Jewish Fertility Sukkot Event Attracts Large Crowd
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Jewish Fertility Sukkot Event Attracts Large Crowd

Six Atlanta organizations partnered to bring 500 participants together at the Marcus Jewish Community Center.

By Jan Jaben-Eilon October 15, 2021, 1:33 pm Edit
  • Allison Budnick and daughter Mila shake the lulav and etrog in honor of the Sukkot holiday.
    Allison Budnick and daughter Mila shake the lulav and etrog in honor of the Sukkot holiday.
  • Repair the World Atlanta prepared “cheat sheets” for the event participants, said Clara Sophia Camber.
    Repair the World Atlanta prepared “cheat sheets” for the event participants, said Clara Sophia Camber.
  • JFF’s Kayla Heering spent months planning the collaborative event.
    JFF’s Kayla Heering spent months planning the collaborative event.
  • Kayla Heering, JFF-ATL Manager, Emily Zaghi, JFF National Program Director, and Elana Frank, CEO & Founder of JFF, at the amazing JFF Atlanta Family Sukkot Program.
    Kayla Heering, JFF-ATL Manager, Emily Zaghi, JFF National Program Director, and Elana Frank, CEO & Founder of JFF, at the amazing JFF Atlanta Family Sukkot Program.
  • The JFF Family Sukkot Program included many activities, including a mobile petting zoo.
    The JFF Family Sukkot Program included many activities, including a mobile petting zoo.
  • Michael Levine, the music producer of the well-known Pete the Cat books, performed Sukkot music for the families
    Michael Levine, the music producer of the well-known Pete the Cat books, performed Sukkot music for the families
  • More than 500 people attended the Sukkot event.
    More than 500 people attended the Sukkot event.
  • Repair the World Atlanta prepared “cheat sheets” for the event participants, said Clara Sophia Camber.
    Repair the World Atlanta prepared “cheat sheets” for the event participants, said Clara Sophia Camber.
  • “I see them as future campers and staff,” said Eileen Snow Price, CEO of In the City Camps.
    “I see them as future campers and staff,” said Eileen Snow Price, CEO of In the City Camps.
  • JFF’s Kayla Heering spent months planning the collaborative event.
    JFF’s Kayla Heering spent months planning the collaborative event.

More than 500 people, representing 170 Atlanta families, participated in one of the first community-wide events in the past 19 months, hosted by the Jewish Fertility Foundation (JFF) during Sukkot. Six local organizations partnered to hold the outdoor program at the Marcus Jewish Community Center of Atlanta in late September.

Allison Budnick and daughter Mila shake the lulav and etrog in honor of the Sukkot holiday.

“Each organization had its own table and could offer an activity,” said organizer Kayla Heering, JFF’s Atlanta manager. The partnering agencies included: In the City Camps, Jewish Federation of Greater Atlanta, Jewish Kids Groups, PJ Library and Repair the World.

When asked how she chose the partnering organizations for the JFF event, Heering explained that JFF clients could “learn about more Jewish experiences after JFF,” once they have their families.

Kayla Heering, JFF-ATL Manager, Emily Zaghi, JFF National Program Director, and Elana Frank, CEO & Founder of JFF, at the amazing JFF Atlanta Family Sukkot Program.

The JFF was founded in 2015 for parents experiencing medical infertility. The non-profit provides financial assistance, emotional support and educational programming to Jews affected by this issue. The agency was founded by Elana Frank, who experienced medical infertility for more than 10 years. However, since she resided in Israel, which offers national health insurance, her treatment was more affordable. She had her first two children there, before moving back to her hometown of Atlanta, where in vitro fertilization can cost anywhere from $14,000 to $25,000.

Heering, who started working at the JFF about six months ago, said she spent most of that time planning the event and “reaching out to Jewish organizations that had programs for youth or parents.”

“I see them as future campers and staff,” said Eileen Snow Price, CEO of In the City Camps.

Eileen Snow Price, CEO of In the City Camps, said initially her organization participated because she was “thrilled that there would be a community event. I wanted to support it.” But she also sees the JFF clients as “future campers and staff. We don’t have our own location, so our success depends on the success of our partners. Collaboration is the key word. No one can be successful on their own.”

In fact, Price launched In the City Camps in 2012 thinking she’d hold “a little camp and move on. But the pandemic has shown the importance of day camp. Not everyone can go to overnight camps.” Repair the World in Atlanta is a much younger organization, so the Sukkot program expanded its exposure in the city. “Our outlook is to engage young Jewish people in service opportunities,” said Clara Sophia Camber, senior fellow in the group. “Our target age group is the 20s and early 30s.” She said her group participated in the JFF event because “we wanted to connect with young Jewish parents and with young Jewish children and help them learn about service opportunities.”

More than 500 people attended the Sukkot event.

Camber’s team “put together a cheat sheet for parents on how to adapt Jewish values into language for kids. The Sukkot event was a beautiful opportunity to connect the dots with an age group we might have excluded.” The “cheat sheet” was created for the JFF event, tweaking other programs and adapting them for different age groups.

“People were surprised to see us there,” she said. “Parents were surprised that we wanted to talk to them, showing them attention when events are targeting children.”

Repair the World Atlanta prepared “cheat sheets” for the event participants, said Clara Sophia Camber.

Unlike Repair the World, Jewish Kids Groups has been around since 2012, offering after-school Jewish education initially to six students. It now serves more than 250 students at six locations. Ana Robbins, executive director and founder, said that participating in the JFF program was a no-brainer. “We love JFF. It was such an awesome event and collaboration.”

According to the JFF’s Heering, the Sukkot event grew out of a program for Jewish entrepreneurs and nonprofits held by the Jewish Federation of Greater Atlanta. “There were weekly meetings and at the end, everyone pitched their ideas,” she said, with vote-winning ideas given small grants. “It grew from there.”

Price was enthusiastic about the turnout. “I hope it becomes an annual event.”

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