05/22/2018
Young Families: Meet the Siegals
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Zach and Shelby Siegal of Chagrin Falls love being a part of Jewish Cleveland. After pursuing careers in other cities, they returned home to Cleveland to raise their son. They love all the opportunities for Jewish life here – the unparalleled schools, communities, and programs like PJ Library. Meet them now:
Q – What do you enjoy about living in Jewish Cleveland?
When we decided to move back to Cleveland, it was partly because of the opportunities for Jewish life here – the unparalleled schools, programs, and communities. Jewish life in Cleveland is very accessible and the myriad of options really appeal to us. Our son goes to a Jewish day school and we feel he has benefitted so much from their resources, the integration of Hebrew, and the socialization overall. We also take advantage of the programming at the Mandel JCC and other events in the area, like the ‘mommy and me’ classes.
Q – The Women's Philanthropy Spring Luncheon is coming up on May 30, and is honoring one of the co-founders of the Cleveland Kids Book Bank. As an event co-chair, why do you believe it's important to be engaged in our community?
Being involved in our community is an important tenant of Jewish life. It creates a sense of pride in oneself and purpose that we hope our children want to follow. The luncheon in itself is a highlight of the calendar year for women in the community and Federation. This year, we have a fabulous speaker – Carin Rockind; she is the creator of Purpose Girl, a movement to empower purpose-driven living for girls and women. It will be a very uplifting afternoon where like-minded women can interact with one another and learn some new skills from Carin. We are also organizing book donations at the Spring Luncheon to help support the Cleveland Kids’ Book Bank.
Q – How do you incorporate reading in your home?
We believe reading with our son is critical to his development and to our connection as a family. Thanks to PJ Library, he is learning about our Jewish values and traditions in a way that is compelling and straight forward. We have been receiving the books since he was a few months old. The books break down the meaning of each holiday and introduce him to themes that we may over explain. The books themselves are so different from each other each month, that we get a wide variety of cultural learning. We have been reading to our son since he was born and we believe that it is one of the best ways to spend time together.
For more information on PJ Library and the Young Family Engagement Team, please contact Leah Taylor at 216-593-2853 or ltaylor@jcfcleve.org.
In partnership with the Jewish Federation of Cleveland and the Harold Grinspoon Foundation, PJ Library® in Cleveland is generously funded by Mort (of blessed memory) and Iris November in celebration of Debra Ann November's life.
