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August 2007
Got a Question about Bay Area Jewish Life?
If you’re looking for a rabbi to perform an interfaith wedding, a pre-school for your toddlers or a congregation that welcomes the participation of a non-Jewish spouse, Gail Green hopes you’ll contact Jewish Community Information & Referral (JCI&R). “We want people to know that we connect the dots,” says Green, director of JCI&R, the definitive resource for information about Jewish life in the Bay Area. Green and her colleague Judy Musante and a cadre of experienced volunteers staff the phones in a small office in the Jewish Community Federation’s building in San Francisco. From Monday through Friday (except on Jewish holidays), they provide referrals via telephone and email to all things Jewish in communities throughout the Bay Area. “We’re a neutral, confidential service and can address people’s needs as they go through life cycles,” Green explains. But, she adds, “JCI&R isn’t a service organization. We provide the names and numbers for groups or persons that offer the service you’re looking for.” Established more than 20 years ago with a grant from the Jewish Community Endowment Fund of the SF-based Jewish Community Federation, JCI&R began soliciting information from local congregations, non-profit agencies and various community groups to provide a central clearing-house for answers to questions about Jewish life in the Bay Area. The goal of the founders was to enable individuals who were new to the community, or looking for something new, to find it with just one call. Interfaith and intercultural couples and families comprise a sizable percentage of callers to JCI&R. Besides seeking help for marriage and life cycle events, callers may want to learn more about Jewish life, connect with other interfaith families, or find out where to buy a menorah for their family’s first Chanukah, for example. Green and company can help. Callers aren’t always sure about what they’re looking for, so JCI&R volunteers help to pinpoint it. A little schmoozing, Green believes, can go a long way. If a caller knows he or she wants to learn more about Judaism, a conversation can define whether he or she is looking for basics found in an Introduction to Judaism class, more in-depth study or even a course about Israel. Green and her colleagues work with the j. the Jewish News Weekly each year to compile and edit listings in Resource, a guide to Jewish life in the Bay Area, which she describes as “basically a hard copy of everything our community has to offer.” Resource is available by contacting Green at the numbers below. JCI&R also coordinates Bay Area listings for www.PlanitJewish.com, an online calendar of Jewish events. In the last year, in the JCI&R board and staff have initiated Chai Baby and P.J. Library, two programs which provide materials to welcome families with newborn babies into the Jewish community. The programs are funded by the Jewish Community Federation of San Francisco, the Peninsula, Marin and Sonoma Counties and currently are available to families living in the areas served by this federation. For details on Chai Baby and P.J. Library, please read the San Francisco Regional News section of this newsletter below. “I’m constantly amazed at the number and diversity of the services our community has to offer,” Green says. And she and her staff are eager and willing to share that information with callers. Contact JCI&R at 415-777-4545 or 877-777-5247 (toll-free) or by email at info@jewishnfo.org.
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