Meet Yaira Gurman of JKidz Club

Today we’d like to introduce you to Yaira Gurman.

Yaira, can you briefly walk us through your story – how you started and how you got to where you are today.
I have always liked to make connections with people, even from a young age. I studied Speech Communication and learned a lot about patterns of nonverbal communication, which I think helps me connect with people. I worked as a recruiter and did well connecting accounting employers with employees. I later worked for PJ Library, my first formal Jewish community connection position (although I had been informally connecting within the Jewish community my whole life!) The work at PJ Library sparked a lot of excitement in me and when I left that position I realized that the nature of that work was my calling – connecting people to one another. And thus, JKidz Club was formed!

Great, so let’s dig a little deeper into the story – has it been an easy path overall and if not, what were the challenges you’ve had to overcome?
JKidz Club’s mission is to connect South Bay Jewish families with one another, but finding Jewish families in the South Bay can be surprisingly difficult! Of course, we can contact synagogues and existing Jewish organizations to find families, but I also want to include families who aren’t formally affiliated with any other Jewish group. In addition, there are all different kinds of families who identify as Jewish, from those who are very observant to those who would call themselves “not religious,” so it’s been a challenge to make sure that JKidz Club is welcoming and open to any and all levels of Judaism. But these things are exactly what makes the work fun and interesting for me!

Please tell us about JKidz Club.
JKidz Club allows the diverse Jewish families in the South Bay to connect in a meaningful, social, and educational way. We hope to start off as big idea in a small space and grow to be a hub of recreational enrichment for the South Bay Jewish community. We provide members the chance to come together to socialize, engage in healthy Jewish activities, build relationships, and foster the growth of our children. We specialize in connections for families in a positive, inclusive, and welcoming way. Families of any denomination and with needs of any kind have a place with us!

I am most proud of the relationships that people are creating through JKidz Club. We are unique from others because we are literally the only group doing this broad community connecting work for Jewish families in the South Bay!

Do you look back particularly fondly on any memories from childhood?
Without question, my favorite childhood memory and the one that shaped me the most as a person today was moving to America when I was 5. It was a very big deal for Israeli kids to make such a huge move! My cousins had already moved and I was excited to spend time with them. For the first time I’d be at a school where everyone spoke English – what could be more exciting than that?!?

Contact Info:

• Website: http://www.jkidzclub.com
• Phone: 424-543-4648
• Email: [email protected]
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/groups/525533721172137/

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