PJ Library: Books Are Just the Start
As we enter this new year, we would like to take a moment to reflect on PJ Library in Atlanta’s successes this summer and share some plans.
“Apples and Honey: A Rosh Hashanah Lift-the-Flap Book” helps us have a meaningful conversation with our children about the significance of the shofar and the round challah in a fun, child-friendly manner.
Every night before bed, we read Jewish books to our kids and have many stories because of PJ Library.
For those who are unfamiliar, PJ Library in Atlanta sends over 2,700 Jewish-themed, age-appropriate, free books every month as a gift from our Jewish community and offers over 50 high-quality programs throughout the year.
As we enter this new year, we would like to take a moment to reflect on PJ Library in Atlanta’s successes this summer and share some plans.
This summer we launched A PJ Library Summer, a summer series that aimed to create neighborhood-based Jewish communities to welcome families through smaller and more individualized programs.
We are thrilled to share that 138 families — that’s more than 460 people — attended 13 gatherings in 11 neighborhoods over three months. According to our survey, 97 percent agreed that attending this event made them want to attend another Jewish event in Atlanta.
We brought Jewish programming to larger audiences, with 38 percent of participants not having attended any other program by a Jewish organization in the past two months.
We are energized by these results and plan to continue this model. Please look for upcoming information on fall programming for grandparents and their young grandkids.
In addition, PJ Library in Atlanta received a grant from the Harold Grinspoon Foundation that will enable us to hire several part-time PJ baby connectors in underserved areas, with the aim of connecting families who have children under the age of 3.
Our plans also include continuing to partner with many day schools, synagogues and other community organizations.
Coming soon is the fourth annual Book It to Shabbat weekend in partnership with Ramah Darom. The weekend — Oct. 20 to 22 — is our very own version of “Camp Wonderful Wild” (whose author was our author in residence in 2015) and features nature hikes, story time with a fabulous PJ Library author, a family Shabbat experience and much more.
In 5777, we sent over 31,400 PJ Library books to families in Atlanta, and we hope to bring even more books this year to our community. We look forward to continuing to build Jewish communities through books, programs and partnerships for families in greater Atlanta, and we hope that you will join us in this effort. L’shana tova u’metuka!
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