With Giving Tuesday, end-of-year donations, and Hanukkah all happening this season, people have giving on their minds.

Tarah King is joining the Young Family Engagement Team with the Jewish Federation of Cleveland as the new PJ Library Engagement Ambassador for Chagrin Falls and North Solon. As a mom of two, she is excited to begin connecting with young Jewish families in the area.

Families are invited to celebrate giving at the Jewish Federation of Cleveland and PJ Library® Young Families Tzedakah Party on Sunday, December 4 from 9:30 to 11:30 am at the Federation’s Jack, Joseph and Morton Mandel Building (25701 Science Park Drive, Beachwood). This free event is ideal for families with children 5 and under. Older siblings and grandparents are also welcome to join the fun.

Share the warmth of the holiday by donating new gifts to children and families in need. The Jewish Federation of Cleveland’s Chanukah in a Basket program is collecting items to be distributed to local community members experiencing financial distress. For many children, these gifts may be the only gifts they receive this season.

Conservation is not just for spring time chats on Earth Day--Hanukkah is also a great time to talk about protecting the environment.

Dina Rubin has been selected to join the national PJ Our Way Design Team, a prestigious position through the PJ Our Way program that gives young people the opportunity to develop leadership skills, while connecting with other pre-teens across the country. Dina, age 9, lives in Orange Village with her mom, dad, and older brother Ari, who was also involved in PJ Our Way as a member of Cleveland’s Local Design Team.

PJ Library is more than receiving Jewish-themed books and attending events for families – it’s building a stronger Jewish future. Anna Novik is the Engagement Ambassador for Cleveland’s Russian Jewish community; her connection to PJ Library takes on a more meaningful role as she’s able to involve her sister, Ella, and two nephews, Michael and David. We spoke to Ella and Anna about how they’re rediscovering their own Jewish roots through PJ Library.

I don’t know about you, but even though I feel ready to get back to my routine after the disruption of the Jewish High Holidays and Sukkot, there is usually a part of me that feels a bit down. I miss the sense of community that is almost palpable at this time of year.

Share the light of Chanukah by donating gifts to our Jewish community's neediest children and families.

As a member of the Federation's Overseas Connections Committee (OCC), and former Roslyn Z. Wolf JDC International Fellows stationed in St. Petersburg, Russia back in 2006-2007, my husband Matt and I have seen firsthand the life-changing work that the Cleveland Jewish community conducts through its partnership overseas in Russia. However, we recently had a chance to see first-hand the work that our community does to support our other sister city in Beit Shean, Israel.