Our Greater Washington Jewish community is made up of many distinct voices.
By valuing and listening to each one, we further our understanding of who we are. That’s why Federation and our partners are committed to advancing and fostering inclusion across all of our work. Through programs and services that welcome, raise awareness, and advocate for the rights of all community members, we grow in ways in which everyone feels supported and encouraged to participate in Jewish life.
Our Greater Washington Jewish community is made up of many distinct voices. By valuing and listening to each one, we further our understanding of who we are. That’s why Federation and our partners are committed to advancing and fostering inclusion across all of our work. Through programs and services that welcome, raise awareness, and advocate for the rights of all community members, we grow in ways in which everyone feels supported and encouraged to participate in Jewish life.
Listening to Our Community
The release of the 2017 Greater Washington Jewish Community Demographic Study, funded by The Morningstar Foundation, sparked the beginning of a Federation listening tour. We gathered cohorts of individuals—both engaged and unengaged with Federation—for town halls in DC, Suburban MD, and Northern VA, to learn how our community members felt the findings from the Study could and should inform Federation’s future endeavors. And these conversations were only the beginning! On page 18, discover how our focus on connecting with purpose has led to innovation and impact across Jewish Greater Washington.
community members gathered for Federation’s Grand Slam Sunday: Community Day at Nationals Park to connect with each other and cheer
attended Federation’s first annual Main Event, Jewish Greater Washington’s evening of networking, inspiration, and entertainment, with special guest, former U.S. Secretary of State Madeleine Albright.
attended Federation’s Homecoming to honor long-serving community leader Paul S. Berger and to toast the past, revel in the present, and connect with the future of our Jewish community.
Through free Jewish books, music, and co-produced community events for local families, PJ Library and PJ Our Way are shaping the Jewish identities of more than 10,600 Jewish children from six months to 12 years old. The success of the program has created incredible demand, and new funding will ensure more families can connect with each other through these meaningful programs.
“Growing up, I had a complicated relationship with my Jewish identity. I was usually the only Jew in any given social setting, and often the only Jew my friends had ever met. j.family Ambassadors is giving me the foundation to instill a positive Jewish identity in my daughter, while strengthening my own.”
—DANIELLE A.
PARTICIPANT, J.FAMILY AMBASSADORS
Federation’s j.family Ambassadors connect new parents of children ages 0-3 to each other, the broader community, and to Jewish life. Through one-on-one meetings, programming, and co-sponsored events, they facilitate micro-communities that create strong relationships and Jewish connections.
After fully funding the successful Pozez JCC of Northern Virginia’s j.family Ambassadors program, Federation and its United Jewish Endowment Fund have expanded the program to include the Edlavitch DCJCC and Bender JCC of Greater Washington. Ambassadors now serve families across Northern Virginia, the District, and throughout Montgomery County, MD.