National Council Of Jewish Women Incorporated

Council lifetime learningeach year, more than 300 seniors participate in a broad range of programming offered by council lifetime learning (cll), which includes everything from art and exercise classes to engaging lectures and discussion groups. Cll promotes healthy and creative aging, using arts and cultural programming to engage and empower older adults. Cll helps seniors defy the stereotypes associated with growing old and continue learning and growing into their 70s, 80s, and beyond. The current epidemic of loneliness has hit our oldest old especially hard in nyc. Cll addresses this problem head on, helping seniors create community and connection and building their support network. Our cll social worker helps our clients deal with the inevitable challenges of aging as they arise, leading support groups and providing individual counseling, resources, and referrals.

Children's programmingback 2 school store - our annual back 2 school store (b2ss) provides children with everything they need to go back to school with pride, confidence, and enthusiasm. Every summer, ncjw ny's council house is transformed into a very special "pop up" department store, where each child "shops" for a brand-new outfit (shirt, pants, sneakers, socks, parka, hat, and gloves) as well as a backpack filled with school supplies, all entirely free of charge. B2ss is uniquely impactful because the children are empowered to choose each item themselves, based on their own tastes and styles, with the help of their own "personal shopper" volunteer. The power of choice, without any worry about price tags, is an experience more affluent children take for granted but one these children rarely, if ever, have. B2ss also provides informational resources from public and private agencies to help parents support their family's health, learning, and growth. In fy'25, the b2ss served 316 children. Our children's literacy work aims to engage children in a lifelong love of books and reading, thereby helping to close the gap in school performance for economically disadvantaged children. Our reading tutors program engages our volunteers who work in partnership with five after-school sites in manhattan, providing weekly, one-on-one reading sessions with age-appropriate materials for about 80 children in grades kindergarten through 5th grade. Students keep their books after they have read them with their tutors, building up a home library that instills pride and encourages reading practice on their own.

Other program: 1) lunch, interaction, nurturing, and companionship (linc) - linc is an innovative day program that engages adults suffering from memory loss and dementia through art, music, and recreational activities in an intimate, controlled environment. The program operates three times a week, involving both elders and their caregivers. Far more than a respite care or daycare program, linc provides individualized attention and meets each client where they are, modeling positive interaction for caregivers. Linc stimulates participants and encourages positive self-expression, improving their mood and function throughout the day and the week. Linc is an intimate program by design, serving a roster of 15 to 20 participants at any given time. 2) pregnancy loss support program - plsp utilizes professionally trained volunteers to provide telephone counseling and to facilitate in-person and virtual support groups for parents who have experienced miscarriage, stillbirth, or newborn death. All of our volunteers have experienced a loss themselves, so they can speak from experience to grieving parents, and at the same time continue their own healing process through service to others. Last year the program served more than 200 families. 3) advocacy - ncjw ny pursues vigorous and strategic advocacy to pursue and protect reproductive and economic justice for women. Our pro-truth campaign works to expose and fight the tactics of so-called "crisis pregnancy centers" (fake abortion clinics), ensuring that all women have access to comprehensive and accurate information about their reproductive health and options. Our jews for repro ny initiative works to reclaim the narrative around faith, religion, and abortion. We maintain strong relationships with our state and local elected representatives and invite experts to speak to our community about these issues and others that concern us and our community. On the national level, ncjw, inc.'s washington, dc headquarters advocates at the federal level and helps coordinate grassroots advocacy nationwide.