Local PJ Library a win-win for parents and kids
by Barb Bayer
The Kansas City Jewish Chronicle
January 08, 2010
Children, and their parents, have embraced The PJ Library since it began in Kansas City almost three years ago. By the end of 2009, almost 800 local Jewish children between the ages of 6 months and 8 years were enrolled in the program and receive an age-appropriate Jewish book or CD from The PJ Library each month. As one of its twice-yearly special events, The PJ Library, a program of the Jewish Federation, will present the Mama Doni Band on Sunday, Jan. 17.
Karen Gerson, the local PJ Library director as well director of information education for CAJE, the educational arm of the Jewish Federation, said The Mama Doni band is “Jewish rock with a twist for all ages.”
“She specifically performs for the 0 to 8 to 10-year-old crowd,” Gerson said. “The great thing about Mama Doni is that she’s engaging and she’s involved in her concerts. She gets off the stage and dances and gets involved with the kids. She has a great stage presence.”
Gerson said PJ Library’s other event this year will be the second annual PJ in the Park at Harmon Park in Prairie Village on June 13. Each family brings their own lunch and can participate in activities which will include balloon artists, make-up artists and bubbles.
“These events are a great opportunity for families to come and enjoy each other’s company. The important thing about PJ Library, at least for this community, is that we didn’t bring it in just for the books. The hope was that families would feel comfortable enough to come to a program and meet other families that were like minded. The books were the first step,” Gerson explained.
Todd Stettner, Federation’s executive vice president and CEO, believes The PJ Library has been a “phenomenal success.”
“The number of families who show up is incredible and it allows us to reach out to people we wouldn’t normally reach. Hopefully, it will lay the path to for parents to get their kids engaged whether it’s in Jewish preschool or religious school or holiday celebrations,” he said.
The local program is affiliated with the national PJ Library, established in 2005 by the Harold Grinspoon Foundation. Funding is provided by the local Federation, local donors and the Harold Grinspoon Foundation.
Gerson, who is the mother of a 6-year-old son Gilli, works with the program both professionally and personally.
“The variety and the topics are really expressive. We received a book about God and then Gilli started asking about God. Then a couple of months ago we received a book about a girl who lives in Israel and her father is an archaeologist. It was amazing. I’ve never seen a book about archaeology written through a child’s eye,” she said.
Gerson believes the program meets the needs of children, parents and grandparents. When the books arrive, they come with a resource guide for the adults.
A lay committee, consisting of at least one volunteer from each synagogue and Jewish preschool as well as Chabad, TLC, JCC and HBHA, helps get the word out about The PJ Library. The committee also plans and implements the programs and suggested an electronic newsletter, which is written and organized by committee members.
Committee member Jody Hanson said her children, 9-year-old Ben and 6-year-old Abby, are always excited to get the Jewish books and CDs addressed to them in the mail. She also likes the special events.
“It really brings the Jewish community together. I’ve met a lot of people from different congregations and different groups, people that I know I never would have met,” said Hanson, a member of Congregation Beth Torah.
She said the program is “such a win-win” for her family.
“I think that the reason Jewish families aren’t involved with it is just because they haven’t heard of it yet,” she said. “I think the benefits are huge for any family in the community.”
In addition to the committee, Gerson said PJ Library’s local success can also be attributed to two people who helped get it off the ground: Tamara Schuster, who was working with the Genesis program at the time, and PJ Library’s first coordinator Missy Goldenberg.
“Missy did a phenomenal job,” Gerson said.