Greater Boston Jewish Coalition for Literacy (GBJCL)
A Program of Jewish Community Relations Council of Greater Boston
The Greater Boston Jewish Coalition for Literacy (GBJCL) mobilizes the Jewish community to help elementary school children discover the joy of reading. Through partnerships with synagogues, Jewish community organizations, day schools and local businesses GBJCL engages volunteers in school based one-to-one reading tutoring, book drives and advocacy efforts in under-served communities. The GBJCL provides professional training and resources to enable program participants to provide the most effective support to the students and schools they serve.
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Our Blogs
A Closer Look, Part 4: A Homeschooler Goes to School
GBJCL trains volunteers of all ages. Most young volunteers serve through GBJCL’s partnership with the TELEM service learning program which engages teen and tweens in...
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Social Activism
A Closer Look, Part 3: How to Fit Tutoring into a 100-hour Work Week
In 2008 when Lane Berry (which later became Raymond James) Associate Ben Kaplan was offered the opportunity by his coworker to tutor students at a...
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Social Activism
A Closer Look, Part 2: An Intergenerational Partnership
I recently visited two unique GBJCL groups that each travel as a team to tutoring. They are from Jewish Community Housing for the Elderly (JCHE)’s...
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Social Activism
A Closer Look, Part 1: You’re Never Too Old for a Read Aloud
One thing that stands out for me about GBJCL is the flexibility of the program. We strive to help each school and its partner organization...
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Social Activism
Letters of Thanks
“I just have to show you this letter my student wrote me!” When I speak with volunteers about GBJCL, they often mention the illustrated cards...
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Social Activism
Back to School
I returned to my elementary school this past fall. It had been years since I’ve visited, and I was impressed to see the new carpets,...
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Social Activism
A New Volunteer Continues his Father’s Legacy
This blog post is dedicated to the memory of Mr. Lee Shulman, who volunteered for 14 years with GBJCL (nearly as long as our program’s...
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Social Activism
A Labor of Love
I cannot emphasize enough how much we appreciate all our GBJCL volunteers, returning and new. Please know that we truly value each and every volunteer’s...
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Social Activism
