PJ Library Expands to Six New Countries and Two New Languages
Source: eJewish Philanthropy
PJ Library has expanded to six new countries and two new languages. Programs in Brazil, Germany, Austria, and Switzerland are shipping children’s books to thousands of families for the first time, and new programs are launching in Ireland and Estonia.
The expansion of the program into Brazil, Germany, Austria, and Switzerland marks the first time that PJ Library has distributed books in Portuguese and German. In all, PJ Library now distributes more than 680,000 children’s books each month to families around the world in 29 countries and 7 languages. More than 250,000 books are mailed monthly in North America.
The German-language program is operated and funded in partnership with Germany’s Central Council of Jews with support from Genesis Philanthropy Group (GPG), the Swiss Federation of Jewish Communities, and the Vienna Israelite Community. Local families with Jewish children ages 2 to 8 can sign up to receive books in German. This month, over 1,600 children received books for the first time through the program. Families can learn more and register here.
In Brazil, PJ Library operates through a partnership with Fundo Comunitário, the local branch of Keren Hayesod. The program also receives funding support from multiple local foundations and philanthropists, led by the Horn family. This month, the new program will send out more than 700 books to families with children ages 2 to 9 across Brazil. Families can learn more and register here.
New PJ Library programs in Ireland and Estonia bring carefully selected stories that celebrate the joys of Jewish life to many more young families. Starting in August, The Harold Grinspoon Foundation partnered with the Jewish Representative Council of Ireland in Dublin to deliver English-language books to dozens of families with children ages 1 to 12.
In the Russian-speaking world, PJ Library provides significant Jewish family engagement programs, reaching thousands of families in Russia, Ukraine, and now Estonia. These PJ Library programs are supported by leading global partner Genesis Philanthropy Group (GPG), strategic partner JDC (the American Jewish Joint Distribution Committee), the Koum Family Foundation, and other partners and families. Notably, two community partners in North America, Chicago’s Jewish United Fund and Baltimore’s the Associated, provide key support for sister city PJ Library programs in Kyiv and Odessa, respectively. Almost 100 children in Estonia now receive Russian-language books in partnership with Jewish Community of Estonia/Tallinn JCC.