'The PJ Library' Jewish Identity Initiative, Inspired by Dolly Parton Children's Book Gifting Program, Gets $2.5 Million Grant from Gri

Springfield, MA (PRWEB) June 4, 2007 -- The PJ Library, the highly effective Jewish children's book and music gifting program that builds Jewish identity in young families, has received an additional $2.5 million matching grant by the Harold Grinspoon Foundation, to expand its reach to 10,000 children by the end of 2007. The program's founder, innovative Western Massachusetts philanthropist Harold Grinspoon, continually thanks a surprising mentor -- Dolly Parton.

In 1996, Parton created the Imagination Library to supply tots up to age five in her home county in Appalachia with much needed brand new books, free-of-charge. More often than not, it was the first time they ever had even one book to call their very own. The program now runs in 675 communities and mails to 40,000 children each month.

Four years ago, Grinspoon provided the funding to bring the Imagination Library to his home turf of Western Massachusetts. At the same time, Grinspoon was becoming increasingly aware that many Jewish children in his area were growing up with little or no Jewish culture.

"Then it occurred to me," Grinspoon recalls. "The Imagination Library is the ideal project to adapt to the Jewish community. We need to get Yiddishkeit [Jewishness into the homes of unengaged Jewish families in a positive way."

With the philosophy that reading stories and listening to music are among the most powerful childhood Jewish learning experiences, Grinspoon launched The PJ Library. "PJ" stands for "pajamas" to convey the notion that books and music add to the magic of bedtime.

When Grinspoon informed Imagination Library Executive Director David Dotson about his plans for The PJ Library, Dotson was heartened. "We were thrilled to hear that the Harold Grinspoon Foundation took our concept and repurposed it to meet the needs of the Jewish community," said Dotson. "Knowing that we play a role in Jewish children growing to appreciate their heritage through books is very satisfying to us."

The PJ Library mails a year's worth of free-of-charge, brand new, age-appropriate Jewish children's books and music CDs, one each month, to more than 5,300 children ages six months to six years. The rapidly expanding program currently operates in over 35 cities and towns nationwide.

Like Parton's Imagination Library, The PJ Library has local donors providing funding in each community. The PJ Library handles the book selection, distribution, warehousing and other operational aspects of the program at no cost to the donor.

The number of children served is expected to jump to 10,000 by 2008, with the new $2.5 million challenge grant from the Grinspoon Foundation. The Foundation will match-fund up to $100,000 for each Jewish community that has launched The PJ Library by June 30, 2007.

Designed as an outreach program to build Jewish identity in young, intermarried and unaffiliated Jewish families, The PJ Library is also available to Jewishly involved families, exposing them to Jewish culture, and enhancing creative Jewish parenting.

The Grinspoon Foundation became motivated to make the matching grant upon receiving numerous testimonials and learning the results of a recent survey of parent-participants in The PJ Library, which pointed to its extreme effectiveness after only 16 months of operation.

The survey revealed that most of the families owned virtually no Jewish books before joining the program, and now 75% of them read The PJ Library books to their children once a week or more. Ninety-five percent requested The PJ Library be extended through age eight. Most gave the program top rankings, stating that the books and music spark Jewish conversations among family members.

In a majority of The PJ Library homes, only one parent is Jewish, or one is a Jew by choice, lacking Jewish childhood memories to pass on. In many cases, both parents grew up with little Jewish culture.

One mother of two commented, "We are a mixed family (my husband is Jewish, I'm not). It is important to me that my sons understand what it means to be Jewish (besides just the food), and these books are a great way to inform them (and me) and to start conversations."

With the Grinspoon Foundation subsidizing the bulk of The PJ Library program costs, a local "philanthropic partner" in each city donates just $60 per child-participant per year, so that families keep the library's Jewish books and music, as free-of-charge gifts.

The name of the local philanthropic partner is prominently displayed on each mailing envelope, as "A Gift From...", making the families aware of their community benefactors.

The Grinspoon Foundation is seeking additional philanthropic partners towards its goal of expanding The PJ Library to operate in every Jewish community across the country.

For information on the matching grant or bringing The PJ Library to a new community, please contact Marcie Greenfield Simons at 413-736-2552 or Marcie@hgf.org.

Press contact: Annabelle Stevens, 310-435-6996, Dahlia Greer at 310-339-1060.

Website: www.pjlibrary.org

###