Children at The Gan: Portland Jewish Preschool. Chabad preschools in the Greater Portland area have become recognized as centers of educational excellence. See source article.
Survey shows that 25 percent of all who attend Jewish programs engage with Chabad
When Ari and Erin Witkin decided to send their son, Maddox, to preschool, they looked at a number of local schools in Northeast Portland, Ore. Many seemed good, but none “fit the bill” of what the couple was looking for. Then they heard about The Gan: Portland Jewish Preschool run by Chabad of Southwest Portland and found the perfect spot for their son, as they both had fond memories of attending Jewish preschool.
“Judaism has helped form us into the people and parents we are today and want to be moving forward,” said Ari Witkin, who received his Ph.D. in physical therapy just before the couple moved to Portland in 2019.
Shabbat dinners for friends and colleagues. “We host more Shabbat dinners than I can count. It’s integral to our lives,” said Witkin.
While Southwest Portland—the longstanding home of the majority of the city’s Jews—remains the focal point of Jewish life in Portland, many new arrivals like the Witkins are moving to outlying suburbs that are up to an hour away.
Chabad is also on the move, spreading throughout the region, estabilishing synagogues, mikvahs, camps and schools in neighborhoods that once had virtually no Jewish presence.
According to leading voices in the Portland Jewish community, Chabad’s initiative in this regard is essential to the city’s Jewish future as distance is the No. 1 reason parents give for not enrolling their children in a Jewish preschool and remains the second-greatest barrier to participation in the Jewish community, according to the 2022-23 Greater Portland Jewish Community Study, a major new survey conducted recently on behalf of the Jewish Federation of Greater Portland.
“We look forward to partnering with Chabad and other community groups in using this information to strengthen and enrich Jewish life for generations to come,” Marc Blattner, CEO of the Jewish Federation of Greater Portland, told Chabad.org
Rabbi Motti Wilhelm who directs Chabad of Southwest Portland and the Gan Preschool with his wife, Mimi expressed Chabad’s gratitude to the Jewish Federation of Greater Portland for commissioning this study and “gifting the community with its treasure trove of data.”
“Having an unprecedented amount of geographic and demographic data along with the interests and engagement levels of our community allows all of those serving Jewish Portland to make more informed and thoughtful decisions,” said Wilhelm.
Public menorah-lightings around Portland attract people from all walks of Jewish life.
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