Families raising young children today are seeking meaningful community-building opportunities on their own terms.

Through our celebrated initiative, jkidphilly, we meet families in welcoming spaces around Greater Philadelphia to connect them to each other, resources, and happenings around the Jewish community. We also work with congregations in the Berger Network to apply our proven engagement strategies in their own settings.

Through jkidphilly, Jewish Learning Venture manages PJ Library and PJ Our Way in Philadelphia. Additionally, jkidphilly offers a wide variety of programming for families and for parents/caregivers; resource toolkits for Jewish holidays, lifecycle events, and values; and the Get Together Grant, which reimburses families up to $100 to create Jewish experiences for them and 1–3 other families with young children.

Visit jkidphilly!

why it matters

Families raising young children today are seeking community and meaning, but in different ways than in previous generations. Multi-dimensional family are searching for ways to live healthy and meaningfully connected lives.

In order to be equipped for their lifelong Jewish journeys, families need welcoming, accessible, and compelling Jewish experiences that help them make Judaism meaningful and relevant in their day-to-day lives.

Jewish Learning Venture implements these programs to support families with young children. ➝

jkidphilly, the signature program of Jewish Learning Venture (JLV), connects families raising children in a Jewish context to each other, resources, and happenings around the Greater Philadelphia Jewish community. Wide-ranging programs focus on holidays, mitzvah projects, playdates, parents’ and caregivers’ nights out, and more! JLV also provides extensive resources for families to use to learn more about holidays, Israel, Jewish values and more. Through jkidACCESS, JLV helps to ensure that families find the support and accommodations needed for ALL children to take part in Jewish life, including sensory-friendly programs and parent seminars on adapting Jewish home rituals, as well as downloadable resources on inclusion. The JLV website includes a community calendar of events and programs, holiday resources and a searchable directory for schools and early-childhood education programs.
PJ Library sends free high-quality Jewish children’s books to families every month. These stories spark conversations that inspire the whole family to explore and celebrate what they love about Jewish life.

The program was created by the nonprofit Harold Grinspoon Foundation (HGF) who partners with local Jewish organizations to fund PJ Library and make it available in their community. Jewish Learning Venture is the organization that manages PJ Library for families in the Greater Philadelphia Community.

PJ Our Way is the next chapter of PJ LIbrary for kids ages 9-12. It is available free of charge throughout the United States. Every month kids can come to this site to choose the book they want to receive. Kids can also submit reviews and videos about the books and participate in the PJ Our Way Blog.
Inclusion for children with special needs: sensory-friendly jkidphilly programs, visual supports, parent seminars about adapting Jewish practices, and one-on-one consultation.
Berger Synagogue Network for Young Families: support for synagogues to develop new approaches to engage families with young children, with the support of Jewish Learning Venture staff.

HOW WE CAN HELP YOU

Jewish Learning Venture is here to support families across greater Philadelphia and the organizations that work with them. Find out more:

A woman with curly hair and glasses smiling as she kneels next to two young boys, one wearing a baseball cap and reads a book to them.

For children

Sign up to receive free age-appropriate Jewish books every month with PJ Library (birth to 8.5 years old) and PJ Our Way (8.5 to 12 years old). Contact Robyn Cohen for more information about PJ Library in Philadelphia

A woman with sunglasses bends over to talk to two young children who are playing, one of them wearing a baseball cap.

For families

Check out the jkidphilly calendar with programs happening every week. And keep in touch at jkidphilly.org, Facebook and Twitter. To learn more, contact Molly Wernick.

A man with a kippah standing in the middle of two young boys who are also wearing kippahs. He is helping them with something they are learning. The boys are smiling and seem excited to be working with the man.

For congregations

The Berger Network can help you implement new engagement strategies for families. You can also learn about other congregation’s engagement programs in The Berger Synagogue Network. To learn more, contact Julia Weekes.

How You Can Help

Interested in helping more families in our community connect through Jewish programs, books, resources and more? It truly takes a village. Here’s how you can help:

Donate

Donations of any and every amount make a difference. A donation of $40 will sponsor a new PJ Library subscription, $500 will allow us to put on a jkidphilly program, and $8,500 will sponsor a Parent Ambassador for a year.

Join jkidphilly Grandparents Programming

The jkidphilly Grandparents Committee supports the efforts of jkidphilly through intergenerational programming, fundraising, and volunteer support. For more information, contact Robyn Cohen.

Tell your friends and loved ones about us!

Do you know families raising young Jewish children in the Greater Philadelphia area? Let them know that they can sign up for PJ Library (6 months to 8 years old) and PJ Our Way (9 to 11 years old). They can like us on Facebook, Twitter and sign up for our jkidphilly emails to learn about events all around the community.

Learn more

Contact Molly Wernick to find out more about how you can help us engage families with young children and help them to make Judaism meaningful and relevant for themselves.

Families with young children