Babies and reading are the focus of a lighthearted BYOB (bring your own baby) event coming up at the Tucson Jewish Community Center Early Childhood Education Center next month. “It’s an opportunity to meet other Jewish families with babies,” says Mary Ellen Loebl, coordinator for Southern Arizona’s PJ Library and co-organizer of the event with Carol Sack. “Young children, their siblings, and parents are invited for a free morning get together,” adds Sack, the concierge for Jewish Tucson and coordinator for the Shalom Baby program.
Bagels, lox, coffee, and snacks will be available, along with beverages for babies. PJ Library will share fun and effective ways for parents and siblings to read to children, give away free books and prizes, and lead craft activities.
PJ Library sends books monthly to families with children ages 6 months through 8 years with Judaism as part of their lives. Families may register in Southern Arizona at www.pjlibrary.org/enroll-in-a-community. The local program is a gift from the Jewish Federation of Southern Arizona community engagement department, made possible by the Einstein-Sim, Loebl, Margolis, Rosenzweig, and Viner families, in partnership with the Harold Grinspoon Foundation.
Shalom Baby celebrates the birth or adoption of new babies and welcomes them to the Tucson Jewish community by delivering a Shalom Baby Box. Anyone can register a baby at www.jewishtucson.org/jewish-life/shalom-baby, or by calling Sack.
BYOB is Sunday, Sept. 15 from 9:30 to 10:30 a.m. The Tucson J is located at 3800 E. River Road. RSVP is required by Sept. 13 at www.jfsa.org/byob2019. For more information, contact Loebl at 647-8443 or pjlibrary@jfsa.org or Sack at 299-3000, ext. 241 or concierge@jewishtucson.org.
