Announcing the Winner of the Inaugural Rose Lubin Jewish Pride Award
Ana Robbins, Founder & CEO of Jewish Kids Groups
The Steinhardt Foundation for Jewish Life is proud to honor Ana Robbins with the first Rose Lubin Jewish Pride Award.
Robbins is the Founder and CEO of the Atlanta, Georgia-based nonprofit organization Jewish Kids Groups (JKG). She started JKG in 2012 to provide camp-style Jewish learning and friendship during the school year to kids in kindergarten through 10th grade. The organization’s largest program, JKG Afternoon Community, combines Jewish education with weekday afternoon childcare to meet the needs of modern Jewish families. JKG’s Jewish After School Accelerator (JASA) program provides synagogues across the U.S. with tools, guidance, curriculum, and financial support to launch their own Jewish after-school programs.
“Jewish after school provides an additional option to the typical Sunday and Hebrew School model, inspiring families to immerse their children in a Jewish social and programmatic context every day instead of just one or two days a week,” said Steinhardt Foundation President Rabbi David Gedzelman. “Now, the kids’ primary social group is Jewish so, for them, belonging to the Jewish People becomes part of their core identity, not an occasional experience. This is life-changing for individuals and families and represents a potential cultural shift for American Jews.”
“Strengthening Jewish pride and supporting a positive sense of belonging to the Jewish People is of critical importance for the future of this generation. We can think of no one who exemplifies Jewish Pride more than Rose Lubin. Ana Robbins’ work in leading Jewish Kids Groups fosters this ideal in a realistic and replicable program that can scale nationally,” said Sara Bloom, Vice Chair of the Steinhardt Foundation.
“I am deeply honored that the Steinhardt Foundation has chosen to recognize me and Jewish Kids Groups with the Rose Lubin Jewish Pride Award,” said Robbins. “The funds JKG receives from this award will enable Jewish children across the country to explore their heritage, forge lasting Jewish friendships, build a meaningful relationship with Israel, and ultimately ensure the strength of the Jewish community for generations to come.”
Through JKG’s Jewish After School Accelerator, 11 U.S. synagogues including congregations in Plano, Texas; Livingston, New Jersey; Cincinnati, Ohio; Brookline, Massachusetts; San Leandro and Oakland, California; and across South Florida, are now running their own Jewish after-school programs. For more information and to apply for future JASA cohorts, please visit jewishafterschools.com.