The Harold Grinspoon Foundation is excited to announce three new PJ Library Alliance Spark Engagement Grants have been awarded to expand and deepen engagement opportunities for families raising Jewish children across North America.
These grants support the growing field of Jewish farming and focus on using farms as platforms for Jewish education and engagement and fund new or expanded initiatives to meaningfully engage families raising young Jewish children who are not regularly participating in Jewish or PJ Library programming. These grants are helping PJ library grow and diversify its work by piloting models that can be adapted across the PJ Library network, which currently includes more than 200 partners.
The selected initiatives will work closely with PJ Library as well as connect together as a cohort. These grants are helping PJ library grow and diversify its work by piloting models that can be adapted across the PJ Library network, which currently includes more than 200 partners.
Spark Engagement Grants are part of a five-year strategy to extend Jewish engagement in North America through the support of the PJ Library Alliance. Partners in the Alliance are the Azrieli Foundation; Carl and Joann Bianco; the Crown Family; William Davidson Foundation; William and Audrey Farber Philanthropic Fund; Genesis Philanthropy Group; Diane and Guildford Glazer / Jewish Community Foundation of Los Angeles; Jim Joseph Foundation; The Marcus Foundation, Inc.; Howard and Geraldine Polinger Family Foundation; Mike and Sofia Segal Family Foundation; Susser Family Trust; Walter, Arnee, Sarah, and Aaron Winshall; Zucker Family Foundation; and two anonymous partners.
These selected initiatives will receive training support from PJ Library and our network of current partners to develop and implement best practices in creating welcoming, low barrier, meaningful programs for families raising Jewish children.
Milk and Honey Farm, Boulder JCC, Boulder Colorado
Farmside Shabbat, Baby Goat Shavuot, and More!
Milk and Honey Farm is a new educational farm at the Boulder JCC, home to goats, chickens, a greenhouse, a small fruit orchard, a ¼ acre Tzedakah Garden which provides produce to food insecure populations of Boulder County, and an educational garden. Milk and Honey Farm will introduce new programs for families with young children, including a Farmside Shabbat, Jewish family yoga, and holiday programming, including “Baby Goat Shavuot”. Milk and Honey Farm will also offer Jewish children’s programming at local farmer’s markets to reach previously unengaged families.
Eden Village Camp Putnam Valley, NY
Shabbat on the Farm with PJ Library
Eden Village Camp is residential organic farm camp dedicated to creating a more environmentally sustainable, socially just, and spiritually connected world. Eden Village Camp will create both off-site and on-site family programs designed to connect Jewish families to the earth, community, Judaism and spirituality. Spring and Fall programs in farms in neighboring towns will focus on food and farming skills that connect the land to Judaism for families; ongoing summer programming at Eden Village will focus on Shabbat education and enrichment.
Jewish Farm School, Philadelphia, PA
Urban Gan Explorers
Jewish Farm School provides education programs rooted in Jewish traditions and values that equip and mobilize Jews to be part of creating and maintaining a just, equitable, and sustainable food system. Urban Gan Explorers will engage children ages 2-6 and their parents in weekly garden-based educational programming at the Jewish Farm School Garden in West Philadelphia related to the themes of the season and the cycles of the Hebrew calendar.
For more information about PJ Library Alliance Engagement grants, email us here.
January 24, 2018