish connections through these various modalities.
JCC Brooklyn Gowanus & Greenwood Family Engagement, Kings Bay Y/JCC Brooklyn, Brooklyn, NY
Under the umbrella "JCC Brooklyn," Kings Bay Y will expand upon its success in Brownstone Brooklyn by creating opportunities for families in Gowanus and Greenwood to connect with Jewish life using a "pop-up" JCC with and without walls model. Using youth education and family programming, such as holiday and music celebrations, JCC Brooklyn strives to build communities, create meaningful friendships, and foster deeper connections at its multiple locations throughout Brooklyn while addressing a multilingual, multi-ethnic population of all ages and diverse needs.
Moontime - a Rosh Hodesh Initiative, Marks JCH, Brooklyn, NY
Building on the successes of Pop Up PJ program in 2018-19, Marks JCH will host a new initiative, Moontime – a Rosh Hodesh, which will provide programming via JCC-without-walls style, bringing the quality of JCH young family engagement out into the broader community. Considering new parents in areas like Staten Island and South Brooklyn that lack accessible, low-barrier Jewish options, Moontime RH will provide monthly events for new parents, as well as four Jewish holiday family celebrations.
Working Mother Initiative, Mid-Island Y JCC, Plainview, NY
One of the most difficult moments of being a mom is returning to work after having a baby. The Mid-Island Y JCC will expand its Parenting Center’s focus on Jewish new moms who live in Nassau and Suffolk County. This new program of the Parenting Center will provide much-needed support for first time new moms, while introducing them to other Jewish moms on Long Island and providing them with resources to bring Judaism into their family from the start, thus creating a community of well-connected Jewish working moms who come together for support and to raise their children in a Jewish home.
Families Serving Together with Repair the World NYC, Repair the World NYC, New York, NY
Building on the success of the past three years of family engagement work in NYC, and recognizing Harlem families’ increasing desire for high-quality service learning opportunities, Repair the World NYC (Repair) will host monthly weekend service projects for families with children under seven years old in Harlem. These monthly programs will meet a gap in opportunities for very young children and their families to engage meaningfully in service and age-appropriate conversation around social justice and Jewish values.
Building Bridges: Uptown Together, YM&YWHA of Washington Heights and Inwood, Washington Heights, NY
"Building Bridges: Uptown Together" is designed to engage diverse families and draw them closer together, through six events. Focusing on one of its most popular events in the 2018-19 New York Engagement Grant initiative, a dinner series will be central to the new program helping build and strengthen the growing community of families. Building community will be a year-round focus, engaging with families between dinners, inviting them to relevant events at the Y and in the community, encouraging them to meet up with each other between dinners, and offering fun Shabbat resources (clips of songs, recipes, wisdom from favorite PJ Library books, etc).
Spiritual Communities/ Synagogues
Emanu-El Explorers On the Go, Congregation Emanu-El of the City of New York, New York, NY
Emanu-El Explorers On the Go is a drop-in program for families with children ages 3-6 (and their siblings). Each session will be stand-alone or can be done as a series. Through crafts, music, cooking, and PJ Library stories, families will explore what they stand for and care about as a family, through such themes as making sacred time (Shabbat), kindness and fairness (tzedakah), and identity through stories (Torah). Sessions are located conveniently in buildings’ community rooms or other neighborhood locations hosted by one or more Emanu-El parents.
Shabbat with our Neighbors, Malkhut: Progressive Jewish Spirituality in Queens, Jackson Heights, NY
Expanding upon its success from “Taste of Shabbat” in 2018-19, Malkhut will host “Shabbat with our Neighbors,” taking place on eight Saturday mornings, with four events in private apartments and four in community spaces/parks. Apartment-based events will engage families in a hands-on activity, a pizza lunch, and Shabbat songs/blessings; the larger intergenerational events will feature singing, blessings and a catered meal with programming for both children and adults.
Family Gatherings with PJ Library, Sanctuary: A Co-Op for Jewish Living, Larchmont, NY
Sanctuary will launch a monthly initiative called "Family Gatherings" for families with children ages 4-6. Family Gatherings will offer Jewish family experiences taking place on Shabbat and in preparation for Jewish holidays to build genuine relationships between families, facilitate playful and thoughtful Jewish encounters, and empower children, parents, and grandparents to be active participants and co-creators of Jewish life. While this basic structure will be the same each month, the location will alternate between people's homes and rented storefront spaces. Sanctuary travels, bringing a special, intentional atmosphere to wherever people gather together.
Shaboom, Temple Beth Shalom of Mahopac, Mahopac, NY
Shaboom will offer high quality programming throughout the year, providing families access to Jewish and parenting resources, while connecting families to one another to create positive Jewish experiences. Aiming to provide low-barrier programming and positive engagement within the Jewish community of Northern Westchester, which includes Yorktown, Somers, Katonah, Bedford, Croton-on-Hudson and North/South Salem, the "First Fridays" Shabbat program will meet bi-monthly on the first Shabbat evening of the month featuring a different theme and incorporating a family meal, craft project, PJ Library storytime/music, and recreational play.
August 21, 2019