Gesher (originally called Lilmod u’Lelamed) is a program of the Council of Jewish Émigré Community Organizations (COJECO), a central coordinating body for the Russian Jewish community of New York with 43 member organizations.

Project Gesher was created in 2005 to serve as an entry point into Jewish identity and culture by providing meaningful secular Jewish educational experiences that are sensitive to the specific needs and experiences of the Russian speaking Jewish American population. The Project directly engages two very different populations within the Russian Jewish community – émigré children ages 3-5 and unaffiliated Russian speaking college students with little knowledge of Judaism – bringing them together through Jewish education.

Project Gesher trains college students to provide informal education at day care centers that are largely attended by Russian Jewish émigré children, thus providing young children with the fundamentals of Jewish history and culture, and cultivating a new generation of Russian-speaking Jewish educators. The college student faculty members participate in a day-long intensive training, along with monthly follow-up training sessions. They simultaneously learn Jewish content (Jewish values, Shabbat, Jewish holidays, and Israel), and are trained to teach what they learn. In the process, they develop leadership skills and reflect on their own Jewish identities. The college students have also had the opportunity to participate in a professional development seminar in Israel.

The Project Director and on-site coordinators are bilingual Russian immigrants who have experience working with this community. Throughout the year, they actively consult with the college student faculty members. Faculty members run weekly, hour-long classes in day care centers for groups of 10 to 12 children. They employ multiple teaching and engagement techniques, such as storytelling, drama, games, creative art projects, music, movement, and dance.

Project Gesher also includes a family education component that aims to reinforce learning beyond the classroom and provide families of both college students and young children with basic information about Judaism. A family educator at each site plans holiday celebrations for families (including Rosh Hashanah, Hanukkah, Purim, and Passover), coordinates trips to local Jewish cultural institutions, facilitates Shabbatonim, and develops take-home materials.

Results/Impact
Project Gesher has had a broad reach in both of its target populations, serving more than 1,350 children and educating and employing more than 150 college students as program faculty. The program has grown every year since 2004, first expanding to Staten Island, followed by expansion to Northern New Jersey in 2010 and Boston in 2011. The program has since attracted additional funders and renewed support from The Covenant Foundation.

COJECO created an original year-round, interactive educational curriculum guide, “Teaching Jewish Holidays, Israel, and Jewish Values for Early Childhood,” designed to be used in the Russian-speaking Jewish community. COJECO has also created an extensive Resource Center, which includes educational materials for early childhood informal Jewish education, such as DVDs, CDs, books with art project ideas, picture books, storybooks, Jewish holiday books, materials for making art, and educational curricula.

An independent evaluation commissioned by The Covenant Foundation in 2006 found that the project had a profound effect on both the participating college students and the children. Preschoolers exhibited a measurable increase in their Jewish knowledge. The majority of current and past faculty members reported that they have enhanced their Jewish knowledge as a result of their participation in Project Gesher. An informal network has emerged among the college students, who have developed friendships with members of their cohort.

Because Project Gesher engages college students at an early stage in their academic or professional careers, the experience has the potential to influence their career trajectories. Several faculty members have begun working and volunteering in local mainstream Jewish organizations since their work with Project Gesher.

The project has contributed to COJECO’s reputation as a cutting-edge organization in both the Russian-speaking Jewish community and the mainstream Jewish community. COJECO has been nominated multiple times as one of the 50 most creative and effective organizations and leaders across the country by “Slingshot, A Resource Guide to Jewish Innovation.”

For the expansion to Boston, COJECO has established a collaborative relationship with Irene Belozersky, a clinical social worker and Senior Planning Associate for the Combined Jewish Philanthropies. There are currently five additional staff members working at Project Gesher Boston, including a Project Director, a Family Educator, and three Student Teachers. All of the members of the project’s leadership team are culturally Russian. The New York staff consists of a Jewish Educator/Project Director, a Coordinator, and 20 Student Teachers.