Funding for childcare for working families is a part of the Federation’s Dire Needs initiatives.  Thirteen area synagogue pre-schools that offer a warm and nurturing Jewish experience enriching the lives of the children are part of the Federation’s Pre-School Assistance Program.  Through this program, pre-schools in synagogues are able to accept children into their school when previously the families could not afford the childcare.  Federation estimates that this program-specific allocation has provided assistance for 119 children this year at synagogue preschools.

“Our synagogues have wonderful pre-school programs – and we want as many working families as possible to have access to the dire needs child care that they offer,” said Eric B. Stillman, President and CEO of the Jewish Federation of Broward County. “Depending on the number of children receiving assistance for dire needs, we have allocated money ranging from $700 to more than $8000 per synagogue specifically to help families in need.” 

Synagogue pre-school programs are vital to working families in our Jewish Community, and to this end, Federation raised its allocation for this purpose by 33 percent over last year.   Each synagogue assessed its needs and submitted requests to Federation.  The grants were based on the percentage of dire needs child care hours each synagogue provides, factoring in the number of children served. Federation is proud to lend a helping hand so that synagogue pre-schools can be available to working families in dire need.  The synagogue recipients of the Pre-School Assistance program are Beth Ahm Israel, Bnai Aviv, Kol Tikvah, Ramat Shalom, Temple Beth Am, Temple Beth El, Temple Beth Emet, Temple Beth Orr, Temple Beth Torah-Tamarac Jewish Center, Temple Dor Dorim, Temple Kol Ami Emanu-El, Temple Sinai of Hollywood and Temple Solel.