Innovators: Ana Robbins
Ana Robbins, founder and executive director, Jewish Kids Groups
Jewish Kids Groups, an independent Hebrew school and after-school program, has grown in three years to serve 200 children in Atlanta. Robbins’ organization targets kids who are not synagogue members or live in interfaith families.
Without synagogue affiliation, many families struggle to find an adequate Jewish education for their children, and the Jewish community often loses those children. JKG fills that need.
Robbins strives to offer experiential, camplike learning that fosters a personal connection between students and the subject matter they are learning. JKG is a hybrid of day school programming, Hebrew school, and hands-on, physical experiences.
JKG also provides leadership experience to the Jewish teens and young adults who serve as counselors and assistant teachers.
Like Jewish Student Union and the Atlanta Jewish Music Festival, JKG was one of the nonprofits pitched to the philanthropist sharks at Federation’s “Shark Tank” event in 2013.
By creating a program that fuses a day school model with an after-school program, Robbins has provided a valuable resource to unaffiliated and interfaith Jewish families and thus Jewish Atlanta.
“We have really specific learning outcomes,” Robbins said. “We’re very much focused on building Jewish social networks and celebrating holidays together.”
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