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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