The CJP North Shore Grants Committee met in June to discuss and review applications for this year’s 2017 North Shore Community Grants. The $28,300 grant pool encourages North Shore Jewish organizations and individuals to work together to create innovative programs and initiatives that address the North Shore Jewish community’s most pressing needs. The Grants Committee evaluated twelve applications on the merit of their alignment with the following funding priorities:

  • High quality Jewish education (for children, teens and adults)
  • Programs that engage families with young children and teens that have previously not been engaged with Jewish life
  • Social service programs, including for people with disabilities and those who are economically vulnerable
  • Leadership development for the Next Generation
  • Programs that focus on Israel engagement

The following organizations were awarded grants for programs that will begin this fall.

The Grantees and Programs

Temple B’nai Abraham: Pe’ah Garden

This grant is for Temple B’nai Abraham to double the size of its Pe’ah Garden and related hands-on activities to teach all generations about Jewish values, holidays and prayer, help people connect spiritually, and build community.

Temple Emanu-El

The goal of Paperback Jukebox is to develop relationships with Jewish families with young children who are not inclined to participate in a traditional temple-sponsored program. The program centers on music and books geared for children ages 2-5, and weaves Jewish content into a children’s music routine. Because it is hosted in a public building, all are welcome, and the age demographic ranges from 6 months to 6 years. Unaffiliated Jewish families who would not think of attending a program in a temple attend a free program at the local public library. This grant will allow the program to expand geographically to other locations on the North Shore and to update the program’s structure and content.

New England Yachad of the Orthodox Union: North Shore Programming

This grant will help Yachad expand the breadth and depth of Yachad’s programming on the North Shore. Yachad aims to enhance the life opportunities of individuals with and without disabilities, ensuring their full participation in the full spectrum of Jewish life. Through creative arts and recreational activities, Yachad will expand programming to reach more of the North Shore’s 23 communities, increase parent and family support services, create new meaningful partnerships in the region, and identify new peers and volunteers who will enjoy and benefit from Yachad.

North Shore Teen Initiative: Middle School Initiative with Cohen Hillel Academy

This grant builds upon a collaborative program that was implemented on a limited trial basis last year. It will enable Jewish organizations on the North Shore to offer Jewish middle school (grades 6-8) students a diverse menu of opportunities which include (but are not limited to) social, experiential, and interest-based opportunities, tikkun olam (repairing the world), and leadership building programming.

Cohen Hillel Academy

This grant will fund the development and implementation of Shabbat Unplugged, a weekend to strengthen connections among synagogues and Cohen Hillel families on the North Shore while exposing these families to a meaningful camp-like experience. Shabbat Unplugged will provide participating families a holistic Shabbat experience including educational opportunities, music and tefillah, sports and recreation, and communal meals over which to relax and get to know each other in a camp environment. This weekend will provide families from different organizations and synagogues with different levels of observance to come together as one community.

Jewish Family & Children’s Service; Schecter Holocaust Services

Schechter Holocaust Services (SHS) is committed to ensuring that Holocaust survivors have the support they need to age with dignity while maintaining meaningful connections with one another and with the Jewish community. The program provides access to home care, benefits advocacy/financial assistance, and social programs. This grant will fund efforts to meet the basic needs of aging Holocaust survivors on the North Shore while allowing them to remain safe and age comfortably in their own homes. The grant will be used for vital home care services for the most vulnerable survivors on the North Shore.

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