September 18, 2023

By Nancy B. Greer
President & CEO

In our tradition, our thoughts and actions during the Days of Awe from Rosh Hashanah to Yom Kippur can alter what may be in store for us in the coming year. During this time of introspection and of taking responsibility, we have choices when we set our intentions for the new year that has just begun. We have agency.

Your Jewish Federation of Greater Seattle’s intentions to serve our community, made possible by generous people like you, are grounded in timeless Jewish values. One such value is collaboration—partnerships that strengthen relationships within and beyond Jewish Puget Sound and are the essential foundation for enhancing Jewish life.

As I look ahead to the coming year of new leadership at Federation, I am excited by what we have planned for Jewish Puget Sound and confident that our work will yield more opportunities for people to connect with Jewish life through partnerships that result in more good ideas blossoming into action.

Good ideas like the Little Free PJ Library® boxes that you’ll soon see popping up at Jewish venues around town—one is already in place at JDS’ (Jewish Day School’s) Bellevue campus, and more are on the way! The bright blue boxes will raise PJ Library’s visibility, enabling more families with young children to share PJ Library’s wonderful Jewish-themed books and build micro-communities connecting them to Jewish life. Getting the boxes placed has been the fruit of rewarding collaboration between your Federation and the Jewish organizations that are hosting them.

The Little Free PJ Library box project is just one example of how partnerships enable Jewish organizations to leverage each other’s strengths for the greater good. The beauty of collaboration is that the more often we work in partnerships, the better the outcomes and the stronger and more vibrant our community becomes.

When we work together, our intentions for making a positive difference will be that much more impactful. May 5784 be a year of coming together for the greater good of the community that we love.

G’mar Chatimah Tovah,