Jewish literacy in your mailbox
by Cindy Mindell
Jewish Ledger
December 16, 2009
Several years ago, Springfield, Mass.-based philanthropist Harold Grinspoon was on a plane and heard a child crying. Grinspoon watched as the boy's father pulled a book out of his bag and read to his son. By the time the story was finished, the boy was asleep. Soon after, Grinspoon heard a story on National Public Radio about Dolly Parton's Imagination Library, which mails an age-appropriate book every month to pre-schoolers in underserved communities. Beginning in 1996 with Parton's home county in east Tennessee, the program grew through a nationwide network of local philanthropic donors and now serves 500,000 children throughout the country.
Grinspoon became the Imagination Library donor in Springfield, bringing Imagination Library mailings to children in his community. Four years ago, he had an idea: Why not create a program to foster Jewish literacy among Jewish preschoolers? The PJ Library was born, first in western Massachusetts, and went national and north six months later. In December 2006, the Harold Grinspoon Foundation mailed 1,500 books to Jewish homes. This month, the count was 55,000.
More than 120 communities throughout North America are part of PJ Library, each sponsored by a local Jewish organization and local donors, and each coordinated by a trained PJ Library professional. On a monthly basis, a Jewish-content book or music CD is mailed to children from age six months to five, six, seven or eight years, depending on the community. In addition to enriching Jewish life for families already connected to the community through a synagogue or other Jewish institution, PJ Library sees outreach to the unaffiliated as an equally important part of its mission.
In Connecticut, there are eight PJ Library communities: Eastern Connecticut, Eastern Fairfield County, Greenwich, Greater Hartford, New Haven, Stamford, and Western Connecticut, with Danbury starting up this month as the newest participant. While the basic mechanism of the program is the same - each enrolled child receives a book or CD - related programming is up to the local coordinator and his or her committee, supported by Harold Grinspoon Foundation staff. Judi Wisch is PJ Library community outreach consultant. She works with program coordinators to enhance the program in two major ways, providing materials and ideas to use the PJ Library as a vehicle to go beyond the books, and reaching out to unengaged families.
"PJ Library is this incredible vehicle to reach unengaged Jews," she says. "It is also a wonderful tool for every Jewish family raising Jewish children, particularly those who aren't centrally connected with Jewish communities, who live in outlying suburbs, or who don't have a connection. In some cases, PJ Library might be their only connection. There aren't many projects out there that meet families where they are, with no strings attached."
Vivian Rockmacher is PJ Library coordinator at the Jewish Center for Community Services of Eastern Fairfield County. The program currently serves approximately 300 children ages six months to seven years. "There are so many benefits," says Rockmacher, whose two young children are also enrolled. "The child gets this book in the mail once a month and it's a nice story that helps you engage your children in a conversation about Judaism. The stories inspire conversation both when we read them and later on. And as an adult, the stories remind me of all the wonderful things I thought about Judaism as a kid, growing up with Orthodox grandparents. As a result, it helps me make a Jewish home because my kids are more eager to participate when they understand things they learned in the stories."
Rockmacher organizes PJ Library family programming as well, reading stories at community events organized by Chabad of Fairfield. Coordinators hold events both to bring together existing PJ Library families and to attract new ones, and often collaborate with other community organizations. "We have a traveling tabletop display and the program is promoted at all UJA Federation of Greenwich events," says Greenwich coordinator Tracy Daniels, whose program serves 250 children to age seven. "We also look for opportunities to collaborate or co-sponsor or have a presence at naturally occurring events in the community, at Westchester Fairfield Hebrew Academy, area synagogues, and community organizations, as well as at public-space events like those held at bookstores." A parent planning committee helps identify and plan these opportunities.
New Haven coordinator Rich Walter recently hired Saskia Swenson Moss, coordinator of family and youth education, to focus on PJ Library programming. With 600 children enrolled at any given time, New Haven offers three types of events: story times at a variety of locations, including public libraries, local bookstores, the JCC, and local synagogues; Joyfully Jewish holiday-related programs in conjunction with the JCC; and partnership programs with other local organizations like Ezra Academy and Jewish preschools, as well as intergenerational events with Hadassah and the Tower One/Tower East senior residences. Earlier this month, New Haven partnered with the secular Women & Family Life Center in Guilford for the fifth annual Festival of Lights, a shoreline outreach program that predates PJ Library. These efforts often attract new families, Walter says, who are either unaffiliated Jews or intermarried.
"PJ Library connects families to the stories, to one another, and to the community," Walter says. "We see the program as an incredible gateway, a non-pressure threshold where parents can learn about the other things we have to offer, and be engaged in other forms of Jewish education and experience with their kids."
Greater Hartford hosts programs throughout the year at area synagogues and dayschools, and at the Mandell JCC's young family events. During Chanukah, PJ Library organizes story times at Barnes and Noble; this year, coordinators Aviva Braunshweiger and Jane Pasternak organized a bash at Macy's in West Farms Mall.
Pasternak, who heads up the JCC's popular Family Room Parenting Center, and Braunshweiger see the program as a good opportunity to promote parenting skills and to offer ideas for enhancing the PJ Library reading experience. The first book sent to enrolled families is "The Blessing of a Skinned Knee: Using Jewish Teachings to Raise Self-Reliant Children," by Wendy Mogel. Subsequently, each children's book is accompanied by a parenting guide with ideas for craft projects and discussion questions. "This really encourages parents to read with their kids and talk about aspects of Jewish heritage, whether it's a book about Shabbat or challah-making," says Braunshweiger. "The books relate to each Jewish holiday, to Jewish values like charity and visiting the sick, and all in a non-infringing way that brings Jewish values into a home that may not usually emphasize them."
In Eastern Connecticut, PJ Library programming is a monthly playgroup, led by coordinator Laura Frommer. Parents and children come together to read and do a craft, and sometimes have a joint program with the pre-kindergarten class at Solomon Schechter Academy in New London. Jerry Fischer, executive director of Jewish Federation of Eastern Connecticut, saw PJ Library as a way to bring together parents with young children. The program also attracts non-affiliated Jews, Frommer says.
"It's a very worthwhile program to reach intermarried couples and it's a great outreach tool," says Cynthia Burger, coordinator in Western Connecticut. "I go into community libraries and do a story hour and have found a lot of intermarried families that way. They then sign up for PJ Library."
Greenwich is the first Connecticut community to offer a special program to PJ Library "graduates," a free one-year membership to JLand, an online virtual Jewish world created by Israeli software developer Compedia.
"Parents develop a special community around these great books, and they carry on their friendships and bring other friends and form playgroups," says coordinator Tracy Daniels. "But what comes after age seven? When the kids become preteens, they prepare for bar/bat mitzvah, but from seven to 10, how can we keep them active and connected Jewishly? JLand is the next level for us to keep our kids connected to Jewish culture and Israel."
According to PJ Library community outreach consultant Judi Wisch, studies show 92 percent of PJ Library families giving the program a top rating, and 79 percent reading a PJ Library book with their children at least once a week. The Harold Grinspoon Foundation commissioned Jewish Education Service of North America (JESNA) to conduct the first national impact study of PJ Library, and anticipates a report by the end of April.