I moved to Bergen County right before the pandemic and had my second child at the height of COVID. As we started opening up again I felt as though I needed to find a community to raise my children in. I started attending some of the J on the Go outdoor events and slowly began meeting people who became friends. After a few months, I saw a position open to be a Parent Coordinator. I jumped at the chance to take on this role to plan and organize playdates, activities and moms nights out. For the past 10 months I've created an amazing community in the Pascack Valley of like minded moms and their families who want to bring our children up with Jewish holiday celebrations and activities.

Before I participated in these meetups, I was concerned about my ability to find meaningful relationships within the Jewish community having recently moved from the city. Once I started to attend these meetups, I felt more connected to my Jewish identity and had a chance to meet many families with the same values. Now that I’ve connected to this community of families, I attend shabbat circle every week, have hosted playdates and holiday gatherings and felt overall more connected to the community as a whole.

Moving from the city to Hillsdale during COVID, I enrolled my daughter at the local temple nursery school. I found it difficult to make friends with the other moms as they all already seemed to know each other and were pretty cliquey. I met Jessica at a Tot Shabbat and instantly clicked with her. While I was nervous and shy to attend some of her events alone, she encouraged me to try out a moms night out. When I arrived she had not only saved me a seat but introduced me to several other moms who were friendly and open to meeting new people. Since that first event I've started coming to many events, both alone and with my family. So glad we found this amazing community.

Before I participated in these meetups, I was struggling to connect with other Jewish families and build community. When I started attending these meetups, I met Jewish families, made friends, and had a new element added to my social life. We also started regularly attending a tot Shabbat through the JCC and now my two year old asks every week when we are going to synagogue! These events have played a large role in connecting our family to local Jewish life and creating a nice sense of community for us.

I moved to Bergen County from the city without knowing many people but wanting to be a part of the Jewish community. After some research and reach out, I attended a shabbat circle where I met a few families and instantly felt like even with COVID, these meet ups would be a great opportunity for me and my family. Once I saw the potential, I decided to become a parent connector to not only help connect young families in the community but to also continue my personal journey of meeting new families in the Jewish community. I have met over 50 families and hosted multiple meet ups, mom nights and playdates.

Before I participated in these meetups, I didn’t have a lot of local Jewish friends. Once I started to attend the different meet up options, I was able to meet new friends and be more involved in the Jewish community through the mini mensch group, attending tot shabbats and other family meet ups. I feel like the meet ups really opened me up to so many friendships and Jewish opportunities around the community.

Having my first child during the pandemic was extraordinarily isolating. Moving to a new town, with a new baby boy, during a global pandemic meant that I made very few mom friends and felt extremely isolated. So when I became pregnant with my daughter, I promised myself I would put myself out there and go to everything I could with her so that we could have a true “mommy and me” experience. Finding the Mini Mensch group was a true blessing!! I found a tribe of like minded moms raising Jewish babies, but also moms who understood what I was going through and who could commiserate and laugh together as our babies grew. I am so grateful for the mini mensch group - not only for my daughter but for myself!

Mini Mensches has been such a great way to meet other Jewish moms in the area while playing and laughing along with our babies! It’s been so refreshing to be able to get out of the house and connect with other like minded moms and dads - plus, the socialization for our kids has been so special to see!