22 | FEBRUARY 27 • 2020
Playdates
with a Purpose
Partnership melds Jewish themes
with service for little ones.
J
ewish families in Metro
Detroit now have a fun
option to introduce their
young children to the joys of
volunteering, with activities
like making cards for seniors or
packing warming kits for local
shelters.
PJ Library of Metropolitan
Detroit and Repair the World
Detroit created a program
called “Playdates with a
Purpose,” which allows children
to do social service projects
tied to the themes in the Jewish
books they’
re reading.
Each month, PJ Library
brings Judaism into households
by sending free high-quality,
age-appropriate books to young
Jewish families.
“We’
re providing them this
educational tool wrapped in a
high-quality children’
s book,
but what do you do beyond the
book?” asked Becky Melamed,
director of PJ Library of
Metropolitan Detroit.
This is where Playdates with
a Purpose comes into play. It
provides children age 2-4 with
opportunities to engage in
social action. Last year, there
were four volunteering options,
each corresponding to a theme
and Jewish value from a PJ
Library book. Families could
choose to come to as many as
they wanted, and each program
gave families a unique opportu-
nity to explore meaningful ways
to engage children in service.
Last year, the program
brought the children to
Fleischman Residence, where
the theme was “honoring
elders.” The kids made cards,
a banner and challot for the
senior residents. Another
microproject had the theme
“kindness to animals.” After
reading a PJ Library story, the
children baked biscuits for local
animal shelters.
“By providing these Playdates
with a Purpose, we hope fami-
lies in our community will seek
out and find more ways to do
good,” Melamed said.
There are two upcoming
Playdates with a Purpose for
young families this year. The
next happens March 1, when
participants will go to Prentis
Jewish Apartments and Coville
Assisted Living to make mish-
loach manot (Purim baskets)
and spend time with seniors.
On April 19, participants will
go to Yad Ezra. The theme will
be caring for the environment
and our bodies, and the chil-
dren will create garden markers
for Detroit community gardens
and Yad Ezra’
s Giving Gardens.
“Families can sign up at any
time, and they can even drop
in if they want to,” Melamed
said. “We want to be as open as
possible so that any family with
young children who wants to
can join us.”
To sign up and learn more about
Playdates with a Purpose, visit the
JFamily Detroit Facebook page and
go to their “Events” tab. You can
also email Becky Melamed at rmel-
amed@jccdet.org.
STEFANI CHUDNOW CONTRIBUTING WRITER
COURTESY OF PJ LIBRARY OF
METROPOLITAN DETROIT
ABOVE: Young families at a Playdates
with a Purpose event.
Jews in the D
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