Group to Help Interfaith Families Connect at Next Social Event
For the past eight months, Alli West has experienced the satisfaction of a job well done but also the feeling that there’s so much more for her to do.
West is the program director for CONNECT, an organization that launched last September to help interfaith families throughout Westchester that have one Jewish spouse gain a deeper connection with their tradition.
“We’re growing slowly,” West said. “Finding the families that would be interested in this kind of programming has been a welcome challenge because I feel like the families exist all over the different communities of Westchester. So, finding the families and letting them know we’re here continues to be the key.”
On Saturday, July 8, the organization’s fourth and final event of the school year, a family happy hour, will take place on the lawn of Temple Shaaray Tefila in Bedford. There will be adult beverages and tasty small bite food samples for the parents and crafts, games and a family scavenger hunt for children.
After the initial event, a holiday wine tasting in Armonk in December, the last three programs have included the entire family.
West said nearly all of the families that have been involved with CONNECT in its first year have young children, mostly in preschool or elementary school. That’s typically when interfaith families address how they want to raise their children, whether they want to follow one parent’s faith or both.
Aside from families having to sort through those issues on their own, sometimes there are family pressures from the couple’s parents or other friends or relatives.
“It’s not an easy thing to talk about,” West said. “It doesn’t mean that this is easy, speaking about your faith tradition and customs and some of the sensitivities that go along with that. Some people are shy about wanting to engage, so our goal is to be able to provide that loving environment for families, to not overwhelm them or hit them over the head with tradition. It’s a light touch.”
Half of the $100,000 funding for CONNECT for the first three years came from a grant from actor Michael Douglas. In 2015, the Genesis Prize Foundation named Douglas as that year’s recipient of its annual prize. The foundation provides about $1 million to a renowned figure who has worked to further the cause of Jewish values and they distribute the money to various
Douglas, whose parents were an interfaith couple, is also a Temple Shaaray Tefila member.
West said they are hopeful that Douglas will be able to attend one of next year’s events.
While growth has been slow – they have increased from 16 to 18 couples at the three events – West is encouraged that CONNECT has retained all the families who have young children.
A bit of frustration for the organization is to find these families and entice them to give the group’s functions a try, West said.
“It’s just a community event where we are basically a wonderful group of families that may be looking for these teachings of Jewish traditions, but also trying to keep it very social and fun,” she said.
For more information about CONNECT and the July 8 event, visit www.connectandengage.com. The event takes place from 3 to 4:30 p.m. and is free, but an RSVP is strongly recommended.
Since this article was published in the May 23-29 print issue of The Examiner, CONNECT changed the date of its year-end Family Happy Hour from June 3 to July 8.
Martin has more than 30 years experience covering local news in Westchester and Putnam counties, including a frequent focus on zoning and planning issues. He has been editor-in-chief of The Examiner since its inception in 2007. Read more from Martin’s editor-author bio here. Read Martin’s archived work here: https://www.theexaminernews.com/author/martin-wilbur2007/